Can I Fit Oak Flooring In A High Traffic Area?

19th Dec 2016

Oak flooring has an appeal, that is rarely matched by other floors. This makes many desire to lay it in a variety of different areas; some with low traffic and some with high. So how does oak flooring stack up in high traffic areas?

Oak flooring is naturally extremely hardwearing - making it great at coping with general wear, tear and dirt. Dirt can often be removed easily with the use of a vacuum or broom, preventing dust and grit from settling on the surface of the board. A daily damp mop will keep the floor looking in pristine condition.

In coping with marks and scratches, oak flooring is only as good as the finish which has been applied. A hardwearing finish is a critical component when laying an oak floor in a high traffic area. For this, an oiled finished or a lacquered finish are normally the preferred option. Both of these types of finishes have their advantages. Opting for a a poor quality finish at this stage will mean the need for more regular maintenance and reapplication.

Legere 160mm Solid Oak Flooring

One great advantage of choosing an oiled finish, is the ability to spot repair. In high traffic areas marks can be created. If these cannot be removed using the more traditional means of cleaning, the option to sand away the marks is available. With the mark removed, the small area can be recoated with the oil finish, leaving no significant remnants.

In our definitive test of oak flooring finishes, we have took a range of different finishes and tested them out against each other. We marked and stained the finishes, testing out how hardwearing they truly are. This particular test can be seen by clicking here.

Legere 14mm Solid Oak Flooring

Oak flooring will scratch, in fact wooden flooring in general will scratch. It is worth noting, that when opting for a grade with more character, these scratches actually tend to blend into the wood and become part of the floor. This makes grades such as the character grade, popular in high traffic areas.

In some higher traffic areas, entrances for example, will come wet footprints and changeable temperatures. In these areas engineered oak flooring is often to perfect option. From above, engineered oak flooring looks exactly the same as solid oak flooring. It's construction however consists of ply-board and solid oak. It is this combination, which makes engineered oak flooring less susceptible to changes in humidity and temperature.

Last but not least comes the great advantage of using oak flooring in high traffic areas - it looks great! As the oak flooring is used more and more it can often look even better than the day it was laid!

Here at Peak Oak we have supplied both our solid oak flooring and engineered oak flooring into numerous high traffic areas. Just some of these projects can be seen on our Inspirations section of our website by clicking here.

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