One piece of timber, top to bottom
Solid Wood Flooring
Planks milled from a single piece of oak. The traditional choice, at its best in dry, stable rooms on a timber subfloor.
Solid wood flooring is exactly what it says: each plank is a single piece of oak, typically 18 mm thick, tongue and grooved and either nailed to a timber subfloor or glued to a prepared screed. It can be sanded back many times over a lifetime and has a weight and feel underfoot that nothing else quite matches.
The trade-off is movement. Solid timber takes on and gives up moisture with the seasons, so it needs a dry, stable room, proper acclimatisation before fitting and expansion gaps at the edges. It is not suitable for underfloor heating or for bathrooms and kitchens with a lot of water about. Where those conditions are right, solid oak is a floor for life. Where they are not, we will say so and show you an engineered board that gives the same look.
5 solid wood floors
Questions we are asked
- Can I have solid wood over underfloor heating?
- We do not recommend it. The heat dries the boards from underneath and they shrink and gap. Engineered oak gives the same surface with a stable base and is what we fit over heated floors.
- Why does solid wood need to acclimatise?
- The planks need to reach the moisture level of the room they will live in, or they move after fitting. We deliver them in advance and leave them in the room, and we check the subfloor with a moisture meter before laying anything.
Other ranges
Free measure and quote
Samples brought to your door
Tell us the rooms and roughly the size, and Chris will bring a selection of samples to your home so you can see them in your own light, against your own walls. Measuring and quoting are free.