Parquet Wood Flooring

February 28, 2019

The right flooring can tremendously affect the décor of your home. But that’s not it. The right flooring will also save you time and money on restorations in the future. Once you have narrowed it down to hardwood, a lot more decisions need to be made. From the specific type of wood to be used, to its grade – a lot of time will also be invested in curating the perfect design to be implemented in how it will be arranged.

What Is Parquet Flooring?

Parquet flooring is commonly recognized for its decorative effect. Also known as mosaic flooring – it involves the use of wooden blocks arranged in geometric patterns, creating the effect of a mosaic.

It is easy to distinguish between traditional hardwood and parquet flooring. Traditional hardwood floor implements side-by-side panels. The main element of parquet is the use of smaller pieces that are carefully arranged into designs or patterns. Patterns typically involve squares or triangles, forming styles such as basket weaving, chevron, brick, and herringbone. Herringbone is the most popular parquet flooring pattern.

The cost of parquet flooring will depend on the type of timber that is chosen. Another deciding factor of its cost is whether solid parquet or panel parquet is chosen. Solid parquet uses solid pieces of wood, whereas panel parquet involves adhering hardwood veneer over plyboard.

What Is Parquet Flooring Made Of?

Parquet flooring can be made from either solid or engineered wood. Solid wood parquet is made from solid pieces of timber, whereas engineered parquet is made from layers of different types of wood, topped by hardwood. The timber generally used for parquet floors are oak, maple, walnut, pine, cherry, lime, and mahogany. Mahogany is a more costly option.

There are 3 grades when it comes to parquet flooring. The highest quality parquet is known as prime, having no knots or sapwood. Middle ground would come with some knots and small amounts of sapwood. Rustic comes with many different knots, and is considered to create the most natural look out of all three.

Maintenance

Parquet floors are relatively low maintenance. The surface only needs to be vacuumed about every other day or so, but a broom can also be used to sweep its surface. Any spilt liquids are easily wiped off of the surface – staining is not a concern. To repair scratches, floors can be sanded down then coated with a floor wax.

Installation

Parquet is incredibly easy to install. There is the option fora “floating” floor,which involves placing parquet over existing floor material.

Before installing parquet, wooden pieces are generally placed into different arrangements for the most desirable pattern. After figuring out which pattern will be used, the wooden pieces are glued down with a strong adhesive.

It is a good idea to invest in a good contractor for parquet flooring, as the placement and spacing between each wooden piece is incredibly important in achieving the perfect arrangement. This task can be quite difficult or overwhelming for the inexperienced person.