: Why are hardwood floors so expensive?
: If taken care of, hardwood floors can last a lifetime with proper cleaning, felt pads on furniture, and recoats every so often when required. Hardwood floors also help you add equity and value to your home whilst providing the ‘wow factor’ wherever fitted. A high quality oak floor should be considered as an investment not just a purchase.

: Why should I fit wood floors?
: Since you are reading this, you probably don’t need to be reminded how beautiful wood is - with its warm colours, richness of grain, healthy sheen.

But wood floors are not only beautiful; they’re healthy, hardwearing and warm (wood is a natural insulator), whilst being simple to keep clean. This is obviously an advantage for people who suffer from allergies.

A wood floor can make a room seem bigger, lighter and more impressive - all factors that can give a house character and, according to estate agents, make it more valuable and saleable.

: Why are wood floors healthier?
: Wood is a natural material and wood oils often have strong anti-bacterial properties. Wood floors, unlike carpets, do not trap and accumulate concentrations of harmful chemicals and fumes, nor do they become homes for unpleasant parasites and dust-mites.

Some environmental bodies recommend that in the interests of family health, consumers should seriously consider switching from carpet to wood floors because all carpets harbour microscopic dust-mites, whose dung when breathed in has been shown to aggravate asthma and to trigger allergies.

Estimates place the number of dust mites in one square metre of typical British household carpet at between 10,000 to 100,000. It may not be nice to imagine but carpets also contain pet allergens, faeces and urine, flea and lice eggs, traces of excreta trodden in from the garden, and high concentrations of toxic dust.

A house with wooden floors and rugs will contain only a tenth as much dust as a carpeted house.

: How long will my wood floor last?
: Correctly fitted and maintained a solid or engineered oak floor will last a lifetime, but correct fitting and adequate maintenance is crucial.
That said, be careful when buying engineered oak flooring because some companies promote a board with a very thin wear layer of oak, so reducing its lifespan.
If your budget allows, try to buy a product with at least 4mm of oak as a wear layer.

: Are 'laminated' floors made of real wood?
: Most floors calling themselves 'laminated' are just photographs of wood grain on plastic, mounted on MDF. Confusion can sometimes arise with real wood Engineered floors, which have a top layer of real hardwood - a method of construction sometimes called laminated because it is constructed in layers. If you want a real wood floor, be careful that you're not just buying a photograph of one. The difference isn't always obvious, but it can be a costly mistake.

: But aren't laminated floors cheaper than real wood?
: Laminate floors (not to be confused with Engineered flooring) may cost less initially than real wood floors, but they will not last anywhere near as long and can be easily damaged. A laminate floor has a top layer that is not of real wood, but of plastic imprinted with a photographic image of wood grain. It will fade in the light and whereas it has quite a strong scratch resistance, it is non-repairable if a scratch does happen. A real wood floor, whether solid or engineered, can be sanded and sealed.

Plastic laminates are mounted on MDF and/or HDF board made of compressed wood fibres. No glue is applied. If exposed to humidity, fibreboard will expand and will not revert to its original flatness once it dries out (which a wood floor will do in most situations). Also, please realise that buying a real hardwood floor may only cost you as little as 20-25% more than a laminate floor.

: What are oiled, brushed & oiled, and lacquered finishes? Which should I choose?
: Most wood floors sold in Britain either have a lacquered finish or an oiled finish. Lacquer gives the floor a shiny, glossy finish, which is smooth, hard-wearing and easy to keep clean.

Oiled floors are becoming very popular here in the UK, most being sealed with a mixture of wood-oil and wax (waxoil). The effect is a more subtle sheen than the high gloss of lacquered or varnished floors, whilst being easier to maintain because the oil does not 'sit on' the surface in the same way.

Please refer to our ‘Finishes Available’ section within the page links for more details.

: Is an oiled floor harder work than a lacquered floor to maintain?
: Although oiled floors will not attract dirt and are easy to clean in the same way as a lacquered floor, they will need to be re-oiled occasionally, and a waxed floor will need to be waxed. This however does not take long and need not be done more than once a year under normal use and wear.
The big advantage with oiled floors is it can look like a new floor forever. If you have a scratch you can sand it away with a small piece of sandpaper and apply new oil. With a lacquered floor you would need to sand and lacquer the whole floor.

