Engineered Walnut Wood Flooring

By | Posted in: Engineered Oak Flooring, Wooden Flooring |

Engineered American Black Walnut Boards

15% off wood flooring using code 15WOOD. Offer available until 31st May 2015.

The effect and look achieved from Engineered Walnut wood flooring will bring any room to life, complimenting your room to give a stylish look that is individual and truly distinctive. Black American Walnut grows in small groups or scattered individual trees throughout the central and eastern parts of the United States. Used for creating fine furniture during the colonial times until the latter half of the 18th century, this strong, fine and distinctive straight-grained wood excels in the making of gunstock, find quality furniture and beautiful wooden flooring.

American Walnut is imported from the most sustainable forests in America. Walnut is highly durable wood is used for cricket bats and often used to build boats so as a flooring, it works wonderfully.

Engineered Walnut Wood flooring is a cost effective, environmentally friendly way of creating a floor that looks exactly like a solid walnut floor, is easy to install and comes in a choice of finishes that will bring a look of richness and class to any room.

The construction of Engineered Walnut wood flooring makes it work for the modern home by being composed of bonded layers of high quality wood, topped with a 5mm layer of solid walnut. The bonded layers of Engineered Walnut wood flooring makes it more stable, especially in areas where humidity or fluctuating temperatures occur and has the advantage of being able to be placed over concrete or under-floor heating.

The main features of walnut and therefore Engineered Walnut wood flooring are it’s unique grain character and its beautiful chocolate brown colour which brings a richness and warmth that cannot be beaten. Engineered Walnut wood flooring is a design statement that has been admired by interior designers for many years. Its opulent persona brings a feel of New England and works wonderfully with minimalistic and contemporary styles that allow its character and beauty to shine through.

Engineered Walnut wood flooring is highly regarded as one of the finest flooring products, often adorning up-market homes, restaurants and the finest retail establishments. With the warmth of its rich purple/brownish colour and its curly grain pattern it softens the edges of modernity and makes a statement that adds character and a sense of luxury. American Black Walnut will lighten over time as it is exposed to light although this can be reduced with UV filters on windows.

Caring for your Engineered Walnut wood flooring is simple and easy. Whether you decided to buy pre-lacquered Engineered Walnut wood flooring, which has been finished using a high quality lacquer finish that protects and enhances the true opulence of its character or you choose an unfinished product which allows you to finish your Engineered Walnut wood flooring to your chosen finish, you will achieve a floor that is breathtaking in its splendour. The water-resistant quality of Engineered Walnut wood flooring makes it extremely long-lasting, durable and reliable and will sustain years of the rigours of busy family life.

Choosing to install an Engineered Walnut wood floor is a choice you will not regret. If you want a design statement that will enhance your furnishings exquisitely and give you years of the finest quality flooring that won’t let you down, an Engineered Walnut wood floor is the floor for you.

Check out our Engineered Walnut buying guide. 

Also available wooden flooring installation guide.

 

Wood Flooring For Kitchens

By | Posted in: Engineered Oak Flooring, Kitchen wood flooring, Wooden Flooring |

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Can you put wood flooring in your kitchen?

We are often asked if wood flooring is suitable for kitchens and the answer is. YES but note the following advice.

Any wood floor in a kitchen is going to need to be mopped frequently – one or twice a week as a minimum. This means moisture and wood
does not like excessive moisture.

The first think to note is that you should  be minimising the moisture you use to clean the floor by using a well wrung out flat bottomed mop rather than the stringy varieties. See more information on Wood Floor Care and Maintenance.

I think the single most important thing is to use a wood floor in the kitchen which is finished with a hardwax oil rather than a lacquer. In the long run moisture can creep between the header joints on the ends of the boards where it is then readily absorbed by the end grain of the wood. With lacquered finishes, this moisture is trapped and can cause blackening of the grain at the ends of the boards. You may heave seen the same effect with Beech work tops which are particularly susceptible to this.

Hardwax oils are micro-porous so they breathe and you avoid this problem.

Should you use solid or engineered wood floors in a kitchen?

Wood floors respond to changes in heat and humidity. Solid boards respond much more readily than engineered boards and you will find both heat and humidity in a kitchen so an engineered wood flooring would be a sensible choice. Having said that I would not rule out using a solid board in a kitchen but avoid Beech which is too unstable and avoid very wide planks (over 180mm) for the same reason.

Should you fit the wood floor before the kitchen or vice versa?

This is tricky and there are pros and cons to each approach.

It is certainly easier to fit the wood floor first when you have an empty room against this you have to weigh up the likelihood of the floor being damaged during the kitchen installation but more importantly, there is the risk albeit a small risk of a leak at some stage.

