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New Massif Flooring Rage Including a Cool Swatch

admin — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:12:44 +0000

Extra Wide Oak Flooring – Engineered

Suppliers of the widest oak boards in the Uk. You can have them unfinished, brushed and oiled, lacquered, smoked and oiled, rough sawn, distressed, select, rustic and prime grade

Prime grade: Completely free on knots
Select grade: Less Knots than rustic
Rustic grade: Quite a few knots.

All bevelled edges and plenty of colours to choose from.

Boards are available in 280mm, 300mm and 320mm (380mm and 400mm are available by giving us a call). All are 19mm thick as standard but are available in 16mm and 20.5mm and the lenghts range from 1.8m – 2.45m.

Oiled Collection

Distressed & Oiled

Smoked & Oiled

Unfinished Oak Boards

Lacquered Oak Boards

Rough Sawn (finished)

Looking After Your Hardwood Flooring

admin — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:58:44 +0000

Here is a great post about taking care of you hardwood oak flooring. The tips included are really good and suggest the most important things when looking after your flooring.

The guide includes:

sun exposure
moving furniture
repairing finishes
etc

A very good read if you have time

All About Parquet Flooring Options

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:27:54 +0000

Parquet flooring has come a long way in the last 5 years. Homes are once again embracing parquet floors by either ripping up the old carpets covering original parquet and restoring the floor or fitting new parquet floor in their homes. Parquetry and Marquetry are often mistaken for each other. Parquetry is the use of flooring (possibly oak flooring) which is entirely geometrical and angular such as squares, rectangles, triangles etc. Marquetry is the name referred to curved patterns ie. flower shapes and natural shapes. Marquetry is a very specialised profession which takes a great deal of time to ensure the correct precision of the finished piece. Parquet has been used regularly in the past for creating patterns on furniture and for flooring. Marquetry in flooring is also used to create centrepieces and are often found in grand houses in the entrance halls. Solid parquet has long been the traditional floor – coming in different thicknesses of 8mm, 10mm, 15mm and 20mm thick depending on the usage and height restrictions. The 10mm thick parquet is known as parquet battens (or battons) and do not come tongue and grooved, where as the 15mm and 20mm thick parquet are known as parquet blocks and come with tongue and grooves along the long edges and ends matching at the ends to facilitate laying. Industrial parquet is made of very small pieces of flooring – usually around 20mm thick, 20mm wide and 160mm long. These small pieces are placed together like a tile with tape wrapped round them for easy laying. These are very stable as the timber is placed sideways so movement does not occur. Industrial parquet got its name due to its robust applications but can also be used in domestic properties. Parquet floors are very stable and hard wearing as the pieces are so small that the movement is kept to a minimum. Solid parquet has traditionally been fitted onto bitumen to hold in place, however modern fitting is done using wood flooring adhesive. Solid parquet must always be glued down to the subfloor . The flooring is laid in an unfinished state, then it is filled and sanded before being sealed with either an oil, wax or lacquer (varnish). Recently, engineered parquet has become available which enables the floors to be laid using the floating method – gluing the tongue and grooves and fitting over an underlay. These floors are available in various thicknesses from 15mm to 20mm and can also come prefinished and bevelled if required. This can make fitting a parquet floor almost as quick as laying a normal floor, and can eliminate the hassle of having to sand the floor and create dust in the property. Solid parquet comes unbevelled and unfinished due to the requirement of sanding once laid. Parquet floors are available in various sizes. In the solid parquet the standard sizes are around 70mm wide and 300mm long. This size is very common in solid parquet blocks and battens. Recently, larger parquet floors have become available with each plank being almost the same size as a standard plank floor – around 120mm wide and up to 1m long. This is best appreciated in large properties as the size of each plank is sometimes too large to see the pattern. Oak parquet is by far the most common species of parquet, however maple, beech, pine and walnut are also commonly used. When using 2 or more species of parquet to create contrasting colours oak, maple, walnut and wenge are often used to create a very subtle colour variation. Industrial parquet is mostly available in oak, smoked oak, wenge, beech and thermo treated beech. Sports halls have often used paler wood species such as pine, maple, beech and occasionally oak – school halls are regularly seen with parquet floors made of pine, beech or maple. Parquet flooring is unique due to the huge choice of styles in which the parquet can be laid. The most popular pattern is the herringbone, which consists of the pieces laid 90 degrees to each other. Basket weave pattern is also popular. Chevron or Hungarian point is becoming more popular due to the increased availability of this pattern from Europe. Parquet tiles have very intricate and individual patterns to create a fantastic patterned flooring – these tiles are available unfinished or prefinished and create more interesting patterns for the floor. The most popular style of parquet tiles is the Versailles pattern, used originally in France to go over the stone flooring. Check it out, we love parquet and oak flooring

Introducing our new Wide Oak Floorboards – the Massif Range

admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:04:08 +0000

The new Massif Flooring collection is a range of exlusive wide plank engineered oak floors. This extra wide oak flooring is a fantastic collection of European Oak floor boards, with a choice of width, thickness and finish. Like a number of our ranges, the final touch is decided by you. The plank widths start at 240mm and can be made up to an extra wide 400mm! These wide oak boards look fantastic in any home or business and create an exclusive look which is rarely seen in the UK.

