Narrow Or Wide Oak Flooring?
7th Apr 2014 @ 17:17
Achieving the right oak flooring for your room can be difficult with so many different choices to make. Just one of the choices you will no doubt have to make is whether you want narrow oak floor boards or wider boards. As with many of the choices, these do come down to personal preference and what looks best in your environment. There are however some points that should be considered.
How you intend to fit the floor, and the environment in which it will be fitted is a hugely important step that can influence your choice of narrow or wider boards. When fitting solid oak flooring it is important to note that the wider a solid oak board is, the more prone it will be to movement and cupping.
When glueing down solid oak boards, we do not recommend that you glue a board which is wider than 120mm in width. If you intend to glue a wider board than this, we always recommend choosing engineered oak flooring.
When screwing or nailing down your boards, the more common method nowadays is the secret screwing or nailing method. This involves driving the fixings through the tongue of each board into the sub-floor or joists. This means the fixing is hidden away. This method is commonly used for boards up to 160mm in width. For boards which are wider than this, we recommend that a form of surface fixing used in addition to the secret fixing.
Further to the type of oak flooring chosen and the method of fitting, another factor which can influence the width of board is the size of your room. It is important that the lengths and widths of the boards you choose look suitable in your environment.
A final point of note is what grade of oak flooring you want. For example with wider barn or character grade boards, there are likely to be more knots and shakes per each individual board when compared to a thinner board of the same grade. Wider boards of select and prime boards are much more difficult to source than thinner boards of the same grade. This means wider boards are always more costly than narrower boards.
Of course if you like the look of both narrow and wider boards, some find mixing different widths a great way to achieve their desired look.
1 Comment
Nice read. It’s really essential to know which width to go for to make the appearance you want for your home. The best way to select is to take the size and style of the room, your budget and your taste into account and decide for what suits you best.
Marta Heine December 5, 2017 at 3:49am
Add a comment