Real Oak Floors now have available the Bona Novia wood flooring finish which is the replacement product for the Bona Spectra. The Bona Novia can be applied with any Bona waterbourne primer or used directly onto the wood for a warm colouration. For full product information and prices have a look at the Bona Novia page on the Real Oak Floors website.
Bona Novia
Wood flooring company Real Oak Floors now have available solid wenge flooring and solid zebrano flooring. Both of these hardwood floors have a 21mm thickness, are natural oiled and have a micro bevel. As always we are able to supply a range of wooden doors, skirting and architrave. If you require information on these or any of our products get in contact with our sales team by phone on 0844 848 6840 or by email sales@realoakfloors.co.uk
Zebrano Wood Flooring
Feb 19
Most people think of sports floors as the very large sports halls in schools, universities and in large sports
campuses. However they are much more popular than just large commercial floors and they have now been used regularly in people’s homes.
Sports floors are made from wood flooring but have additional support underneath to enable the floor to “spring” slightly which puts less strain on athletes bodies therefore counteracting injuries.
The undercarriages vary between the following:
Sports floors can also be used in conjunction with under floor heating to keep the room warm. Both the wet system and the electric system can be used – however more planning is required with the electric carbon mat system as it needs to be placed in between the battens.
Most sports floors are made from an engineered flooring board – this ensures there is less movement in the boards and they are not prone to cupping, warping or gapping creating additional hazards for the athletes.
There are still a lot of sports boards made from solid timber though which are suitable where underfloor heating is not being used.
Both types of floor are mounted on the undercarriages mentioned above and are available with various fixing systems.
Engineered floors can be manufactured in a quick and simple click system – enabling these wood floors to be laid without glue or nails – this way is a very quick method when time is a pressing issue.
Other engineered boards are tongue and groove, which need to be either glued on the edges or nailed to the battens to ensure good bonding.
Solid flooring can be laid on battens by nailing to the battens. The Junckers sports floor system on battens can be used with the Junckers Clip system which enables the boards to clip together using metal clips on the underside of the floor. This way the flooring can be laid quickly and easily with the clips as no gluing or nailing is required.
Junckers systems include the Junckers Unobat 50, Junckers Unobat 62, Junckers Duobat 110, Junckers Clip system and the portable floor which can be used for sports purposes. All the Junckers wood floors are solid floor but have been guaranteed for use with underfloor heating by Junckers.
Other branded sports floors include the Kahrs sports flooring – the activity floor with Kahrs Woodlock © system – All Kahrs wood floors are engineered. The Boen Sports floors range include – Boflex, Elastflex, Singleflex and Doubleflex. All the Boen wooden floors are engineered.
A lot of the solid sports floors come unfinished as strips ready to be nailed down and then sanded and finished on site. These floors are unbranded and any 20mm thick or larger strips can be used for sports floors.
A lot of sports floors used for football, basketball, netball and other specific sports are laid as unfinished wood floor as line markings need to be painted onto the court before the floors are sealed with a hard wearing lacquer / varnish which also comes with a non-slip finish for safety.
The most popular timber to be used as a sports floor is Maple, Beech and Oak. Maple and beech are both lighter in colour and work better with line markings however oak flooring is also used. Where the sports
floor will be used for barefoot sports or where children will be regularly using the floor oak is not recommended due to its splintering properties. As maple and beech do not splinter they can be used for all applications but there is too much danger of injury caused by splinters if oak is used with barefoot sports.
Sports floors have recently become popular in spare rooms used as a gym in residential homes. The prefinished sports flooring is ideal to be laid quickly and simply in a room and can then be used as a childs playroom or gymnasium. High impact exercise can then be performed without the risk of injury due to the sprung floor. It can also enhance the value of the home to have individual rooms fully prepared for a gymnasium.
Junckers Duobat
Winter is a harsh time for wood flooring. Solid boards can show signs of dryness from central heating by shrinking to allow small gaps appear between boards. However the worst element for wood floors is the wet from rain, slush, snow and damage from grit and salt.
Everyone loves the snow and to be honest it does not come around as often as it used to – but this month (Feb 2009) has shown us that the snow is still around for us to play in.
Your wood floors are not always as lucky – with constant soakings from wet slushy boots going in and out the boards have a high tendency to warp and gap. The damage caused by the grit and salt is endless – the grit can cause scratches and dents in the floor if walked into the house on boots and shoes, and the reaction in the wood from the salt can cause discolouration in the floor.
So, how can you look after your wood floor to stop this damage? We have listed some simple steps to protect your floor this winter:
Accessorising Your Wood Floors
You have just purchased your beautiful wood floor – it is now laid and looks fantastic. Now all you need is to accessorise the floor. The following suggestions will help you enhance your wooden floor.
