Most wood floor problems are subfloor problems. A board that cups, a joint that opens, a squeak that appears in the second winter — that is nearly always something that went wrong underneath, or before the boards were laid. So that is where we spend the time.

Wide plank rustic oak floor fitted in a hallway

We have fitted around 450 floors across south-east London and Kent.

How we fit

Measure and check moisture. Screed and timber are both tested. Laying onto a damp subfloor is the single most expensive mistake in this trade.
Acclimatise. Boards sit in the room they are going into, usually five to seven days. Skipping this is why floors gap.
Level the subfloor. Latex screed, plywood overlay or packing joists, depending on what we find.
Lay — glue-down, secret-nail or floating, depending on the floor and the subfloor.
Expansion gaps at every perimeter and threshold, hidden under beading or scotia.
Finish and trim — thresholds, vents, beading, and the floor cleaned and sealed.

New oak floorboards being fitted alongside old worn boards — New oak going down beside the boards it replaces

Oak plank floor fitted through a kitchen — Oak planks through to the garden doors

Solid or engineered?

Solid — one piece of timber. Can be sanded many times and lasts generations. Moves more with humidity, and is not the right choice over underfloor heating.
Engineered — a real wood wear layer on a stable plywood core. Far more stable, works over underfloor heating, and can still be sanded two or three times if the wear layer is 4mm or thicker.

Check the wear layer before you buy. Thin engineered boards — 2mm and under — cannot be sanded at all, which means the floor is disposable. It is the single most useful question to ask a supplier.

Over underfloor heating we fit engineered, glued down. Anything else risks the boards.

What we fit

Oak, ash and walnut boards, wide-plank and rustic grades, herringbone and chevron, and engineered boards over underfloor heating. We can supply the floor or fit one you have already bought.