What is the difference between square edged and micro bevelled wood flooring?
Although it seems like a minor detail, the choice of edge profile for your wood flooring is important — it can have a big effect on the overall appearance of your floor. So, what’s the difference between micro bevelled boards and square edged boards?
Bevels and micro bevels
What is a bevel?
A bevel on a floorboard is a small angled cut which runs along its edges. When the boards are laid, the bevelled edges create a “V” shaped dip between each board. This makes a feature of the joints, producing a floor with a time-honoured rustic aesthetic.
A bevel is a good way of disguising height variances between boards which are laid on an uneven subfloor. However, more pronounced bevels tend to trap some dirt and dust.
What is a micro bevel?
A micro bevel is a very small bevel which defines each board’s outline. A key difference between micro bevels and a square edges is the way that micro bevels make a distinction between each plank. They make for a quietly traditional appearance which is subtle enough to fit elegantly into a wide variety of interior spaces.
Micro bevels are less pronounced than a standard bevel. As a result, they trap less dirt but they are still forgiving if there are minor differences in the levels of each board. This option is perfect for pre-finished boards which aren’t going to be sanded and finished on site.
Square Edges
How is a Square Edged board different?
Square Edged boards are precisely cut with their edges at perfect right angles so that they sit flush with one another. Therefore, the joints between each board are much less visible than on bevelled floorboards.
Square edged wood flooring creates a very smooth, refined appearance; it’s considered a more contemporary option which looks fantastic in minimalist spaces.
One advantage that square edged wood flooring has over other edge profiles is that it’s very easy to keep clean because there’s nowhere for the dust and dirt to hide.
You can achieve a truly seamless, sophisticated look with square edged wood flooring, but it requires an experienced fitter and a completely flat subfloor (especially if the boards are pre-finished). Any tiny height differences between the boards are more noticeable with square edged boards, and sanding is usually required before finishing them to get the sleekest finish.
Edge profiles at Chaunceys
At Chaunceys, we supply both micro bevelled and square edged boards. We offer micro bevelled boards as standard on all our pre-finished flooring.
Square edge boards can be prefinished too. However, we recommend for square-edged boards to be supplied unfinished and to be sanded and finished on-site. This will help you to achieve a superior finish.
Adding a texture to a square-edged board, such as heavy brushing or band sawing (or both), is another option. When brushed or cross sawn, a board’s edge profile will be distorted to create a less uniform edge; in a similar way to a micro bevelled edge profile, this will make any minor height variances less obvious.