If this happens you will wish your new floor did not extend beneath your nice new kitchen units. The wood floor will expand and tent up this can cause serious dame and getting the flooring out at this stage is a big problem.

If the floor is just tucked under the kitchen plinths it can be removed and replaced much more easily in the event of a leak or minor flood.

One thing to remember however is that any subfloor preparation must be done before the kitchen is fitted. Don’t fit the kitchen then invite the flooring guy or company.

More on how to take care of your wood flooring.

See our how to install wood flooring guide.

Bathroom Wood Flooring

By | Posted in: Bathroom Wood Flooring, Engineered Oak Flooring, Wooden Flooring |

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Can you put wood floors in bathrooms ?

Coming straight to the point – yes you can fit wood flooring in bathrooms, however there are a few “do’s” and “don’ts”

  • Don’t use Beech – Beech wood flooring is highly likely to move too much and it is inclined to go black if moisture is absorbed.
  • Do use an engineered wood flooring – It’s best to use an engineered wood flooring as these are more stable in their response to heat and humidity.
  • Don’t use wide boards – Wide boards are more unstable than narrower planks of wood flooring.

Avoid lacquered finishes – these don’t breath and over the long run you can expect blackening ie mould in the end grain as moisture creeps in. Use an oiled or waxoiled finish – these wood floors are micro porous – they breath and don’t trap moisture.

If you have small kids who like to splash plenty of water around be prepared to oil your wood floor two or three times a year to keep it in top condition. Don’t worry, for the typically small bathroom floor this will take only 20 minutes.

It is important to leave an expansion gap around the edge of any wood floor. In a bathroom remember to fit the wood floor before the wc or sink if it sits on a pedestal as it is really quite difficult to leave a gap around these items and produce a decent finish – there are no trim details on the market which fit neatly up against the shape of your loo! Don’t be tempted to use silicone to fill in the gap. It will leach into your wood floor over time.

Best plan is to fit the bath and or shower tray before the floor but fit the sink and wc afterwards.

You can read up on how to install and maintain wood flooring on our website at http://www.stoneandwoodshop.co.uk/installation.php

One thing worth stressing is that wood floors which are finished by natural oiling at the factory do benefit from an additional coat of oil once installed. It is also essential that these floors are looked after with a natural soap Osmo wash and care for example.

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Feature your project here!

By | Posted in: Feature YOUR project here! |

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We would love to feature your stone and wood flooring project on our website. If you’re really proud of your recent installation of our products or if you’ve done some fantastic work for a client, we would love to see your images!

Also as a little thank you, all your projects that are featured on our blog we’ll send you a lovely hamper from Thorntons worth £20.

All you need to do is send us a couple of images, a short description of your project and what products of ours you purchased to hello@stoneandwoodshop.co.uk

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Features of Travertine

By | Posted in: Travertine Flooring |

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There are many features of Travertine that are exclusive in its development and sets it out from the crowd. By understanding how Travertine develops, it is easier to recognise the true unique features of Travertine.

“…the main feature of Travertine giving a warm aged look…”

Travertine is a form of limestone what forms close to hot, bubbly, mineral, rich springs. When the gas bubbles from these springs become trapped, they create a pitted surface on the stone. This pitted surface is the main feature of Travertine giving a warm aged look that will mature over time creating a beautiful patina that increases the true beauty of the stone.

Although an uneven, pitted surface is an inherent feature of Travertine, filling the small holes and pits with epoxy or dust resin during manufacture creates a more finished look and a more refined and sophisticated beauty. Travertine that has undergone this process is known as honed and filled Travertine.

Unfilled Travertine is left in its natural state and embraces all the features of Travertine with the small pits and holes left unfilled. This creates a tile that has an aged look and a rustic quality that enhances both modern and traditional decor. Leaving these features of Travertine unfilled will, in time affect its durability and attract dirt, making it harder to clean and more susceptible to breakage. To make unfilled and tumbled Travertine more resilient but still keep the original features of Travertine, the fissures and crevices are partially filled with grout when installed which strengthens the tile and gives a partially hazy, muted look that often enhances the true beauty and features of Travertine.

One of the features of Travertine is its porosity which will react negatively to acids which are found in common items like lemons, alcohol, cleaning products etc. Acids will stain and damage Travertine leaving marks or dull spots. To maintain the features of Travertine and protect from the wear and tear of daily life, Travertine tiles are sealed on installation which ensures they are not damaged by everyday spillages and makes cleaning a simple process of sweeping and mopping with a reputable cleaning product.

Nature’s colours are one of the main outstanding features of Travertine. With a pallet from the softest ivories and the palest creams to the rich warm shades of golden honey, deep brown and walnut to the icy metallic silver and the granite shades. The colour tones may vary, with veins or bands of contrasting colour running through them so two Travertine tiles will be the same and this unique quality is another great feature of Travertine.