1. Wood Doors
Change the interior doors to matching wooden doors. There are a large variety of wooden doors now available especially oak doors. There is a full range of veneered oak doors, walnut doors, cherry, beech, pine, pitch pine and white doors – almost any colour to match any wooden floor.
Bespoke doors are also available however these are more costly due to the individual manufacturing processes. The doors can complement a wood floor perfectly and come in a variety of finishes. A large number of oak doors are unfinished when purchased so they can be sealed to match the floor with either an oil or varnish – they can even be colour oiled to blend with a similar colour oiled floor. Oils are the most common finish for doors however varnish / lacquer is adequate. The majority of doors are veneered hardwood for both conservation and stability however there are a small number of solid wood doors available.
Most doors have an identical style in half hour rated fire doors which will pass all building regulations where 30 minute fire doors are required. A new line of supermodel doors also contain glazed fire doors which enable more flexibility with style and design. External doors also come in various timbers – usually veneered again for stability due to the high exposure to cold, heat and moisture. A new front door is a perfect finish to the front of your house.
Wood doors range in style from Victorian style, 1930s style to the modern and contemporary – there is a door style to suit all tastes, colours and styles.
2. Skirting, Architrave and Door casings
The best way to complement a new wood door is to accessorise with the matching door frame, architrave and skirting. There is a large range of door casings, architraves and skirtings available to complement the wood flooring and doors you have chosen in many styles and timbers.
The most popular is the oak – there are both engineered and solid door casings. There is very little difference between the solid and engineered casings however joiners will often specify the types preferred or there will be a preference due to location (ie. In below ground applications) There are two types of door casings – rebated door casings and door linings which come with a loose stop. They are both suitable for all types of doors however where a fire rated door casing is required there are ready made door casings with the
intumescent strip for the building regulations.
Architraves also come in both solid and engineered timber. Sizes vary from aprox 45mm – 90mm or wider depending on the application. A standard size is usually around 57mm for most houses dating from 1900’s. The style of architrave varies and matches most skirting board profiles. It is also possible to have architrave blocks – small squares on the corners – an older design now becoming popular once again. Styles of architrave include original designs such as torus, ogee and lambs tongue, plus other more contemporary styles such as pencil round (bullnose), chamfered and square edged.
Architraves are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors .
Skirtings can make your new floor look completely finished – they enhance the hardwood floors giving clean lines around the edges of the room – the floors look like they have been part of the home for some time. Once again, oak skirting is the most popular timber to blend with the oak floors.
Engineered and solid skirtings are available in numerous sizes. The engineered skirtings are veneered with a top layer of real wood and give the option of more types of timber such as walnut which is very rare in a solid skirting but more widely available in a veneer.
The standard sizes of skirtings range from 95mm to 220mm however the most popular ones are between 95 and 140mm. Often you will be guided by the size of skirting previously fitted as sockets and plaster will dictate the height. Styles of skirting match all the architrave styles – original designs like torus, ogee and lambs tongue along with contemporary designs such as square edge, bullnose (pencil round) and chamfered.
Skirtings are available unfinished, prefinished with oil, lacquer / varnish or colour oiled to match the flooring or doors. Oak skirtings have often been used to complement light coloured carpets as well as oak flooring to break up the room between light floors and light walls – this is often done in bedrooms where
people often want the comfort of carpet but with a hint of wood.
Window boards in the same timber as your floor will brighten up any window and make them look like new – as with the skirting, doors and architrave – the most popular ones are oak. The window boards can come in the original bullnose edging or with a square edge for a contemporary look.
The sizes of the window boards are available between 100mm – 350mm in both a solid board or veneered oak MDF board. The window sills are available unfinished or prefinished in a lacquer / varnish, oil or colour oil to complement the room.
These boards can also be used as stair cladding to clad over an existing staircase. The bullnose is perfect for the tread of the stair and square edge can be used for the riser – no need to rout out the existing overhang as the stairs can be packed first for the cladding to go over. A perfect accompaniment for all wooden floors.
We now have a wide range of door furniture on offer. This range covers everything you need for your wooden doors including polished door handles, door levers on rose and a range of clear door knobs with various styles. The range really does have something to suit every taste and there are evern more to come!
If these or any of our products interest you, get in contact with wood flooring specialist Real Oak Floors either by email at sales@realoakfloors.co.uk or by phone at 0844 848 6840.
Wood flooring company Real Oak Floors have just introduced a brand new range of rugs. These rugs are perfect to complement your new wooden flooring and they are available in so many different designs and styles that there is bound to be something to suit every home and everyone’s taste. They are available in a range of sizes and materials including 100% pure wool rugs with styles such as modern rugs, shaggy rugs. Have a look at our new rugs now.
Decadence rugs