Anisotropic
Describes a material whose properties differ by direction — in wood, movement across the grain is significant while movement along it is minimal.
Wood does not expand and contract equally in all directions. Length change is minimal; width change is significant and cumulative across a floor. Twenty boards each moving a fraction of a millimetre becomes a visible dimension at the wall.
This is why expansion gaps run around the perimeter and around every fixed object, and why the width of a floor is where movement has to be planned for rather than the length.
Related
Terms this one depends on
- HygroscopicDescribes a material that exchanges moisture with the surrounding air continuously, rather than reaching a fixed state.
- Expansion gapDeliberate clearance left at walls and at every fixed object so the floor has somewhere to go when it expands.
- Seasonal gappingVisible gaps that open between boards as the floor contracts, typically in a dry Toronto winter.
Provenance
Where this definition comes from
Framework pillars this term is material to
If you are dealing with this on a real floor: floor restoration, or get a fixed written price after a measure.
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