: What types of wood floors are best for kitchens, bathrooms and conservatories?
: We will always recommend engineered oak flooring for these areas because it 'behaves itself' a lot more than solid oak.
Having said that, most situations like these do still require ongoing maintenance to ensure your floor's stability and performance.

: Will my wood floor change colour after it is laid?
: Most woods will darken as they age; becoming deeper and richer as they react to natural light. The extent of the contrast within the boards will be determined by the grade of floor chosen, with rustic floors developing the greatest contrast.

It must always be remembered that a real wood floor is a natural product and it will react/respond to varying conditions as should be expected.

: Can I still have under floor heating with an Oak floor?
: The answer is yes, but if a room has under floor heating, it is vitally important that it be properly acclimatised and installed to allow for the extreme heat variations.

We always recommend that our Engineered Oak board is used and never advise for the use of solid. Please refer to our UFH Fitting Guidelines for correct procedures.

We recommend our Self Regulating UFH system for use with Oak Flooring because it can never overheat.

: How do I maintain my wood floor?
: Please see our Care & Maintenance section.
The best maintenance is prevention, so make sure you protect your new floor from furniture scratches by applying our self-adhesive felt pads immediately after installation, or preferably before!

: What about maintaining an oiled floor?
: Oiled floors will need to be re-oiled, about once every 12-18 months, depending on the wear it receives. Even though this sounds like a lot of hassle to go through, it’s a very simple process and you can do it yourself if you’re worried about cost.

Our prefinished oiled flooring is finished with multiple coats of Waxoil, applied in varying thicknesses, so as long as a compatible oil is used again for any maintenance or repairs, the finish will blend in fine.

: When will my lacquered floor need attention?
: It depends totally on the amount of wear it gets. With normal wear a lacquered Oak floor should maintain its brilliant gloss for several years. All Oak hardwood floors, including Engineered floors, have sufficient thickness of real wood to permit re-sanding and re-lacquering several times in the lifetime of the floor. Not meaning to be rude but the liklihood is that it will outlast you.

: How do I repair a scratch?
: With an oiled floor, just take a bit of sandpaper and gently rub away the scratch until it has disappeared. Then apply oil and allow it to sink in. Buff it gently and that’s it.

A lacquered floor will need to be completely sanded and re-lacquered, as it cannot be done in small patches. Some say that scratches and normal wear add to the character of the floor over time anyway.

: How much oak do I need?
: Most oak is sold in M2 quantities, so simply measure your room in metres and multiply the length by the width to get the area in M2. If your room is not square add up the area in square sections as best you can and then total them up.

Once you have your overall amount add 6-8% for wastage and cutting in the fitting process (depending on shape and amount of cutting required).
You can then convert your quantity to the nearest number of full cartons by checking the sizes on this website or by simply entering them into our pack calculator.

Please be warned that if your wood is not end matched like ours (tongue and groove on all four sides) your fitter’s wastage will be considerably higher.

: How do I fix my Oak floor down?
: Please refer to our full Fitting Guidelines for the various ways of installation suitable for each type of Oak floor.

We are not in a position to advise you as accurately as your fitter can, so you should take his or her advice on this important matter.

: Can I join the floor to my skirting board?
: Please refer to our full Fitting Guidelines for the various ways of installation suitable for each type of Oak floor.

An oak floor is an organic product and your floor will move and expand when subjected to temperature and humidity changes, so when it’s fitted there should be an expansion gap left around the floor edge, preferably covered with skirting board.
In a renovation, the old skirting will ideally be removed before being replaced to cover the gap. If you don’t want to remove it you can cover the expansion gap with a decorative bead like our oak scotia.

: Is your Oak Chinese? I’ve been told that it’s not as good as European or American.
: No, it is manufactured in China but the Oak comes from sustainable sources from various different countries, including Russia, Germany, Holland and France.

We are proud of the quality we supply, so much so that we’re the only company in the UK to offer a full Lifetime Quality Guarantee.
Before becoming an importer, we visited 34 different factories before settling with the one we did, and the whole reason was their quality control standards, which are much better than ours in the UK!

Yes there are some Chinese companies that supply poor quality flooring to UK companies who then simply ‘shovel’ it out the door to any unsuspecting customer but that’s not us. We would not last long in business with that attitude would we?