As we are working with the manufacturers of the wide wood floors, we can offer a choice of sizes that can be made to order.

We can also offer a large range of finishes for your floor – whether you want an aged and distressed oak floor to give you an original reclaimed oak floor look, or a pristine smooth lacquer to give a contemporary, clean lines feel to the floor – all are available in any size. Board widths available are 240mm, 260mm, 280mm, 300mm and 320mm. 380mm and 400mm width planks are made to order. The floor thicknesses are available in 16mm (4mm top layer), 19mm (4mm top layer) and 20.5mm (5.5mm top layer).

All boards are suitable for underfloor heating, we also can supply matching skirtings, mouldings and floor profiles to match to create that finished look.

The standard floor boards come microbevelled, with finishes including natural oiled, colour oiled, lacquered, distressed and aged – even smoked and rough sawn are available. This new range of beautiful wooden floor boards must be seen to be believed.

Real Oak Floors Financing Option

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:12:29 +0000

Real Oak Floors are now offering financing options to customers. You can borrow anything between £500 – £15,000* (unsecured) and £3000 – £50,000* (secured) pay that back over a period of 12 – 60 months.

You can select to apply for financing from the shopping cart and apply online. Once approved** you loan will be confirmed and your order will be processed.

You can view the different options and rates here

If you do not satisfy the lenders criteria all is not lost, you can use a guarantor which may enable you to still get the funds.

Way2Pay

Real Oak Floors offers special finance options for customers who would prefer to spread out their payment for larger orders. Real Oak Floor’s online finance – in association with Way2Pay – is the convenient way to get your hands on the flooring you want today without breaking the bank! Our online finance options enable you to spread the cost of your purchases over a time frame that suits your budget, and at very reasonable rates of interest.

HOW TO APPLY

Just select the financing option on the shopping basket checkout and fill in your details, alternatively just call us on 0844 8486840 to place your order and pay a deposit. Way2Pay will discuss your options with you, and once you have agreed on a plan and your application is accepted we will get your order underway!

If you would like to check your options or apply for finance before placing your order with Real Oak Floors, call Way2Pay on 0844 3350355 for an instant decision, quoting our retailer code 1540.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that in order to apply for finance with Way2Pay you must:
• Be aged 18 or over
• Be a permanent UK resident (minimum 3 years)
• Be in full-time employment (i.e. 16 hours or more per week) OR
• Self-employed OR
• Retired and over 50 years of age OR
• in receipt of an invalidity or disability allowance

Credit is subject to status for UK residents aged 18 years or over. Credit is arranged by the Finance Factory UK, credit license no: 620 723

Why has my application been referred?
In most cases we are able to make a decision based on the application details submitted. However there are some occasions when we require either further information about you or we need to re-confirm some of the original information supplied in order for the correct decision to be made on the application. In all cases please ensure that the information requested on the credit application is correct and up-to-date.

Why was I declined?
Unfortunately, due to data protection laws Way2Pay are not able to give the reason why a customer is declined for credit. However, if you wish to find out more about your credit status we advise that you contact the consumer credit agencies, Experian or Equifax. Their website addresses are;

www.experian.co.uk
www.equifax.co.uk

What is the deferred period on my credit agreement?
The deferred period is the period where no payments are requested by the finance company. However during that period if you wish to make payments to the credit balance you can by contacting the finance company directly. Their contact details will be on your credit agreement.

Will I incur additional charges if I choose to settle in full after the deferred period?
You may incur additional charges if you decide to settle the balance in full after the deferred period. If you wish to pay off the agreement before the end of the term you should contact the finance company to request an accurate settlement figure.

When will I start making the direct debit payment and will I be notified?
The finance company will send you a ‘welcome’ letter advising you of their contact details and when the first direct debit payment is due.

I have changed my mind and wish to cancel my credit agreement, how can I do this?
If you no longer wish to purchase the goods and therefore wish to cancel your credit agreement please contact us immediately. We will then arrange to cancel the finance agreement with Way2Pay.
Phone: 0844 335 0355
Email: info@way2pay.co.uk

* Subject to approval from our lending partner.
**Approval is decided by our financing partner.

