Solid Wood Flooring: Definition, Characteristics, Price

 

 Summary

• What is a solid wood floor?
• The different wood species of solid wood flooring
• The various formats of solid wood flooring
• Laying technique of solid wood flooring
• Solid wood flooring and finishes
• Prices of solid wood flooring

 Solid parquet is the traditional parquet par excellence. It is composed only of wood, unlike a glued parquet or laminate flooring. Zoom on the interest and characteristics of solid wood flooring.

 What is a solid wood floor?

 Solid wood flooring has been laid for hundreds of years! Just look down when visiting the many castles of Australia’s heritage. Solid wood flooring has been around for a long time and is still being renovated today.

A solid wood floor is made entirely of the same type of wood. It’s assembled using tongue and groove, with male and female sides. The interlocking serves just as a guide and is not required for installation.

 It is, therefore, a natural product and easy to renovate: sanding and finishing allow you to refurbish it without having to change it.

 The different wood species of solid wood flooring

 Solid oak flooring

 Oak is the most used in solid wood flooring. It can have knots, more or less significant and in more or less quantity, cracks, wormholes, sapwood (the white part on the edge of the boards), and more or less essential colour variations between the boards.

 The aesthetics and price of your floor depend entirely on these nuances and your choice.

 Attention: a solid wood floor is not necessarily a poor quality floor because it has many knots and sapwood. The choice of wood is only an aesthetic indication and is, above all, a matter of taste.

 Other woods in solid wood flooring

 In Australia, solid wood flooring is made from 90% oak. However, it is available in all types of wood, such as ash, chestnut, pine, ipe, jatoba, Merbau, teak, wenge or doussie.

 Note that some woods are more nervous than others and move more easily. Make sure you get the correct information before making your choice.

 Recommendation: for all dark exotic species, remember that your floor may change colour with sunlight and UV exposure, sometimes even violently.

 The different formats of solid wood flooring

 Solid wood floors are primarily presented in strips. The widths start at 50 mm and sometimes go up to 290 mm.

 Attention, the wider the parquet, the thicker it will be, up to 27 mm, to respect the natural balance of the wood and avoid the parquet to “tile”.

 For a thickness of 10 mm, the maximum width will be 70 mm.

 For a thickness of 14 mm, the maximum width will be 140 mm.

 For a thickness of 20 mm, the maximum width will be 200 mm.

 For a thickness of 27 mm, the maximum width will be 300 mm.

 Obviously, the more material (wood), the bigger the budget.

 Good to know: regarding the lengths, they vary according to the widths and the same batch. For a solid parquet floor in 14×90 mm, you will have, for example, lengths ranging from 400 to 1200 mm. It will thus be necessary to mix and match during installation. 

 Technique for laying solid wood flooring

 The technique of laying a solid parquet floor is essential and unavoidable. In all cases, a solid parquet floor must imperatively be integral with its support.

 You can choose between a glued installation (preferred for new construction sites) or a nailed installation on joists (traditional and often reserved for renovation).

 In any case, any good installer must know the rules!

Solid parquet and finishes

Thanks to industrial technologies, parquet manufacturers can now provide solid wood floors already finished, either varnished or oiled, but not only. They also apply stains, and almost any colour is possible.

They can also give the solid floor a texture by brushing, aging, or sawing.

Today’s solid wood flooring collections are extensive, and there is something for everyone! If you can’t find what you’re looking for in a store, you can always rely on a parquet installer who will do the finishing on-site on a raw parquet floor. Be sure to reserve this type of service with a real parquet specialist.

Please note: parquet floors already finished in the factory always have bevels, either 2 on the long side or 4 on each side.

Prices of solid wood floors

Solid wood floors are widely represented in supermarkets and DIY stores. Stores specializing in parquet or flooring will guide you more precisely on the finishes and choice of wood. They may even offer to do the installation.

The price of solid wood flooring varies greatly and depends on many criteria: size, choice of wood, finish, etc.

You will find solid wood floors starting at $40 per square meter and up to $150 per square meter, even more for ultra-special floors.