Usage classes of wooden floorboards

Despite numerous maintenance-free alternatives such as WPC or BPC, solid wood decking boards are still very popular. The feel and grain of the wooden floorboards in particular are often decisive for the purchase decision.

When looking for the right decking board, the durability of the wood species is important in addition to the structure and color. Tropical hardwoods are therefore often used. However, the origin and therefore the sustainability of a plank is currently more important than ever, which is why the importance of domestic woods such as larch, Douglas fir or even thermowood in pine and ash is increasing. In order to achieve a long service life with the choice of a more sustainable plank, structural wood protection also plays a decisive role in addition to the choice of wood species. Care should therefore be taken during construction to protect the boards from waterlogging. This is avoided by using spacers between the planks and the substructure. Experience has shown that the resulting constructive wood protection in accordance with DIN 68800 leads to a 20 – 30 % longer service life.

Example GK3: Classification of decking boards e.g. made of pine, larch, Douglas fir

Laying the planks without spacers means classification in the lower usage class 3.2. By using spacers (Terraflex/Terrafix/Clipper), the same planks are upgraded to the higher GK 3.1 and are therefore comparable to the durability of many tropical hardwoods.