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Experience the Flexibility of Engineered Wood Flooring

Jul 13

Posted by admin in Engineered, Wood flooring | No Comments

Engineered wood flooring is a new and innovative take on wood flooring. It is a collection of custom made flooring to suit the tastes of the consumer. So if you like antique pine or maybe lacquered milano is more your style then you can design your own with the engineered wood flooring.

With engineered wood flooring there are many different options. These include 21 different colours from 4 different categories. These categories are the smoked collection, the oiled collection, the distressed and aged collection and the unfinished collection. You can also choose from many other options once you have picked your colour such as plank thickness, prime grade or rustic grade, brushing options or smoking options, bevelled or square edged boards and lastly the finish. These engineered wood flooring boards are designed to your specification and as such give you a far more personal touch to your floor.

148mm Engineered Oak Natural Oiled Flooring

148mm Engineered Oak Natural Oiled Flooring

One decision that often gets people is the choice between bevelled wood flooring and square-edged wood flooring. Square-edged wood flooring gives you a nice clean finish. You could cast your eye over the entire floor and not see a blemish in sight. If you are looking for the minimalist or modern look to your floor then I would suggest the square-edged wood flooring. If you are looking for a more rustic approach then the bevelled wood flooring may be more your style. People often go for the bevelled wood flooring if they want to make it look as if the floor has been there for hundreds of years and would definitely lend itself to the aged and distressed collection. Of course it is your decision and you may choose to be completely different and unique by mixing and matching any of the choices that are on offer to suit you.

Another tough decision is the finish on the floor. Finished wood flooring can look spectacular when it is lacquered and given a good polish but you have to be careful when using cleaning products. Use a cleaner with to high a pH level and you may find your finished wood floor has been stripped of it lacquer! However the lacquer and polish does give protection to items such as heavy furniture, pets nails and women’s shoes. Unfinished wood flooring on the other hand has no such protection. You have to be very careful what you place on it and who you let walk in the room. An unfinished wood floor will look fantastic in a country style kitchen and will also give your room a more natural feel to it.

If you are looking for laminate wood flooring at the moment but can’t decide which to go for then why not take a look at the engineered wood flooring collection? There are so many different choices that there is little risk of you finding the same floor anywhere else. If you want a unique look with a personal touch then I would definitely recommend an engineered wood floor.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Choosing Oak Flooring on a Budget

Jul 13

Posted by admin in Wood flooring | No Comments

Prefinished Oak Flooring at Real Oak Floors

Prefinished Oak Flooring at Real Oak Floors

Many people are choosing oak floors for their homes but due to the financial climate not all of us can afford the beautiful oak flooring we have to offer. This is why we are all choosing our oak flooring on a budget (believe me it can be done!). If you want a bespoke oak floor for a great price then look no further.

Being British we all have a love affair with the old oak tree. An oak tree can be defined by a very old saying that goes “from little acorns grow mighty oak trees” and this is very true. The oak tree is renowned for its solidness and strength which is why we love to lay oak flooring. The grain and texture of oak makes it a beautiful wood to work with and you will often find it is a favourite amongst cabinetmakers and carpenters alike. Of course as with anything oak changes as it ages. It becomes darker and almost seems like a different wood altogether. There are also many different varieties of oak that range from across the world so you will always be able to find a colour you like.

Oak flooring comes in a whole variety of options and finishes. Real Oak Floors has 18 different styles of oak flooring ranging from the most traditional unfinished oak floor to the American lacquered oak floor. You can buy wide planks or slim planks, lacquered planks or un-finished planks. In fact you can buy any oak floor design you can think of! You can even buy engineered oak flooring which gives you a whole range of finishes including smoked or brushed.

The big question when it comes to oak floors is the finish. Some people like to leave their oak floors to breathe and become a part of the room by leaving them unvarnished or without polish. This can have a stunning affect on the room, especially if you have a lot of wooden furniture in there but it can also cause a lot of heartache when it comes to maintenance. Unfinished floors are harder to keep clean and will scuff, dent and even absorb stains more than their lacquered contenders. Lacquered oak flooring on the other hand is easy to maintain, keep clean and copes well in heavy traffic areas such as the hallway. You can also choose from oiled or no oiled. This will make the wood look darker but will also make it last longer. After all there is no point in having a beautiful brushed oak floor when it won’t last forever.