Obviously we would prefer to manufacture everything within the UK but that’s just not feasible within our marketplace to make us as competitive as we are.

: I want long length Solid Oak and yours is only 300mm to 1800mm. Why?
: We have no control over how an oak tree grows and the features/grain pattern/knots that appear within it, which means that to supply the high quality we do, we must select and grade everything before machining and producing our stock.

You’ll notice that the vast majority of other oak flooring suppliers that offer ‘long’ length oak either supply what they call ‘Rustic’ or ‘Character’ oak (this usually means anything goes with regards the grade and selection process). Or the flooring they supply is only T&G on the sides and not the ends.

We supply a 25% mix of each grade (A, B, C, and D) to achieve a natural appearance of oak when your floor is installed, and we’re open and honest about that rather than trying to hide behind a name that we’ve made up ourselves.

We could supply longer lengths but your floor would be either full of massive knots and vastly different shades with lots of sapwood content, or it would cost twice as much.
Next time you pass an oak tree, take a look at it in some detail and imagine trying to cut long length planks from it. That will explain things more easily.

NB – We can supply longer length oak flooring machined from American White Oak up to 4.8m but it will be supplied as unfinished only and only have T&G sides as mentioned above. If this interests you, please contact us for more details.

: How long do I need to store the flooring in the room before I install it?
: This is difficult to answer because every situation is different. All we can advise is that the room where the flooring is to be installed needs to be dry before the flooring is even introduced into it (as dry as it will be when lived in).

Then the flooring should be stored in that room until it reached equilibrium with it (in other words, until the flooring and the room have equal and consistent moisture content, so that the flooring does not start drying out or taking on more moisture after installation).

Many fitters will say 7-10 days is sufficient but that’s not always the case. A moisture meter should be used to confirm levels of moisture and humidity before any installation commences.
See the 'Acclimatisation' page on this website for more info.

: How long does it take for you to deliver my new flooring?
: Normal delivery is 4-5 days from order and cleared payment. We can also offer Next Day delivery in some situations but if you are a fitter, or you’re working with a tight schedule, always check availability before committing.

: Why can’t you guarantee your Engineered flooring over Underfloor Heating?
: The reason is because if anything goes wrong due to incorrect installation or acclimatisation, we cannot prove that the floor wasn’t fitted as our recommendations. What that means is that because flooring that’s fitted over UFH is subjected to extreme variances in heat, there are special guidelines for preparation and installation, as well as ongoing maintenance of the surrounding conditions. This involves having the UFH system running for at least 7 days prior to the flooring being stored in that room, the flooring then being stored for at least another 7 days, and then the heating being turned off before installation begins. After installation, the heating should then be turned back on and increased by 2 degree increments up to 26 degrees, and then back down again. As you can imagine, not only is it difficult for us to convince fitters to do this during their hectic work schedule but it’s also impossible to prove that they didn’t do it if the floor starts to defect after a few weeks or months.

Rather than risk facing claims for floors that were not fitted properly in the first place, we prefer to be honest and up-front about the situation.
Having said all that, as long as the guidelines are followed, your floor will perform properly with no problems whatsoever.

We recommend our Self-Regulating UFH system for use with oak flooring, so please contact us for more details or go to the UFH Page on this website.

: I want a darker Brushed & Oiled board than your Natural Oiled but not as dark as your Double Brushed & Dark Oiled?
: There are literally hundreds of different finishes and colours available, which is one of the reasons we stock the Natural Oiled only. This finish enables you to have a high quality pre-finished board that you can then apply another coat of Waxoil on to, to achieve your desired colour and shade.
It’s like starting with a blank canvas because the Natural Oil does not colour the oak at all, so any colour waxoil can be applied onto it to achieve whatever shade you want.

It’s always best to check that the new oil is compatible first by ‘testing’ on a small area before committing to covering the whole floor.

: Why don’t you supply Solid Oak wider than 150mm?
: In our opinion, anything wider than 150mm in Solid is more likely to ‘cup’ or distort after installation. After all, it is a natural product and always wants to move or soak up any excess moisture. Not only that but anything wider than 150mm we advise face-fixing, which involves much more work and becomes more expensive and time-consuming to fit.

