Wood flooring is available in a number of sizes and make-ups, and being a natural product, has a beauty all of it's own. Today's wood flooring is right for virtually every room. Choosing the right kind and style of wood flooring is not hard if you are familiar with several industry terms.

Solid wood flooring comes as either unfinished or pre-finished, and is produced in:
Strip - generally narrower and shorter lengths than floorboards in 21mm thickness and very cost effective.
Floorboards (plank) - A variety of widths from 100mm to 200mm. All flooring is tongue and grooved and available in 22mm or 14mm (as overlay) thicknesses.
Parquet - recognised by most people as being small pieces of wood (usually, but not always, hardwood) set out in a pattern as a floor. Parquet is usually laid over flexable subfloors such as joisted floors covered in boards or sheet material such as plywood or chipboard. Patterns may be as simple as plain batterns laid as a herringbone, basket weave, ship's deck, brick or dutch designs, see images on the right. Herringbone is perhaps the most traditional pattern in the UK, and can be laid in either single, double or triple block pattern designs. Herringbone is called 'fischgraat' in Northern Europe and 'parquet d'anglais' in France. Parquet, along with inlays (borders, medallions, other species of wood etc.) and other custom designs can give a wooden floor an elegant and exclusive look. Made up in a variety of sizes depending on the wood species, but for a traditional Oak Prime European block the size would be 230mm length, 70mm wide, 20mm thick.

• Prime/Classic - This is the highest grade of timber and would generally have the following characteristics:-

  The least variation in colour of any grade except for timbers where the mared colour variation is the main feature of the timber and adds to the beauty.

  The straightest gain and the least number of knots, burrs or character marks unless these are specific to the beauty of the wood.

• Character - This timer is selected to give more variations in colour and texture and will contain more knots, some being black. As before, the interpretation of the grade will vary from timber to timber with the following generalisations:-

  All natural colour variations e.g. a wide variation from white to dark brown in Elm and Ash, but in Oak there is less obvious variations from cream to dark brown. Colours from cream to dark brown are also in Cherry but with a predominance of rich auburn. Wild grain and occasional slight surface checks.

  A fair scattering of live, sound knots up to 30mm in diameter, burrs and other character marks and flashes of colour. Hardwood knots crack slightly during kiln drying but are otherwise sound. After initial sanding they can be filled with a mixture of resin and sawdust before sealing.

• Rustic - This timber is really a more pronounced version of the character grade with an increase in the size of knots and features allowed and some fall out from the higher grades because of slight machining defects. As a guideline a rustic grade may include:-

  Unlimited colour variation including some discoloration and mineral staining. Unlimited knots of all sizes and colours provided they are structural and sound. Cracked knots, which can be filled. Larger black knots, the odd small hole, and some surface cracks. All timber is structually sound but this grade may require some additional sanding.

All the above types and designs of flooring are finished with the highest quality hardwearing lacquer seals:- matt, satin or gloss. Finishes in wax oils are also available, as well as mouldings and underlays to put the finishing touches to any wood floor.

We recommend that the flooring is allowed to acclimatize for 10-14 days prior to fitting.

For further details please contact us for a FREE estimate on ALL your flooring needs.