So if you are looking for some oak flooring that is affordable yet stylish then why not have a browse at the different oak floor collections now? With so many different choices you will be surprised what gorgeous flooring you can get for your money.

Written by Philippa Wilson.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Top Tips For Installing Your Wood Flooring

Jun 26

Posted by admin in Wood flooring | 2 Comments

Preparing your wood flooring properly is well worth doing. It will save you a lot of work and frustration in the long run. Here we lay down the common pitfalls and top tips to help you avoid them!

Moisture: Check before you lay!

check moisture

Check Moisture

Moisture is the number one cause of problems when it comes to installing wood flooring. With this in mind it need not be, take the proper procedure to handle it and it will not be a problem. The problem is that a lot of flooring installers do not take this into consideration.

What quite often happens is that wood flooring is delivered straight to the job site in the winter. The flooring came from a reputable supplier and the wood was stored in a climate-controlled warehouse. After arriving at the job site delays happen and the wood ends up sitting around for a while. Not knowing the affects on solid wood flooring the temperature is increased by the heating in the building. The flooring is fitted and everything is fine, the next winter the customer rings to say that the flooring has gaps between the boards.

The cause of the problem is that the flooring acclimated to the conditions of winter when it first arrived, when it then acclimated to the hot summer humidity it swelled up and the edges of the board was damaged, the next winter the swelling reduced and the gaps were much larger than they should be.

Moisture: Prevention

The best way to avoid this happening is to install the flooring when the moisture content is at a good medium, between the two seasons. The other way to solve the problem would be to not nail the flooring as tight as you normally would and leave “washer rows” to allow some swelling in the winter months without damaging the flooring.

  • Make sure any controllable moisture affective work on the house has been completed such as installation of windows and doors.
  • Measure the temperature at the job site. It should be at what is considered as normal living conditions.
  • Make sure that gutters are in place and correctly installed so that all water drainage is going to go away from the house and not to the foundations as this will increase the moisture.
  • Use a good moisture retarder for your wood flooring. If moisture is of real concern to you an engineered wood flooring may be of better suit to you as it is a lot more tolerant to heat and moisture changes.

Moisture: Prepare the Subfloor

Subfloors should be clean, flat and dry. Not doing so can lead to many problems with the flooring its self. These problems can be seen as loose flooring, squeaky joints, deflection and uneven surface.

The dry part of the Subfloor equations come from the moisture content in the air as discussed in the earlier point “check moisture”. The clean part means that all debris and general dirt from the work site must be clean and cleared away from the subfloor and also that anything that may interfere with the adhesive that is going to be used with the flooring is cleaned off. The floor must be flat to industry standards, subfloors that are not flat enough should be flattened before the flooring is installed. Many problems stem from using an inappropriate sub floor for the flooring used, it is crucial to get this right the first time!

Room Layout: Take the time to plan

Floor Planning

Floor Planning

The main aim of this point is to get across that you should not jump straight into the job and start laying the wood flooring straight away. Take the time to plan out the job exactly.

While it may work for some to just start laying the flooring straight away it can cause major cosmetic problems. As you move from room to room angles can change as rooms are never perfectly square this leads to crooked flooring spreading through the rooms, a slight change in angle from the required 90 can have major consequences leading trouble for the fitters having to trim down flooring and as mentioned earlier the cosmetics of the flooring will be harmed.

Bad Racking

1160796_door

Racking

There are many many mistakes that are commonly made when racking flooring here are some common mistakes that are commonly made.

  • End joints being too close together is one of them, the ends of the boards should be at least three times the width of the flooring apart.
  • H-Joints happen when end rows line up with one row between them.
  • Lightning Bolts/Stairsteps are joints that happen in the flooring in even steps for a number of neighboring planks. This often happens when flooring is supplied in even lengths.

