Which timber floor should I choose?
New Solid Wood Flooring
Solid Wood Flooring is exactly that, solid. The timber is machined to a variety of lengths and widths, and are generally 20 – 25mm thick.
There are many species of timber that vary in hardness, colour and grain patterns. Each person will have a look of timber that they like, at the moment our most popular species of timber is American oak., view our photo gallery to see what it looks like when finished.
When stained the grain pattern in timber can show up more for a more interesting feature floor. Not all species of timber suits all climates, so your individual preferences will need to be discussed before ordering a species type.
Solid Wood needs to be fine sanded and finished with an oil or a polyurethane.
Here at Peak Floor Trades we only use waterbourne polyurethane, or natural hard-wearing oils which are specially formulated for floors and the wear and traffic that they are exposed to. The benefits of using flooring specific products are that the floors last for longer and there are far less chemicals and harmful gasses being emitted into your home, office or retail space. Please view our photo gallery for examples of the solid wood looks, and stained solid wood looks.
Solid wood can be sanded and refinished when necessary, and can easily last for more than 50 years. Peak Floor Trades Team have renovated houses whose floors are over 100 years old.
Engineered Unfinished Oak/ engineered flooring
Engineered Oak floors are our most popular range. They are made of a solid wood layer with a plywood base. These are glued together to make a strong and stable board, enhancing the benefits of the natural wood.
These floors are usually 15mm thick, although the thickness of the top layer is about 6mm thick. The surface can be unfinished oak or another type of wood layer (these need sanding and finishing once installed), or it can be pre-finished, so there is no sanding or finishing involved. There is a variety of surface finishes and colours to choose from. Glenn is excellent at finding a stain colour that will suit your home or new renovation, and a final finish that you will love!
The unfinished engineered floor range have a life of about 3 sands, so you can still change the colour an finish, just like with solid wood flooring. Our manufacturers have a 25 year product guarantee, so you can be assured that your engineered oak or other wood is top quality.
View our photo gallery to see some examples of engineered flooring
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring looks like wood, but is not real wood. It has an effect of wood, the top layer being wear resistant and made of a resin based melamine. The top layer is bonded onto a wood based core layer. Laminate floors are typically lower in price, but cannot be sanded and refinished, and are not a totally natural product. They are great for very high traffic areas, or when you need a totally scratch proof and cheaper flooring option that still gives the effect of real wood!