Overview of Polarwood parquet board

A relatively new flooring that surpasses its predecessors in performance is PolarWood parquet. The product is manufactured at the Russian plant of the Finnish concern Karelia-Upofloor, which is one of the leaders in the production of natural wood floors. High quality guarantee - strict control at all stages of production. The manufacturer gives a ten-year warranty on this heavy-duty floor covering.

Material Features

The plant produces two types of coating, which differ in the number of lamellas in the front layer. This product classification is based on the total number of veneer strips in the top layer. Moreover, only parquet boards with a “deck” pattern have such a division, which include PolarWood products. The thing is that with such a pattern, the planks of the upper layer are stacked in parallel. There are two types of coating in the Polarwood range - a single-strip and a three-strip board:

1. Three-strip parquet board is in great demand. Its price is the most reasonable. The top layer of the product is three strips of fine wood veneer. The coating consists of lamellas, divided into separate segments, and not from continuous strips for the entire length. The Finnish company uses both classic wood species (oak, ash, walnut) and an array of exotic trees (jatoba, yarra, campas and dissie). The middle layer of this board is made of softwood, and the bottom layer is birch plywood. Laying with a run-up allows you to use this floor covering in rooms for various purposes. The width of the board can be from 190 to 208 mm.
2. 1-strip board- This is the most expensive coverage option. Its price is 1.5 times higher than the cost of a three-lane product. Externally, the coating is very similar to a massive board made from a single piece of wood. The only difference from the three-lane version is that the top layer is one solid lamella made of valuable wood. The second and third layers of this flooring are made in the same way as in the previous version. Since one wide lamella is used for the production of a single-strip board, its width is only 137 mm. This flooring looks very nice in large rooms.

From above, all products have a five-layer varnish coating, which significantly increases the wear resistance of the floor. All elements are interconnected on the locking mechanism of Profiles. This fixation system has proven itself very well and was used in previous collections of the plant, for example, Karelia. This is confirmed by numerous positive customer reviews.

Also, PolarWood flooring is classified by selection. The plant's products are represented by two affordable selection options:

• Rustic. Products in the package are characterized by a pronounced discrepancy in color between the individual elements. Knots and sapwood are allowed. The floor covering from the boards of this selection turns out to be colorful and lively and is ideal for decorating the interiors of country houses.
• Country. There is no selection of boards by tone and cut. In one package there can be boards with a top layer of boards with a tangential and radial cut. The presence of sapwood, knots, core rays, cracks, and veins is allowed. The coloring of the coating from such boards will turn out bright, colorful, lively.

Advantages of PolarWood parquet board

The coating is very popular in our country due to its many advantages:

• The price of Polarwood products is 10-15% lower than that of similar products from other European manufacturers. The Finnish concern was able to achieve such a cost reduction thanks to the production located on the territory of the Russian Federation. As a result, there is no need to add transport and customs costs to the price.
• High quality Finnish products are achieved through strict control at all stages of production. Confirmation of the impeccable quality are the positive reviews of the owners of this flooring. The use of specially prepared wood and a five-layer lacquer coating guarantee a long service life of the floor.
• Large selection of products. Both single-strip and three-strip boards from this concern can be produced in different color options, depending on the top layer wood used. For example, flooring in natural oak shades can be used in a classic interior, while elements with tinted oak or bleached ash make it possible to match the floor to an avant-garde interior.
• Ease of installation achieved through a special locking connection. Both 1-strip and 3-strip boards are laid floating without the use of glue. Laying the floor will take only a few hours and can be done by hand on a plank, plywood, concrete base or self-leveling screed. If necessary, laying can be carried out on old plank floors.

Attention: it is forbidden to lay PolarWood parquet floors on a textile base.

• Simple care. A special fixation technology and a durable coating of wear-resistant varnish protect the floor from deformation, the formation of gaps, which in turn facilitates its maintenance. The cover can be vacuumed and, if necessary, wiped with a damp cloth. However, PolarWood parquet boards do not like high humidity, so they must be protected from getting wet. Burnout in the sun does not threaten the boards, because they are reliably protected from this by a multi-layer varnish coating.
• Parquet board Polarwood can be used with underfloor heating systems. However, elements with a top layer of beech, maple, are not suitable for these purposes due to the ability to deform.

Polarwood pricing policy

The Polarwood parquet board is positioned as a budget solution. Those. in fact, you can buy a parquet board at the price of a good laminate. (1300 - 3000 rubles / m2 or $ 20-50).

Of course, on the surface of the board you will see traces of knots, not always an even pattern, but let's be realistic. The Select level board costs quite different money. 3-4 times more expensive. Nevertheless, for your money you get a pretty decent board. If we ignore the little things, then the material is optimal in terms of price and quality in a limited budget. And it will clearly be a better purchase than laminate. But this is the opinion of our editors. There are also ardent supporters of the laminate. It all depends on your priorities and desires.

Styling nuances

It doesn’t matter which parquet board you will use, single-strip or three-strip, experts advise you to adhere to the following flooring recommendations:

1. As a rule, the laying of boards is carried out perpendicular to the window opening. So, the light falling from the window will make the longitudinal joints of the elements almost invisible. However, if your room has an elongated shape, then regardless of the location of the window opening, the laying is done in the longitudinal direction. If the flooring of Polarwood parquet elements will be carried out on an old wooden floor, then they should be laid across the subfloor boards.
2. Laying single-strip and three-strip boards with a thickness of 14 mm can be carried out in a "floating way" without fixing to the base. However, if necessary, you can use gluing.
3. Longitudinal joining is done without gluing. To fix the lock connection, the longitudinal side of the boards needs to be tapped a little.
4. Parquet flooring in a new building can only be laid after the room has been ventilated and heated for a month. This will ensure the necessary drying of the base.
5. To ensure that the coating does not deform in the room during installation and during the operation of the floor, it is necessary to maintain the correct temperature and humidity conditions. The air temperature should be in the range from 18 to 24 ° C, and humidity in the range of 40-60%.
6. Before laying it is necessary to check the unevenness of the base. They should not exceed 3 mm per meter. Otherwise, you will need to level the floor with plywood or self-levelling compound.
7. Boards with a thickness of less than 14 mm are best laid on a special glue for fixing wood products.

The need for underlayment and waterproofing

To eliminate small defects in the base and soften the pressure on the floor, experts recommend using a special underlay for laying PolarWood parquet boards. It consists of two layers of polyethylene and granulated foam core between them.

Laying the material is carried out on the cleaned base face down. This special underlay has a 20cm flap with a self-adhesive side that allows for butt-to-butt installation rather than overlapping. It provides high tightness of the protective layer.