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With a timeless charm and unmatched elegance, wood floors have been at the top of the renovation industry for decades. They come carrying all the favourable flooring qualities you’re looking for, like durability, resistance to damage, and easy maintenance.
However, the abundance of types and patterns can make your shopping journey a tall order. You have endless decisions to make, and not enough knowledge, and that’s why we’re here!
In this guide, we delve into the world of wood floors, leaving no stones unturned. We’ll tell you all you need to know about types, wood species, patterns, prices, and more, so keep on reading!
| Pros of Wood Flooring | |
| High Durability | Wood floors stand the test of time well and rarely show signs of wear. On average, they can last more than 30 years without needing replacement. |
| Warmth and Comfort | Unlike most hard floors, wood floors are warm and comfortable underfoot, resulting in a cosy aura all around your place. |
| Never Out of Style | Wood floors have been a trend for decades and are expected to stay that way for years to come. They never go out of style, so you won’t need to replace them to catch up with an ongoing trend. |
| Easy to Clean and Maintain | Regular vacuuming or sweeping with a dry mop is more than enough to keep your wood flooring looking all shiny and clean. |
| Steady Appearance | The look of wood flooring doesn’t change, no matter how many years it’s been there. Unlike other floors that fade, discolour, or scruff with age, wood floors maintain a steady appearance. |
| Cons of Wood Flooring | |
| Expensive | All natural floors cost more than synthetic floors, including wood, which is pricier than many choices on the market. |
| Susceptible to ScratchesSome species of wood flooring are scratched and dented easily, so you should put a protective rug over them or practice care while walking with heels. | |
| Susceptible to Water Damage | Wood absorbs water and keeps it inside till it causes damage, like rot or mould growth. It’s unsuitable for humid environments. |
Wood flooring comes in three main types that you’ll come across while shopping, engineered wood, solid wood, and reclaimed wood.
Engineered wood is made from a thin layer of hardwood stacked on top of one or more layers of plywood, boosting the floor’s durability and flexibility. It’s suitable for endless applications, given its versatile appearance and flexible nature. Whether you want it for a residential, commercial, or industrial property, you won’t be disappointed.
Solid wood flooring is made entirely of hardwood species, and since hardwood is stronger than plywood, it provides more strength and durability than engineered wood flooring. Because of this, it’s ideal for high-traffic rooms, like stairways, hallways, and living rooms. Since solid wood is more expensive than engineered wood, it’s most often used in residential properties.
Reclaimed wood is harvested from 100-year-old trestles, fences, timbers, and more. It’s an eco-friendly choice that depends on already-existent properties rather than cutting trees. Because of that, it’s rarer and more expensive than the other types. Reclaimed wood gives off a rustic appearance, perfect for cabins, countryside houses, and classical settings.
There are thousands of tree species used to make wood, which is then manufactured into floors. We’ve listed the most famous wood species used to make wood in this section!
Oak is a type of hardwood with a close and dense grain, giving it maximal strength and resistance to damage. It’s one of the most famous wood flooring types on the market, given the wide abundance of oak trees all around the world. Its stylish appearance makes it ideal for residential properties, but it isn’t as famous in commercial places.
Ashwood is made from a plant species with the same name, and it’s a famous choice for floors because it’s durable, resilient, and comfortable. Although it has a dense structure that boosts its strength, it’s softer underfoot than other hardwood types. Like oak flooring, ash flooring is best suited for residential places.
Maple wood flooring is made from hard maple trees, like sugar and black maple. It comes in light sandy hues with hardly visible grain, making for a polished and neat appearance that appeals to homeowners. With one of the densest wood structures in the world, maple flooring performs excellently in high-traffic places and is especially famous for bowling alleys.
Hickory flooring is made from a type of wood native to North America and famous for unrivalled strength and durability. It flaunts a rich wood character complemented by streaks of brown and red along its knotty grains. Because of its antique look, it’s highly admired among old-money homeowners and rarely used in non-residential properties.
Mahogany flooring is made from exotic wood species. It’s characterized by a rich natural appearance of reddish-brown shades that get darker with age, making it a favourite for houses. Because of its unique pocketless structure, mahogany flooring is highly resistant to water damage.