A common mistake to make when racking is not to look at the bigger picture of how the floor is panning out and likely to look when it is finished in the current state. This does not just mean the problems described above but it also means observing the wood that is getting laid, for example light and dark planks, after all wood flooring is not going to be perfectly the same since its wood, but who would want it to be anyway.

Since variations can happen between packs it is often a good idea to open up a few packs before you rack and use them at the same time using planks from each box to get some variation.

Not nailing enough

1169460_asphalt_nails_texture

Not enough nails

Not nailing the floor is a common problem with some floor fitters, often they may only put a few nails in per board or even only nail every other board. Saving cost is most likely their reasoning as the customer can’t exactly see the difference straight away or even see the nails them selves a lot of the time.

The short fall of doing things this way is that the wood flooring will be loose, which will allow them to move around and make a lot of noise when they are walked on.

There is a flip side of this which is of course adding too many nails which can cause cracked
tongues and also loose floors this is a problem in oak flooring or any flooring for that matter. The basic rules to nailing is that there should be a minimum of two fasteners per board and that each fastener should be 1 to three inches from the end of the board for. Standard strip flooring the fastening space should be around every 8 to 10 inches and every 4 inches for plank flooring.

Check out the great range of solid wood floors at Real Oak Floors! Great wood flooring at great value.

Popularity: 4% [?]

25% off Woca products for trade customers

Mar 19

Posted by admin in Floor Fitting, Flooring Accessories, Flooring Installation, Wood flooring | No Comments

Wood flooring company Real Oak Floors are now offering 25% discounts on all Woca products to trade customers and bulk orders. Our range of woca products covers both indoor wood floors and outdoor items such as benches, windows and fences.

Woca Outdoor Wood Oil

Woca Outdoor Wood Oil

Popularity: 11% [?]

New Woca products now available

Mar 18

Posted by admin in Floor Fitting, Flooring, Flooring Accessories, Flooring Installation, Wood flooring | 1 Comment

Wood flooring company Real Oak Floors have just added more products to their Woca range. These include:

  • Woca Outdoor Wood Oil an ideal product for protecting all outdoor wooden furniture and fences with a protective, water resistant surface.
  • The ever popular Woca Colour Oils have four new colours available! These are named Antik, Bordeaux, Brandy and Cream. Woca Colour Oils still remain a very popular product for finishing wood flooring due to their high quality, long lasting finish.
  • A new water based decking oil is available, it comes in seven different colours, natural, teak, black, grey, walnut, bangkirai and larch.
  • Woca Oil Refresher is a great product for cleaning your oiled wood flooring. It removes dirt and grime while adding a protective layer to the surface. It is available in 0.25L, 1L and 2.5L quantities. Woca Soap is now available in a handy spray in either white or natural and is suitable for cleaning lacquered or oiled floors!
  • Wood lye is available in grey or white, it  primes softwood or light hard wood floors prior to oiling.
  • Woca lint free cotton cloths for removing excess oil when polishing, Swep Mops with replacement heads and patina discs have also just been added.

Popularity: 13% [?]

200mm Solid Wood Flooring

Mar 16

Posted by admin in Flooring, Wood flooring | No Comments

New in at wood flooring company Real Oak Floors is a range of 20mm thickness 200mm wide solid oak flooring. This European oak can be sold with either a natural oil, matt lacquer or left unfinished to leave you the flexibility of adding the finish of your own choice. If you are interested in this product or any other product you can contact our sales team on 0844 848 6840 or fax us on 0844 848 6841.

200mm Solid Oak Flooring

200mm Solid Oak Flooring

Popularity: 1% [?]

Guide to wood flooring

Mar 9

Posted by admin in Engineered, Flooring, Flooring Accessories, Flooring Installation, Wood flooring | No Comments

Wood flooring is a beautiful thing to have in your home. Most wood floors will last a lifetime if laid properly and maintained regularly. To ensure you have all the information you require before choosing your wood floor and deciding on the laying methods we have prepared this simple guide from choosing the best floor for your home, installing with underfloor heating or moisture problems to fitting tips and maintaining your floor.

