Discolouration and deformations of birch parquet boards during conventional drying

As a light coloured and relatively hard species of wood, birch is much in demand for wooden floors in Scandinavia. The problem with birch wood is that it easily becomes discoloured during conventional drying. Visual sorting by colour is impossible before the boards are processed into parquet blocks because the discolouration, except for yellowing of the surface, occurs inside the board. In addition to discolouration, harmful deformations occur in birch boards during drying. Colour changes and deformations were compared in birch parquet boards dried according to three different schedules. Received 16 April 1999