If you want a wider board, just look at our Engineered Oak. It looks like Solid when fitted but ‘behaves itself’ a lot better! The 21mm Engineered will also give you as much lifespan as an 18mm solid oak.

: What does ‘Brushed’ mean?
: When you have a ‘Brushed’ product, the surface will be textured because the brushing process takes out the softer fibres on the face of the oak before being finished. This enhances the grain and ‘shows off’ the character and features of natural oak, whilst reducing the appearance of any scratches on the surface that happen over time.

: Why are your Engineered boards plywood backed? I’ve seen some other samples that have a softwood backing. What’s the difference?
: In our opinion, and that of many experts’ too, the plywood backed boards are much stronger. They provide much more stability and strength after installation than the softwood core product because of the many layers of ply that all run in an opposite direction to the next.

Our 21mm is of structural grade and so can be fixed directly to floor joists at 400 centres, whereas the softwood or MDF backed boards cannot.
The plywood backed boards are also suitable for secret nailing (15mm & 21mm) because of that extra strength.
When you secret nail a softwood core board you’ll see the difference, if not immediately, some months after, when the floor begins to creak because the softwood has allowed the fixings to work lose.

: Which installation method is best?
: The best method of installation for your new floor will depend on the type of product you have chosen, where the flooring is going to be fitted, and the type of subfloor you have. Rather than us try to advise you over the telephone, it's much better to take the advice of your fitter who can assess the situation more accurately.

: What type of wood floor is best with radiant heating systems (UFH)?
: The best flooring for installation above radiant heat systems is the plywood backed engineered plank flooring. Being manufactured with a laminated construction (not to be confused with laminate!) makes them more dimensionally stable and less susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity. Having said that, the fact is that it's still a natural product and it must be appreciated as being one and expected to react/respond as one.
Correct acclimatisation, installation, and ongoing maintenance is very important to successful performance of any floor above a heat system.

: Is it cost effective to choose oak flooring over less costly floor coverings available?
: A resounding YES! Not only does oak flooring add to the value of your home and make it more saleable should you ever want to move, but it is extremely durable and long-lasting. When the lifespan of oak flooring is compared with other floor covering products, the value for money becoames more obvious. Also, should you ever want to change the decor of your home, oak flooring will compliment any style or colour you may choose.

: I'm concerned about the environment and feel I shouldn't be buying an oak floor.
: Please understand that wood is the only naturally renewable building material and far less energy is consumed in timber production, processing and disposal than for any other construction material. (It takes 5 times more energy to produce 1 tonne of cement!)
Not only that but young trees absorb more carbon dioxide than mature ones, so harvesting and replacing them with new trees actually improves the environment.

: My floor is cracking and splitting - why?
: In simple terms; it's drying out too much. The only reason for any natural hygroscopic (water absorbent) material to change in structure or dimensions, is that it's either losing or gaining moisture.
If you floor is starting to split then it needs to 'take on' moisture, so the use of a humidifier unit is needed to bring the relative humidity up to at least 40%.

: Your website says that I must monitor and control the humidity in my home - why should I do this and why do I need to?
: The size and dimensions of any piece of timber (oak or otherwise) is determined and directly propotional to the moisture content of that piece of timber, so if the relative humidity surrounding your floor is allowed to become too low, that will force your flooring to lose moisture and shrink.
When it shrinks, it will either crack, split or fail in some other way. This is not a product fault but a fault of the floor owner for not controlling the conditions.
A simple analogy; if you bought a Ferrari car and didn't maintain the oil level in the engine... when the engine seized up would you blame the Ferrari garage?

: How can I measure the humidity within my home?
: You need to buy a Thermo-Hygrometer, which will provide you with the temperature and the relative humidity at all times, so that when either become too high or low, you can implement the necessary changes to keep your floor at a constant moisture level.

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for the beautiful wooden floor you have provided. I fitted it over the weekend and have just given it a thin coat of hard waxoil and it looks amazing. I didn't have to reject any of the boards and the majority were full length and they all fit together pe...

Nigel - North Tyneside

Finishes Available

Brushed & Natural Oiled

Lacquered

Twice Brushed & Dark Oiled

Celtic Character Rustic

Unfinished

Hand Scraped

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