A Wood Flooring Fitter’s Guide to Parquet Floor Installation

Due in part to the growing appeal of mid-century modern homes in the UK, parquet floor installations are thought to be staging a comeback. The majority of today's herringbone floor installations are also made of solid wood rather than veneer, making refinishing possible.

If you're considering a wood parquet floor installation, you're perhaps equating them to a regular hardwood floor in terms of performance and maintenance. In reality however, a parquet floor installation offers superior looks, ease of installation, and compatibility with mid-century homes. Hardwood planks are perhaps a more suitable choice if you plan to cover much of the floor with rugs and throws, but the distinctive, decorative appearance of a parquet floor is hard to match.

If you ask wooden floor fitters for advice regarding floor styling, they’ll recommend that you first consider the architectural style and age of your property. Wooden parquet flooring is available in a variety of different patterns and styles, and Southern Cross Flooring can offer all of the most popular traditional designs for you, whether it’s a herringbone flooring installation, or a Chevron floor that you desire.

1.    Herringbone — The Herringbone design can serve as an attractive focal point of your room, with a pattern reminiscent of fish bones. Herringbone floor installations are made up of rectangular, equally-sized pieces of wood that are staggered to form a zigzag pattern. The pieces are pre-cut at 90° angles at both ends, creating a beautiful pattern. Herringbone flooring is highly desirable today.

2.    Chevron — Rather than the 90° angles of herringbone, chevron flooring is cut at 45° angles. With planks that meet symmetrically, the chevron design resembles a long string of arrows. It really stands out in any room that its installed in and will be sure to leave your guests impressed. Chevron flooring is sometimes mistaken for herringbone, and some variants have 60° cut angles instead of 45° ones to make it look even more unique. The chevron pattern can form an optical illusion, making small spaces appear larger and less cramped. When it comes to interior design, Chevron is a real classic that’s used to create luxurious, sophisticated interiors, but it is also suited for many modern interiors too. Underfloor heating is also possible with a Chevron floor, just be sure to choose a parquet composed of heat-treated wood like oak or ash, or even better, exotic woods such as iroko, wenge.

Traditionally, wooden flooring fitters would create parquet flooring piece-by-piece, but nowadays, the vast majority of parquet flooring is sold in pre-cut thicknesses, widths, and lengths. These blocks can be constructed of either solid or engineered wood, and each one must be glued to a subfloor with care and precision by experienced wooden flooring fitters.

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