New full trade accounts soon available

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:00:43 +0000

Real Oak Floors is proud to announce it is soon to provide full trade accounts for Trade customers. Credit will be subject to status – please fill out the application on our website to go ahead with your new trade account.

We will also shortly be updating our special offers – new products are due in the next 2 weeks so look out for our latest list or subscribe to our mailing list to ensure you know of our offers as soon as they are available.

Click here for more information

Electric underfloor heating, a closer look…

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:08:43 +0000

Over the past several years, underfloor heating has become rather popular throughout the UK. With underfloor heating, heat comes from the floor and rises up as opposed to traditional radiators in central heating where the room is heated from the ceiling down.

There are two types of underfloor heating – electric and heated water systems – available, these are very similar apart from the obvious fact that one uses an electric heating cable whereas the other circulates heated water through a pipe. At Real Oak Floors we believe that Electric underfloor heating is the better of the two types for a number of reasons.

Electric underfloor heating is a lot cheaper and easier to install than its water based counterpart as no specialist tools are required and due to this, it is also cheaper to install as unfortunately for Mr Joe Bloggs the plumber, he isn’t required to fit electric underfloor heating either, sorry Joe. On the topic of the unfortunate Mr Joe Bloggs, with water based heating systems there’s the chance of burst pipes, leaks and although fixing the problem is easy enough it will require Mr Bloggs to come out with his charge which can be quite expensive! However with electric underfloor heating there is no need for maintenance, hurrah!

Underfloor heating has some fantastic benefits, including the lack of “hot spots” due to the floor becoming like one large radiator, speaking of radiators – with the lack of radiators on the walls you have more freedom in decorating your room, fantastic! Did we mention the fact that it helps reduce the circulation of allergens and dust also?

In short we highly recommend you consider the advantages of an underfloor heating system instead of traditional radiator based central heating, you may be in for a pleasant suprise!

A brief look at tropical wood flooring…

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:25:46 +0000

There are many types of wood flooring out there and regardless of how nice a solid oak floor looks, sometimes, you fancy something with a more unique look and feel to it. In this blog post we will be talking about several types of tropical wood flooring which look fantastic and may be the perfect floor you have been looking for.

Wenge

Wenge is a rather unusual wood which, when worked with initially, is a yellow colour however this changes into a dark brown colour with close black veins which look beautiful. Wenge is a fantastic timber for flooring as it is highly durable and has a high natural resistance to abrasion.

An example of some Wenge flooring

Iroko

With a golden brown colour and inexpensive price tag, it’s no wonder that Iroko is becoming a popular tropical hardwood. This wood has a medium density with medium bending and crushing strength, it‘s great for flooring as well as being a suitable structural timber.

Golden brown in colour, Iroko really does look fantastic

Purpleheart

Purpleheart is a wood which when worked with is a yellow colour but overnight changes into a unique attractive purple colour which darkens with age. Purpleheart is very durable making it excellent for not only flooring but also for gymnasium flooring.

For a truly unique look, consider the tones of Purpleheart

Danto

Danto has similar working properties to Iroko making it a viable alternative wooden floor. The wood has an orange-brown colour to it with the grain being straight to very interlocked which produces an attractive figure.

Danto flooring has a beautiful warm look to it

Teak

Teak is a very durable hardwood which has a medium density and a medium bending strength. The colour of the hardwood lies between a golden brown and a rich brown with dark chocolate coloured markings.

A beautiful example of Teak flooring

Zebrano

Zebrano is a West African wood commonly known as Zingana or Zebrawood. The wood has a pale golden yellow look with dark brown lines running throughout making the wood resemble the striping of a Zebra.

The colouring on Zebrano resembles the stripes found on a Zebra

We hope this brief covering of these species has helped in your search for the perfect floor, for a wider look at flooring species please visit our site or contact us either through email at sales@realoakfloors.co.uk or by telephone on 0844 8486840

10 ways to maintain your wood flooring

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:42:23 +0000

Some of the most common questions we get asked at the wood floor blog are asking how to maintain the look of a floor, so we decided to put together some tips on keeping your floor in prime condition for you to enjoy for years to come.