Teak flooring is made from a tropical wood species that strikes a perfect balance between elegance and practicality. In addition to bearing maximal durability and excellent resistance to scratches, it sports a rich grainy look complemented by streaks of golden brown. In terms of application, teak flooring is ideal for high-traffic houses with kids and pets.
Pine flooring is made from softwood trees, giving it remarkably less resistance to scratches and dents than other wood flooring types. However, it doesn’t disappoint in terms of durability and can last for generations. Because of these qualities, it’s best suited for mid and low-traffic rooms where it won’t show signs of wear fast.
Cork flooring is made from a type of tree called cork oak trees and is known for its exceptional absorbance of shocks and sounds. It parades a unique textured appearance, different from the usual grainy look of wood. Because of its resistance to fire and water, it’s famous for use in kitchens and humid environments.
Contrary to popular belief, bamboo flooring is made from grass, not wood, but it holds all the favourable hardwood qualities. It boasts high durability, can be refinished, and is resistant to insects. Because of its stylish appearance and timeless charm, it’s famous for use in residential properties, including mid and high-traffic rooms.
Wood floors come in a myriad of patterns and designs, but parquet remains one of the most famed and visually appealing.
Parquet is a unique pattern of flooring that resembles a mosaic of equally sized wood slats arranged in a geometric fashion. It’s most famous for use in residential properties because of its elegance, with minimal to no use in commercial places.
Parquet flooring can be laid in different patterns, most famously herringbone, chevron, and mixed horizontal or diagonal.
Herringbone is the most famous parquet pattern, and it’s considered by many to be the most classy. It’s characterised by a sophisticated geometric arrangement of wood tiles, as they’re laid diagonally to make repetitive V shapes. Manufacturers often use different shades of wood to accentuate the unique herringbone pattern.
At first glance, chevron parquet highly resembles herringbone parquet, but they’re not the same. While wood slats in a herringbone pattern look staggered because they’re interlocked, they’re seamlessly connected to a straight line in a chevron pattern. From above, chevron parquet looks sleeker and more organised, but it lacks the classy character of herringbone.
Mixed horizontal or diagonal patterns look more like tiles than standard parquet floors. They consist of equally sized squares, inside which wood slats are laid horizontally or diagonally. Because they flaunt a more modern appearance than other parquet patterns, they’re famous for use in contemporary interiors.
Most wood floors need to be finished after painting to boost their resistance to damage or enhance their appearance. But with the abundance of finishes on the market, which one should you go for?
Here’s a detailed rundown of the most famous finishes of wood flooring and their degrees of protection!
A natural-oiled finish is the right choice if you want to preserve the natural colour and grainy appearance of your wood flooring. It includes covering the floor with a layer of air-dried matt oil. While it protects it to some degree against stains and scratches, it performs poorly in case of UV damage.
UV-oiled finishes provide more protection against damage than natural-oiled because they’re treated with UV light, which hardens the oil. They preserve the naturally rich appearance of wood without adding any lustre, making for a matte finish.
A brushed and oiled finish preserves the grainy wood texture, making for a more natural and rustic appearance. It provides as much protection against damage as UV-oiled finishes and doesn’t give the floor any shine.
Lacquered finishes are available in both satin and matte, with the former carrying a more lustrous shine than the latter. They’re best known for protecting wood from sunlight damage or darkening and boosting its ability to resist scratches.
Hand-scraped finishes involve scraping each wood plank by hand to give it a unique, rough texture. They’re an ideal choice for concealing scratches and resisting damage, but they hold more dirt than smooth wood floors. Also, hand scraping is an expensive method because the planks are treated one by one.
Distressed wood is scratched in a specific way to give it a textured, battered look. It’s most famously associated with cabins and barns, considering its rustic appearance. While it conceals scratches and dents perfectly, it’s more challenging to clean and maintain than polished finishes.
Unfinished wood refers to a type of finish where the floor is finished after installation, not before. It’s challenging to deal with because, between installation and finishing, the floor is left exposed to dust and other damage factors, which can affect its appearance. That said, it’s favoured by many homeowners because it gives more flexibility in terms of choosing a colour.
Wood logs are cut at different angles to produce different patterns on the flooring boards. The most famous cutting angles are plain-sawn, quarter-sawn, rift-sawn, and live-sawn.
Plain or flat-sawn wood means that the log is cut into parallel boards from outside towards the centre from one side, then turned 90 degrees and cut again. The process is repeated till all four sides of the log are cut. Because of this straightforward cutting method, plain-sawn wood boards sport a cathedral-grainy look.
