Salisbury Hardwood Flooring

Tel. 0845 603 2486

	Home
	About Us
	Wood Floors
	Designs
	Alloc Commercial Floors
	Sports Floors
	Waterproof
	Renovation
	Care and Maintenance
	Contact Us

Wood Floors - Types and Suitability

Selecting a hardwood or laminate floor

Selecting a new hardwood or laminate floor can be a confusing process, there are thousands of options and as a hardwood floor will be with you for many years your choice today is an important one.

In the next sections we will try to guide you through the maze of choices, styles, finishes and terminology. If you are still confused, please contact us and one of technical team will be happy to help. Click here if you are interested in sports flooring.

What type of wood flooring is available?

For simplicity we have listed all the flooring types that are typically suitable for installation in the UK. As you follow the step-by-step selection process you may have more questions, which we will be happy to answer either by phone or email.

Laminate flooring

Description:	A "woodless" wood floor. Laminate flooring is a wood pattern (photograph/print) bonded to either HDF or chipboard.
Construction/Styles:	Typically 8.5mm in thickness and approximately 190mm wide in various lengths. A wide range of colour choices including oak, maple, beech and cherry.
How is it installed?:	The planks are simply laid over a foam underlay and nowadays are a clic system. Much is made of the versatility of the clic system in that it can be removed if you want to move house and take it with you. In reality this is not practical, as boards will have been cut to fit around doorframes and fireplaces; these boards cannot be reused.
Where can it be fitted?:	Over any level dry sub-floor, but use caution if you are planning an installation in a "wet" area, bathrooms etc. If introduced to moisture the boards will warp and the pattern will simply chip away from the core.
Price:	Between £10 and £28 per squaremetre for good quality
Why buy?:	Its price and resistance to surface scratching.
Why not?:	It can look very plasticy and artificial, although the more expensive laminates look very similar to wood.
DIY:	A good diy choice as they are clic together laminates they don't require any glue. The photograph of the wood on the surface of the laminate can chip during installation if knocked.

Engineered wood or Structured

Description:	A solid wood veneer bonded to two layers of softwood.
Construction/Styles:	Between 8.5mm and 22mm in thickness and from 140mm to 190mm wide. The thicker the board the deeper the hardwood veneer. The popular thickness is 14mm/15mm which have a 4mm hardwood veneer. A very wide range of species/colours including oak, maple, beech, cherry and walnut.
How is it installed?:	The boards are laid over a foam underlay and then glued together. Or use the new clic systems
Where can it be fitted?:	Over any level dry sub-floor. The 22mm options can be laid directly onto joists and make a structural floor. Use caution in "wet" areas.
Price:	Between £15 and £70 per square metre.
Why buy?:	Its appearance and ease of installation. A 15mm option will last over 50 years if cared for. Most of the engineered floors can be re-sanded and sealed if required.
Why not?:	This type of floor is often installed over poor sub-floors and will fail fairly quickly. Be prepared for scratches and chips if barrier matting is not used.
DIY:	A competent diy'er should have no problem installing this kind of flooring. All good products carry comprehensive fitting instructions.

Solid wood

Description:	As the name suggests, a solid hardwood plank. Think traditional floorboards.
Construction/Styles:	Between 10mm and 22mm in thickness, widths between 57mm and 2000mm. Almost every conceivable species available from oak to bamboo. Solid wood comes un-finished (requires sanding & sealing) and factory pre-finished.
How is it installed?:	There are three fixings methods glue, nail and clip. As these methods are very different in their approach please see the section below which describes these methods in detail.
Where can it be fitted?:	In almost all locations, if fitted in wet areas careful sealing should take place.
Price:	Between £25 and £90 per square metre
Why buy:	Beautiful and traditional, a good quality floor will last 200 years plus.
Why not:	Prices can be high and installation can be a problem (see fittings methods).
DIY:	We don't suggest installing this kind of flooring unless you are a competent carpenter and have a good knowledge of flooring types.

Solid wood installation methods

The industry has seen many changes in the approach to installing solid hardwood. There are many recorded cases of incorrect installation methods, which in many cases have led to expensive repair bills.

If you are planning to have a solid wood floor installed we suggest either calling or emailing our technical team so we can guide you to the correct product, which will suit your needs and requirements.

Method 1 (Nailing)

SH flooring This has been the method used for 100's of years and in our view probably still the safest. As most solid wood is used for structural flooring (over joists) this method of nailing is very simple. The nails are fixed through the tongue of the board and then when the next board is fitted it covers the nail head, thus you have invisible fixings or secret nailing. The nailing method can also be used if you are installing over a concrete sub-floor. Firstly you must install battens, plywood or chipboard over the concrete and then the secret nailing process can take place. Please remember that your battens, plywood or chipboard needs to be at least 18mm in thickness.

Method 2 (Clipping)

This method should not be confused with laminate clip/snap systems. Laminate flooring stays together because the profile of the tongue and groove locks the boards together. Solid wood clip systems use a metal "spring" clip that fits into a channel that is cut into the underside of the board during the milling process. Although the process of installing the clips into the boards is quite simple, in reality only a few wood manufacturers offer this particular installation system.

SH flooring

Because the boards are held together and not attached to the sub-floor this system could be termed as "floating". If you want a solid floor but have a concrete sub-floor then this is probably the best system for you. Because a foam underlay is also installed, the floor feels "softer" and less impact sound is generated (useful if installing in flats etc.).

SH flooring

Method 3 (Gluing)

Gluing boards directly to a sub-floor is not a new process. Traditional parquet floors (wood block) have used this method - instead of glue hot bitumen was used to bond the blocks to the sub-floor. Today glue is used but the installation process is the same. When gluing loorboards you must make sure the sub-floor is dry. A liquid DPM must be used. You must also ensure that the sub-floor is very level and that the wood has been milled very accurately. If there are curves in the longer boards it can be very difficult to stop unsightly gaps.

Our experience of the silent layer gluing process is by far the best system The primary problem has been the width of the individual planks. We suggest that if the boards are over 190mm wide you should never glue them, they will need a nail . In short we always like installing using this method.