Don’t let spills settle on your flooring. Fluids aren’t generally the thing you would want to keep on your hardwood floor, if you leave fluid on the floor for a prolonged period of time this will cause water spots. If there are any spillages clean up the fluids straight away using an absorbent cloth.
Always try to follow the floor manufacturer’s recommendations when possible and try to sweep daily, always using a soft fine bristled broom. Sweeping is an important part of maintaining a wooden floor and sweeping daily will help keep things off the floor which may cause scratching.
Make sure that you know the type of finish on your wooden floor and follow the correct maintenance procedures for them e.g. Never wax a urethane floor instead use only a very dry damp cloth (to avoid water damage)
Place glides (furniture guards/pads) under any furniture on your wooden flooring to avoid scratching the floor underneath. Also place mats at every entrance to prevent people from walking in dirt and grit onto your floor
Vacuum regularly, try to vacuum at least 2 times a week to get the loose dirt which may have been missed, please be cautious however as hard plastic and stiff bristles can scratch the finish on your floor.
Try to avoid wearing heavy shoes, high heels and sports shoes on your flooring as these can cause dents and indentations on your floor. Also children’s toys can cause damage to your floor, a prime example are racing cars which can scratch the flooring.
Don’t over-wax a wax floor, if your floor dulls and you want to restore its shine you may want to invest in a buffer. However it may be best to get suggestions from the floor manufacturer for the specific procedures for your floor.
Clean up pet mess quickly, keep food dishes on a mat and keep their nails trimmed to avoid any stains and scratches.
Mop regularly using a dry damp mop adding cleaner to the water (we personally recommend the Bona range of cleaners as their quality is fantastic)
Cover the floor when decorating so any dropped screws or paint wont damage your flooring, also, when moving heavy furniture slip a piece of cloth or pile under the legs to avoid any scuffing and scratching.

We hope that these tips help you and answer any questions you may have, if you still have any queries please contact us or leave a comment below and we’ll answer any queries to the best of our abilities.

Junckers Solid Flooring

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:29:28 +0000

Hardwood Flooring

Junckers solid hardwood flooring systems offer a fantastic range of pre-finished hardwood flooring which provide a large palette of colours and grains that allow great scope for creativity making individual solutions, unconventional combinations and innovative details possible. Junckers new Ultra Matt boards offer the natural matt look of an oiled finish with the strength of a polyurethane lacquer and with simple, quick and accurate floor installation, Junckers has many advantages.

Junckers flooring

Founded in Denmark in 1930 Junckers is now one of Europe’s leading producers of solid hardwood flooring. All timber is sourced from managed forests which reflects Junckers attitude towards forest management and its felling policy.

With the company’s unique press-drying process – which was developed almost 40 years ago – timber is strengthened and has increased stability. Recently the company has developed new staining techniques to create a wider choice of natural effects, marketed as the SylvaKet, SylvaRed and SylvaColor ranges.

With the accurate factory-machining of Junckers flooring, the need for site sanding after laying is eliminated therefore saving time on what would be a time consuming part of laying your floor.

Wood waste from the company’s plants is used as a fuel for the factory thus economising on energy.

Sylvared

Description

Junckers have 11 hardwoods available, these are;

Beech
Oak
Jarrah
Black Oak
Ash
Sylvaket
Sylvared
Sylvacolor
Jatoba
Merbau
Maple

Each of these are offered in various thicknesses, styles, grades and finishes, giving you a wide choice. Junckers hardwood flooring is supplied as 2 rows of staves assembled by means of a double dovetail joint into one board. The Junckers exclusive Quick Clip system has been developed for use over an existing level sub-floor, without the need for battens. There is also a wide board range which has been developed for a traditional look which is available in;

Oak
Merbau
Maple
Jatoba
Ash
Dark Ash
Nordic Ash

Oak Boulevard Wide Board

Sports Floors

Junckers have 7 floor installation systems which are available as well as a portable sports floor. Each of the systems offer different characteristics making them particularly suitable for the requirements of a specific application. The SylvaSport board is specially produced for these sports systems.

New Era levelling system

Junckers New Era system is for use where it is necessary to overcome the uneveness of existing timber or cocrete floors.

Acoustic Systems

Junckers offer 2 acoustic systems, The New Era Acoustic cradle system and the Clip system. Both of which meet the requirements of Document E of the Building Regulations.

Accessories

Junckers offer a full range of accessories including floor teatments and cleaning materials

Junckers Basefill

Dimensions

Flooring is available either 14 or 22mm thick. Individual boards are 129mm wide and 1830/3700mm long

Appearance

Flooring is available either unfinished for site finishing or factory-finished with either several coats of hard-wearing polyurethane lacquer or with controlled saturation by rich penetrating oils.

Junckers and Real Oak Floors

Real Oak Floors is proud to be an authorised retailer for Junckers Ltd. We stock all of Junckers products and have regular special offers on Junckers flooring saving you money. If you have any enquiries about Junckers floors please dont hesitate to call one of our helpful sales team on 0844 848 6840