How to Choose Solid Wood Flooring

When you’re redecorating or renovating a room, one of the key decisions will be your flooring.

Whereas the texture or colour of the walls and the range of accessories can be altered without  a significant amount of time and effort, flooring cannot be generally be changed lightly, due to the large surface area and time-consuming installation process. However a variety of solid wood flooring is available to suit any number of internal decors, providing both an attractive finish and long-lasting durability.

Solid wood flooring can be installed anywhere from the kitchen to the dining room, to correspond with any number of architectural styles. Wooden floors provide an attractive yet visually interesting finish which can compliment any wooden furniture or skirting boards already installed in the room. By choosing a wood product, especially solid oak flooring, you’ll achieve the high quality finish which cheaper wood-design laminate flooring only hints at. With an appropriate oil or varnished finish, you’ll also find that your wooden flooring is just as easy to clean as the popular plastic rolled flooring which can now be found in so many houses.

Before jumping to purchase any product, it’s always worth considering how it has been developed and treated and why this makes it a good choice. With solid oak flooring, the wood is generally dried in a kiln until an 8-12% moisture level is achieved. This gradual drying process helps to prevent the swelling or bowing of wooden floorboards when the weather is particularly cold or humid. With winter just around the corner this feature can be essential, ensuring that no unsightly gaps or stress fractures appear as a result of the flooring changing shape. If you’re sourcing your wood directly from suppliers like George Hill Timber, it may also be wise to store your floorboards in the room of choice for a period of time before installation, so that they may acclimatise to the humidity and temperature of the room.

In order to achieve a uniform look and an easy installation process, the sheets of oak will often be planed before and after the kiln drying process. This ensures they remain of an equal size and thickness, allowing for a relatively straightforward installation process with an attractive finish. The edges of the flooring will usually also be bevelled, which allows for a slightly larger margin for error, without any noticeable inconsistencies or gaps in the flooring. Furthermore bevelled edges will also help to prevent costly maintenance by stopping dust or dirt from accumulating underneath the floorboards.

After installation, the solid wood flooring can be treated with any number of varnishes, waxes or oils, to achieve a look which will suit your requirements and compliment the rest of your room. Not only do these products provide greater protection for the solid wood, the range of colours and textures which are available provide an eye-catching finish for what is already high quality flooring.

Are you a fan of the finish offered by solid wooden floor boards? Why not contact us directly to enquire about our high quality solid Oak bevelled wood flooring and also take advantage of our October offer of 30% off. (Available until 31st October)