Understanding Tongue and Groove Flooring: Benefits and History

A method of joining materials known as tongue and groove has been around for many years. This simple technique joins 2 boards along the seams which hold them together leaving some flexibility.

Tongue and groove is usually employed in conjunction with wood floorboards along with a variety of different materials wherever a good, solid seam is needed between separate pieces. Tongue and groove implies that every floorboard piece contains an extending tongue and a receiving groove side. The tongue and the groove run along the whole perimeter of the unit, on all four sides. One tongue fits firmly into the groove of the next board. The aim is to restrict vertical movement between connected boards while horizontal movement is allowed to a tiny degree since wood flooring can expand and contract.

The configuration has many advantages such as tongue and groove floors allow natural looking seams, requiring less nailing or gluing and with the correct coating, tongue and groove can even be water-tight to high degree. 

Created in the late 1800s, tongue and groove flooring took off as manufacturers started mass-production of interlocking hardwood boards that disposed of the requirement for uncovered nail heads. Tongue and groove innovation has extended to include different sorts of flooring as it remains the least complex way to get an astounding hardwood floor.

Although tongue and groove solid hardwood flooring will work, it should still be nailed to a sub-floor. Engineered tongue and groove planks come together to make a “floating” floor that’s not physically connected to the ground below. Engineered flooring comes with installation directions in each box of planks, however solid hardwood flooring, usually put in by flooring professionals, does not. If you propose to put in solid hardwood, it’s a good idea to first consult flooring experts.