The quarter-sawn cut involves quartering the log into four pieces and then cutting parallel planks from each quarter. The tree’s annual growth rings show clearly on the board in a perpendicular fashion, accentuating the different shades of wood. This cut is more expensive than plain sawing and more resistant to water damage.
Rift sawing involves quartering the log, then cutting it into boards at 45 degrees from the centre towards the outside. The tree’s annual growth rings can be seen at 45-60 degrees, depending on where they were cut. Rift sawing includes a lot of waste, so it’s more expensive than plain and quarter sawing. However, it’s also the most stable and resistant to damage.
Live-sawn wood means that the log is cut horizontally or vertically without turning it at all, unlike the other cutting methods. It results in the annual growth rings showing fully across the boards at different angles, ranging from parallel to perpendicular. Live sawing leaves almost no waste behind and improves the stability of floors.
The abundance of wood flooring types, patterns, and colours make it a suitable choice for many settings. It’s most famously associated with the following properties:
Because of the perfect balance it strikes between elegance and durability, wood flooring is the most famous flooring choice among residential property owners. Here’s a quick list of rooms where you can install it:
Wood flooring gives off an aura of sophistication and elegance, making it an ideal fit for many business-related venues where looks are a priority. The following examples are where wood floors are used the most:
Since wood flooring is one of the most sought-after types of flooring, you’ll find an abundance of brands in the United Kingdom that sells it. Here’s a quick list of some names you can check out!
You should expect to pay anywhere from £20 to £70 per square metre, but the exact price depends on what type you buy. For example, oak and maple floors are among the reasonably affordable types, while teak and mahogany score higher prices.
Yes, you can. There are many low-budget wood flooring options available on the market, most famously pine. It’s the most affordable wood flooring you can find, with oak, maple, and bamboo following closely. The reason they come at reasonable prices is because their trees grow abundantly and quickly.
Yes, you can. Floors like teak and mahogany are on the high end of the market, with the former carrying a higher price tag than the latter. Other factors can also cost you more, like choosing solid wood instead of engineered wood or buying an expensive pattern like herringbone parquet.
The amount you’ll pay depends on how the floorers will charge you. Some charge by the hour, while some like to get paid per metre. If by the hour, you should expect to pay about £150-200 per each one. On the other hand, paying by area will cost you about £30-50 per square metre.
Wood flooring increases the value of your house in case of reselling, especially if it’s hardwood and looks as good as new.
The installation process of wood flooring can vary significantly according to the type you choose, the condition of your subfloor, and your budget. However, we’ll give you a general idea about what the contractor will do inside your house.
First, the flooring contractor will pull all your baseboards using a ply bar to leave room for the new floor. Then, they’ll add an underlayment layer, which can be cork, rubber, felt, or foam. It’s a necessary addition to protect your wooden floor from moisture damage and make it more comfortable underfoot, but some floor types don’t need it.
Most wood floors can’t be installed using adhesive, so your contractor will need to nail them to the ground unless they have interlocking designs. If they need to be nailed, your contractor will start with the straightest boards for the first couple of rows. Then, they’ll cut the rest of the boards to fit around corners, doorways, etc.
If your hardwood boards aren’t already finished, your contractor will add the extra protective layer on-site. You’ll get to choose your preferred colour and whether you want a satin or matte finish.
There are two steps you can do to get ready for installing wood flooring, measuring the room and letting the hardwood boards acclimate.
Before you buy your hardwood boards, you need to measure the room to know how many you’ll need. Also, you’ll need the measurements to buy the underlayment layer.
Hardwood contracts and expands at different temperatures, so you need to leave it in the room for a while before installing it. The flooring manufacturer will tell you how much time you need to leave it so that it can acclimate to the humidity and temperature inside your room.
Yes, while not all wood floors need an underlay, it’s a favourable addition because it improves the floor’s stability, durability, and resistance to water damage.
Yes, you need a pro to put in wood flooring. Considering most hardwood floors need to be nailed in and not adhered, installing them can be pretty challenging and intricate. Also, any mistake in the process will increase the floor’s susceptibility to water damage. You can try to DIY your floor installation process, but only if they’re floating tiles.
