1. Can I use wooden flooring in the kitchen and bathroom?
Yes, you can use them in the kitchen and bathrooms as they are hard-wearing floors. However, just know that timber floors are natural floors and are different from other flooring options like marble and tiles—and hence they tend to react to moisture and wear in a different way. Therefore, you must know how to take care of wooden flooring, especially in high spillage and foot traffic areas. Make sure to discuss with your professional flooring installer to assist you in maintaining timber floors in the kitchen and bathroom.
2. What are the benefits of engineered floorboards over solid timber floorboards?
Like solid timber flooring, engineered flooring also comes in varieties of styles, finishes and colours.
Some of the advantages of engineered flooring are:
Highly durable and resistant to moisture and temperature than solid timber and thus less likely to move and warp
More sustainable and environmentally friendly options
Longer and wider floorboards are available, making them easy to install
They are suitable for use with underfloor heating
They require no acclimatisation period provided there is no underfloor heating
More elegant choices at budget-friendly prices
3. What does an unfinished floor mean?
An unfinished timber floor refers to the raw floorboards that do not have any sort of protective layer or sealant applied to them yet. Though you can leave them like that, unfinished floors are more prone to damage from moisture and wear. Hence, they are usually finished on-site with a light floor sanding, followed by the application of the desired protective coatings and stains.
4. What is the most durable finish for solid timber floors?
It depends upon the flooring type, its usage and what you are trying to achieve. Not all hardwoods work well with every other flooring finish. Flooring professionals suggest finishes depending upon the hardwood type. At Forte Flooring, we use a wide variety of finishes, including oil base, modified oil, water base, alcohol base, hard wax oil and many more.
6. What does grading mean?
Grading is the way of ranking or distinguishing the visual characteristics of the timber floorboards based on their grain patterns, knots, veins, splitting and insect marks. At Forte Flooring, we have three grades of timber flooring:
Select grade
Standard grade
Character grade
5. Is tongue and groove better than click-lock flooring?
Though the click-lock flooring is easy to install and fast, the traditional tongue and groove flooring is the better option. It’s because the tongue and groove floorings are more flexible and can be fitted over any subfloor, including joists. Moreover, they are easy to repair in case of any damage during fitting, while the click-lock cannot be repaired.
7. Which timber flooring is the best?
Whether it’s hardwood flooring, engineered, cork or bamboo, choosing one depends on your personal choice and preferences, such as the colour, tone, and texture you like on your timber floors. And the best hardwood species in Europe is Oak and perhaps Ash.
8. How long will my timber floors last?
Timber floors last for many decades if you give them the proper care and maintenance. Sanding and polishing your floors helps renew the timber floors and keep them looking new for many years. The thicker your floorboard is, the more life you can expect with professional floor sanding and polishing techniques.