Download the complete flooring guide.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Preparing to lay your new wood flooring

Mar 3

Posted by admin in Engineered, Flooring, Wood flooring | 4 Comments

Due to the nature of real wood such as oak it is a living and breathing product. It will expand and contract depending on its environment. A new wood floor looks fantastic but it is always best to ensure it stays looking pristine for years to come. The way to do this is to make sure the preparation for laying the flooring is done correctly, along with a common knowledge of the small issues that can happen with real wood floors.

Solid flooring has a tendency to expand and contract. In summer, when the air is more humid due to the house being aired more often – the boards soak up the extra moisture and tend to expand slightly. In winter, when central heating / underfloor heating are used regularly, the air in the house is very dry therefore resulting in the boards drying and contracting – this often creates gaps appearing between boards – often large enough to put a coin between. These are harmless and disappear in the warmer months when heating is not used in the house as often.

When hardwood flooring gets wet or damp it absorbs the moisture and expands to accommodate this extra moisture. This can often happen even if the room does not feel damp or wet – the humidity in the air can also affect the floor. Before laying a wooden floor in is essential to check that the room is dry and the sub floor contains no extra moisture. It is also best to check the moisture content of the flooring before installing. However the sub floor is the most important thing to check before installing as this will affect the floor if it is not the correct moisture levels.

Where an existing timber subfloor is present, this needs to be checked for wet rot, dry rot and for woodworm. Although these are not commonplace it is always best to check existing floors before laying down your new wood floors which can get ruined by rot or woodworm. It is always best to ensure that the existing boards are also securely fastened to the joists as they will cause creaking if not fitted well. Loose timber boards can be screwed down onto the joists – or additional noggins can be placed between the joists if an old board has been cut in the wrong place and is loose.

When nailing down onto the existing flooring, the boards should be laid at 90 degrees to the sub floor. This ensures maximum stability and strength in the floor. (As an example consider a jenga game where all the blocks are placed on top of each other in the same direction – it is extremely unstable). If you are wanting the boards to be laid in the same direction as the sub floor a layer of plywood can be placed and nailed or screwed down to ensure a stable fit of the new wood flooring.

There are additional precautions to take where a screed or concrete sub floor is present. New concrete dries at a rate of 1 inch per month or 1mm per day. Although the concrete can look and feel dry to the touch, it can often still contain more moisture than the recommended amounts for hardwood flooring. The best way to check is to use a moisture meter – this will give you an instant reading and tell you whether you need to
leave it to dry for longer.

If the new wood floor is engineered flooring that is being laid as a floating floor then it is possible to lay an extra layer of damp proof membrane (DPM) over the concrete / screed to ensure no moisture reaches the wood floor however if the floor is being glued down to the subfloor or battened out it would not be possible to lay the DPM, however a liquid DPM or epoxy resin can be used to create a liquid barrier instead. As solid wood floors are recommended to be stuck down to the sub floor it is best to glue solid wood floors down to the concrete directly therefore it is essential that the moisture is checked before laying.

With all wood flooring, an expansion gap must be left around the edge to ensure there is room for expansion in case of problems with moisture. This can be covered with skirting, beading or an edge profile. When preparation for the sub floor has been completed correctly, the laying of the wood floor is more likely to fit properly and without problems for the future.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Solid Wenge and Zebrano Flooring Now Available.

Feb 26

Posted by admin in Flooring, Wood flooring | No Comments

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

Zebrano Wood Flooring

Popularity: 5% [?]

Sports Floors

Feb 19

Posted by admin in Brand Name Flooring, Flooring, Wood flooring | 4 Comments

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:

  1. A thick foam underlay – approx 10mm or thicker that is placed over the whole floor –
    this cushion is what creates the bounce in the floor.
  2. A batten system with foam which can enable the floor to be used over battens however
    the foam on the battens creates the cushion and the spring required for sports floors.
  3. Carriage system or cradle system – this system is used with battens to create small
    plastic supports along the battens. These supports have been specifically manufactured
    to allow for bounce and movement in the battens therefore creating the springing.

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

Junckers Duobat

Popularity: 7% [?]