If you want to keep your wood flooring looking as good as new for the longest time possible, keep the following tips in mind!
If liquid spills are left on wooden floors to dry, they’ll have time to get absorbed inside the wood and cause damage. Ideally, you should clean any water-based spills right away using a clean cloth or sponge.
Refinishing your wood flooring every couple of years will keep it looking polished and clean. Also, it’ll extend its lifespan, as the finishing layer protects against various types of damage.
Wood floors are susceptible to scratches if you pull heavy furniture pieces across them. Also, some softwood types can dent from the heavyweight. To prevent these inconveniences, you should put foam pads under your furniture’s legs.
Cleaning wood floors in a proper way guarantees that they don’t show signs of wear and tear fast. Here are the steps you should follow!
We know it might sound unusual, but vacuuming hardwood floors is of utmost importance. It removes all the loose dust particles that might cause scratches if left there. Ideally, you should vacuum them once a week or more, depending on the foot traffic in the room.
Many chemicals on the market can damage your wood flooring, so you should only use specific wood cleaners. Use a mixture of cleaner and water to wipe the floor, but make sure to use a damp mop, not a wet one. After finishing, wipe the floor dry with a clean cloth to avoid leaving standing water on the wood for too long.
Wood flooring can last anywhere from 30 to 100 years, depending on the type of floor you choose, how properly you clean and maintain it, and the severity of foot traffic. For instance, solid wood lasts more than engineered wood, and high traffic causes floors to wear faster than low and mid-traffic.
Restoration is a fixing process that involves concealing signs of wear and tear on the floor, sanding and refinishing it, and refitting any improperly placed boards. It’s an alternative choice to replacing the entire floor if it’s not extensively damaged.
Renovation is similar to restoration, as it involves removing the finish of your floors and reapplying it to hide any signs of wear and tear. Some people also like to change the colour of their floors and add a different stain.
Yes, you can. Most types of wood flooring can be painted to give them a new look or hide any flaws as a result of use.
If you’re eco-conscious, you should think about how good wood flooring is for your property. Is it the right sustainable choice for you and your family? Or is it the wrong choice for the environment?
Yes, wood flooring is one of the best choices for the environment. Since it grows on trees, which regrow after cutting, you won’t be robbing the environment of any non-renewable sources. Also, wood is a recyclable material and has an exceedingly low environmental impact.
Wood flooring is an excellent choice for many families, but it depends on your living conditions. For instance, the presence of kids or pets inside your house can affect your purchasing decision.
Yes, wood flooring is a decent choice for pets, but it’s not the best, considering that they like to scratch using their nails. If you get wood flooring, make sure to add a protective layer that improves the floor’s resistance to scratches.
Yes, wood flooring is an ideal choice for kids because it’s non-toxic, durable, and easy to clean. No matter how much mess your little ones make, you can clean it in a few minutes.
Yes, wood flooring is an excellent choice for high traffic, especially solid wood types, considering their incredible durability and strength.
No, it isn’t. Wood absorbs water and never repels it, and once inside, it can cause damage, rotting, and mould growth. Some finishes can improve the floor’s resistance to water, but it’s never 100% waterproof, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
Wood effect flooring is a type of floor that mimics the natural and rustic appearance of wood but is made from synthetic materials. It combines the best of both worlds, as it sports the elegant aesthetic of wood and the enhanced water resistance and durability of synthetic materials.
Laminate wood flooring is made of a thin wood board, a fiberboard layer, a resin layer, and a printed image that resembles the appearance of wood. It provides the impeccable charm of natural wooden floors with the more affordable price of synthetic floors, making it a perfect option for limited budgets.
Luxury vinyl tiles are made from multiple layers of material to boost their durability and strength.
Wood effect LVTs are designed to look exactly like natural wood flooring but at lower prices and with improved resistance to water and scratches.
While LVTs are made from many layers, vinyl flooring is manufactured from a single layer with a protective coating and a printed design. Wood effect vinyl flooring consists of specific tiles or sheets that mimic the appearance of wood with the favourable resilience qualities of vinyl.
Wood floors have been the shining star of the renovation industry for years, and for good reason. They rule in terms of aesthetics, stand the test of time well, and come in a wide array of types and prices. When you decide to give them a try, our detailed guide will help you find the perfect choice for your property!
Also, if you want to fit or install new flooring, get in touch with us today!