Wood Flooring

About Wood Flooring 

The flooring category comprises a wide variety of floor coverings, natural and synthetic, each with its set of advantages. While synthetic flooring represents a convenient, budget-friendly option - nothing beats the classy appeal of polished wood floors, and textured wood floors.  

Wood flooring is, essentially, a set of planks made from different types and species of real timber. New Zealand is abundant with options including diverse wood floor designs, patterns, sizes, and structures to choose from, as well as finishes and colours.  

Wood plank flooring is made either from a solid piece of timber, or a plywood base with an actual wood top layer. While natural wood flooring shares a similar appeal with laminate wood flooring, the difference in quality is significant.  

Despite the name, laminate wood flooring contains little to no actual wood, which makes it closer to vinyl wood flooring. Both varieties belong to the category of synthetic coverings. 

Advantages of Wood Flooring 

• It enhances the appeal and value of any space. 
• It is a convenient alternative to other types of flooring.  
• Hardwearing and durable, solid wood flooring can last a lifetime with proper maintenance. 

Types of Wood Flooring

There are two main structures to distinguish in New Zealand being solid wood flooring and its engineered alternative. They share a similar appeal but feature different properties. 

• Solid wood flooring is typically made from a single piece of timber. Depending on the origin, it can be quite a high-end option - this particularly applies to hardwoods. While impressive in its natural, textured appeal, solid wood offers less versatility compared to engineered wood flooring. Its installation is demanding, and it also doesn’t work well with underfloor heating.
• Engineered wood flooring features a plywood base, enhanced with a genuine timber top layer. It’s a flexible option with customisable properties. Engineered planks can be fixed or float over an underlay, offering good resistance to humidity and underfloor heating at the same time. 

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is, initially, grass. It’s an exceptionally tall tube with a hard outer shell, a staple of traditional flooring in Eastern Asia. Modern bamboo flooring includes variations of both solid and processed bamboo shells. While solid bamboo stands are typically pressed and glued together to form traditional-style flooring planks, engineered versions consist of a wooden or high-density fiberboard (HDF) base and a bamboo shell bonded to the top. 

Cork Flooring

Cork is a completely natural material obtained from the bark of the cork oak tree. Its properties and eco-friendliness make it suitable for use in a number of different industries. Cork is biodegradable and easy to work with. In order to create cork flooring products, the row bark is compressed, moulded into sheets and bonded with resins.

Parquet Flooring

Parquet flooring comprises multiple slabs of timber, arranged into geometrically patterned surfaces. Different types of tiles can be used to make parquet flooring, from classic hardwood, over bamboo or hemp, to high-tech materials and laminate wood flooring. In general, when it comes to parquet, it’s more about wood floor patterns than the species used to create them. Herringbone flooring is probably the most recognisable design in New Zealand in this segment. 

Timber Flooring

Timber flooring encompasses all kinds of hardwood floors, made with durable, resilient, readily available species. Typical choices in New Zealand include maple, oak, walnut, cherry, as well as high-end options such as mahogany or teak. As for the budget-friendly varieties, reclaimed hardwood is an excellent alternative to the new one.  

Wood Flooring Finishes

The final look of the wood flooring depends on the finishing. Raw wood is sensitive and can be damaged in no time; hence it must be protected and sealed before putting it to use. The unfinished wooden floor allows for exercising creative freedom with a variety of colours and textures available in New Zealand, from preserved organic appeal to painted wood floors.  

• Oiling a wood floor displays the natural appeal of the material, typically giving it a matt finish. Light brushing will enhance those properties further. 
• The floor can be treated with different colour stains, from dark brown to black and white.
• Lacquered wood flooring is stronger and more resilient than the oiled version, while its finish can be either satin or matt.
• Hand scraped wood flooring is manually treated to bring out the organic grain pattern. The surface is then lacquered for protection.
• Distressed wood flooring is distinguished by its aged appearance, ideal for farmhouse and rustic decor style. It needs to be protected with layers of oil or lacquer. The popular look of distressed grey wood floors can be achieved by using stains. 

On the other hand, the pre-finished wooden floor sometimes presents a more convenient choice. It comprises stained and protected planks of flooring, ready to walk on right after being installed. 

Wood Flooring Tile/Plank Size

Although a wide range of different plank and tile sizes are available in the market today, the two basic standards still mark the key distinction. Those are wooden floor planks and a parquet block.

• Wood flooring plank is a popular type of hardwood flooring, available in various lengths, widths and thicknesses - including random and customisable sizes. 
• Engineered wood flooring is versatile, allowing for extra-wide or narrow planks, suitable for specific, ample or tiny spaces. 
• Parquet block wooden flooring contains smaller blocks, and their size is usually predefined, suited for the creation of geometric patterns. Some recognisable parquet wood floor designs are chevron, herringbone, and basket weave. 

Wood Flooring Installation

There are two principal ways to install wooden flooring in New Zealand. One way is floating the floor over an underlay; the other is fixing it into position. The preparation and type of the subfloor play a determining role in the quality of the future floor. It must be levelled, flat and dry before the installation begins. 

Wood Flooring Maintenance

Regular and proper maintenance will ensure that the wooden floor keeps looking its best for as long as possible. Basic care steps include: 

• Regular sweeping with a soft brush
• Frequent cleaning with a specialised cleaning spray and microfibre mop
• Immediate wiping off the spills 
• Using protector pads at the bottom of the furniture to protect the floor from scratches 

Things to Consider When Buying Wooden Flooring

The quality of the raw material is essential. Established brands in New Zealand usually mean a safer choice. Wooden flooring should be covered with a guarantee and warranty.

Wood grading depends on the number and size of the knots, sap and colour variations it features. Prime grade marks a clean, uniform appeal, while the wood with strong organic properties counts as “rustic”.

Different finishes require different levels of maintenance. On average, lacquered wooden floors are the easiest to maintain, while oiled surfaces need frequent and regular attention. 

Wooden flooring should fit with the décor. A wide selection of stains and finishes on the market includes natural hues, dark browns, chic greys, and a range of vibrant shades, easy to match and complement the rest of the interior. Textures can be clean and smooth to suit modern rooms, or distressed, burnt, and smoked for a more organic appeal. 

Light or dark wood floors in the kitchen can seriously enhance its overall appeal. 

The wooden floor in the bathroom is not a common choice. However, with proper protection, black or white wood flooring can make a striking visual feature.