Solid and engineered wood flooring supplied, fitted and trimmed out across Maldon, Chelmsford and East London. Subfloors checked and levelled first, boards acclimatised before they go down, expansion gaps left where they belong and beading, thresholds and skirtings finished off so the floor looks like it belongs in the room rather than like it was dropped into it.
Boards go down on a surface that is level, dry and sound. Laying over a floor that is none of those is how gaps, creaks and lifting start.
Both supplied and fitted. Engineered board copes better with underfloor heating and moisture, solid suits rooms where it will be sanded again in years to come.
Beading, thresholds, door bottoms and skirting returns dealt with as part of the job, not left for somebody else to finish.
Wood moves. Boards sit in the room before they go down so the floor does not shrink or cup a month after you have paid for it.
Engineered board suits most homes now. It is a real wood wear layer on a stable core, so it copes far better with underfloor heating, with kitchens and with the humidity swings you get in a normal house, and it can still be sanded back once or twice. Solid wood is the right answer where you want a floor that will be refinished several times over decades and the room is stable and dry. We will ask what is under the floor and what the room is used for before recommending either.
Engineered board can, within the manufacturer limits on surface temperature, and it is the sensible choice there. Solid wood over underfloor heating is asking for trouble because it moves too much across its width. Either way the heating has to be commissioned and run through its cycle before the floor goes down, and the boards need to acclimatise in the room first.
Yes, lifting and disposing of the old covering can be part of the job. Old carpet, underlay, gripper, vinyl and screwed down boards all come up and go with us. Say what is down at the quote stage so it is priced in rather than added on, and be aware that what is underneath is sometimes the reason a floor needs levelling before anything new goes over it.
Wood needs an expansion gap around the perimeter or it will lift, so there is always a gap and it is covered by beading or by the skirting. Doors that catch get eased and rehung, and thresholds go in at every doorway so the change of level and material is finished rather than raw. It is the trimming out that makes a floor look properly fitted.
An average room is usually a day once the subfloor is right, and a through lounge or an open plan ground floor runs to two or three. What adds time is levelling: if the existing floor has dips or a screed that has broken up, that has to be sorted first and it is worth the extra day. We will tell you at the quote if we think levelling is likely.
Often, yes, though an exact match on an older floor is rarely possible because the original has faded and worn. Bring us a spare board or let us photograph the existing floor and we will get as close as the current ranges allow. Where a match is not realistic we will say so rather than fitting something that will look wrong next to it.