• luxury top floor
• extremely resistant
• Range of beautiful finishes.
• Choice of widths to enhance your design

When people think of a “wood floor,” they often think of a solid wood floor, perhaps one they’ve seen in an old house or perhaps in a large hotel banquet room. There is no doubt that solid wood is the quintessential luxury floor. They have been a dominant feature in period homes for centuries, and homeowners and designers alike have wanted to take advantage of the traditional properties of a hardwood floor and combine it with a variety of styles, from traditional, country, ‘shabby chic’ and ultramodern.

What is a solid wood floor?

A solid wood floor is supplied as planks that are taken from a single piece of wood. Tree species typically used for flooring include oak, beech, maple and hickory and are available in a stunning range of colors from very pale to almost black. They come in a variety of widths and thicknesses that also have a stunning effect on the “look” of a room. Very narrow planks in a large room will give a very different result than wide planks in a smaller room, and vice versa.

Are they easy to install?

Unless you’re a very experienced person who’s comfortable dealing with advanced DIY projects, it’s almost certainly best to let the professionals lay a hardwood floor. A solid wood floor is a luxury product and when laid by a carpenter or joiner it will look stunning. However, it is a natural product and its characteristics must be taken into account. For example, planks of wood need to acclimatise in the room where they are to be used: real wood ‘moves’ depending on temperature and humidity. So your floor needs to accommodate your central heating habits, but it will also expand and contract depending on the weather. That’s why it’s important to leave an expansion gap around the outside edge of the flooring. Solid wood floors are generally laid with “secret nailing” or glued to the subfloor. Individual manufacturers often provide specific advice on fit.

How do you keep them?

A quality solid wood floor that is well cared for will last forever. And as their popularity has increased in recent years, manufacturers are making it easier for their floors to look good at first and keep their appearance. Wood needs to be ‘fed’ with oil, but most planks of wood are now pre-finished at the manufacturing stage.

Dirt, dust and sand are the main enemies of hardwood floors, grinding the surface underfoot and causing thousands of scratches, so regular brushing and vacuuming is essential. In fact, it’s best to try to ensure that as little dirt as possible gets into the house – place good quality mats outside and inside doors to try and keep this to a minimum.

Assuming that after a period of time the floor really gets dirty, you can use specialized wood soap cleaners that will remove the dirt from the surface. These are great and are used the same way you would scrub a tile or linoleum floor, but you should use water sparingly – too much water will soak into the floor and cause it to swell and possibly stain. you want!

Periodically (depending on the type of traffic you have in your rooms), a hardwood floor will benefit from being re-oiled. When the wood is ‘fed’ with oil, it will look like new again, which is one of the main advantages of a solid wood floor. Any damage can be sanded, stained, waxed and oiled and it will return to its original state again. A solid wood floor is an investment you won’t regret. Enjoy!