We have been involved in the wood flooring world from 1853. Now a days it has become a minefield of large direct flooring retailers and so called flooring specialist offering so many different types wooden flooring it has become impossible for potential flooring purchasers to know which type of oak floor,engineered oak flooring and many other types of timber floor to buy.
We are pride ourselves in being a family Oak flooring and Oak joinery company that will always do our very best to help you and advise, unlike most of the large direct flooring companies who have only one thing in mind and that being to make a sale. We have had many clients call us during 2009 asking for a natural flooring product that simply looks like real wood floors should. Certainly not like a shiny lacquered artificial or even laminate type of floor.
Firstly we try to find out what type of property you own. How old? Is it a modern property? What type of base are you fitting an Oak floor or Oak flooring onto? Are there any signs of damp? At this point in time have you spoken to any flooring specialists or any other flooring companies or flooring services for advise? These questions are so important if you want to purchase hardwood flooring and puchase the right product that will last for ever and be trouble free in future days to come.
It might be helpful for potential clients or purchases to cover a few points
Should I go for an engineered Oak floor or solid oak flooring?

The article below was an article that I wrote some months back regarding Engineered Oak flooring and has some useful points. Thanks to everyone who has given me so much feedback on this article.

Whenever potential customers hear about an engineered oak flooring their upfront response can often be, ‘ Its just not the genuine article! ’ I even pick up new customers believing that engineered oak may be the same product that the large super top retailers sell, which is not so as that is a laminate flooring or often poor quality engineered oak floors. A high supreme quality engineered oak flooring, such as we distribute, offers identical qualities as a solid oak floor and in many ways can be even better. This sounds like a sweeping declaration from a company such as ours, who have been involved with solid oak flooring for the last 30 years and more, however non the less accurate.

Lets merely attempt to cover a few of the reasons why: A SOLID OAK timber board is a totally natural product. You know that wood moves with different climatic conditions, for example moisture/humidity, damp or heat. Timber is a semi porous material which is effected by these different conditions. If a oak flooring takes up moisture it’s going to swell. The floor board will always swell on the width of the board and very little on its length. For this reason it’s always vitally important, when laying a solid oak floor, to allow and expansion gap round the outside perimeter of the floor; between the wall and the flooring. If a gap is NOT formed when laying your floor, and the floor boards do swell, the flooring has no where to go and will then most often buckle up in the centre area of the floor. The floor will then become springy and not lay flat onto the under surface on which it had been originally laid.

Lets just say your living space was 5. mtrs wide and you decided to use 170 mm wide flooring to cover that width. That would mean that you would have to lay 30 rows of boarding. If each board decided to swell by 2 mm in its individual width, it could result in up to a total of 60 mm of swelling. In every case it would be impossible to allow a gap of 30 mm each side of a room to allow for this. Most frequently the largest expansion gap you would manage achieve can be around 20 mm, which you’d then cover with a trim or maybe skirting. If your flooring were to be laid inside a home that had lately been plastered and was still drying out, a 2 mm of expansion on your board can be very possible. But if you were laying your natural Oak floor on a concrete screed and the sub floor was still drying out the situation will be even worse with the flooring trapping the moisture under it and resulting in serious damage to the newly laid flooring. In ALL cases the property should be dry and free from humidity after restoration work and be equivalent to the atmosphere that you would expect in normal, warm living conditions. Of course the sub floor should also be completely dry.

An ENGINEERED OAK from ourselves at jfj flooring hardwood board structure might be a little bit different but is just as attractive in appearance, providing you buy the best type of material. It will wear just as long as a solid oak floor and is a much more forgiving and furthermore is structurally a much more stable floor. The explanation for the above is that a layer of solid oak has been glued onto a multi laminate plywood. The European Oak will be same quality as the oak used in the solid oak boards we provide, thus giving an identical beauty by way of its natural grain and figuring. Be very wary of flooring companies and flooring services that offer an alternative to the multi laminate plywood that our flooring at jfjflooring is based on.

Our engineered flooring that JFJ Flooring provide has a multi laminate plywood produced from 10 layers of a birch faced plywood 15 mm thick. Every layer is glued in opposite directions, consequently producing a plywood structure for the base that’s very stable and resists movement. We would like to make you aware that many plywoods, which might be utilized for the manufacture of engineered flooring provided by many suppliers, isn’t as thick and has fewer layers. Less layers of ply will make it a less stable item. Using our engineered flooring a 6 mm layer of solid oak has been then bonded/glued onto the 10 layer plywood. The glues used today can be very efficient and when the correct adhesives are used the boarding is usually stronger then the wood itself. The solid oak we employ is a single piece of European oak between 6 and 7mm thick, creating a 190 mm wide board. Most contract flooring companies will again cut back, glueing a number of smaller widths together, giving the undesirable appearance of a multiple strip floor. It is most important that the layer of solid oak on your engineered oak floor is between 6 and7 mm thick, because this is the layer that takes all the wear and tear of everyday life. The result of our engineered flooring is a 22 mm thick board(15 mm multi laminate ply+ 7 mm of Solid European Oak) , 190 mm wide, in long lengths of 1900 mm and tongued and grooved all around the board. This top layer of Oak is the same thickness as you would have in a solid oak floor board which in tern gives it the same life span as solid wood flooring

This type Engineered Flooring holds many kinds of benefits: -

1. An exceptionally stable system that has much less movement then a solid oak floor.
2. The top layer of oak, on top of the plywood, will be all you can see, giving the attractiveness that you would expect from a solid European oak floor.
3. An infinitely more stable product for under floor heating systems, which have become very popular.
4. A product that should last and wear just as long as a solid oak floor. If a solid European oak floor was continuously sanded down over time it could only be sanded down about 6 mm until you are on the tongue between the boards. Our engineered oak board has identical 6 to 7 mm thickness of wear.
5. The 22 mm thick board is far stronger than the solid oak board, not only due to its thickness, but also because of the multi laminate plywood. This type of plywood is about the strongest timber material you can purchase for this requirement.
6.Engineered oak flooring is much more eco-friendly. The plywood consists of fast growing softwoods, which are plentiful, for this reason using up far less of the valued solid oak which has taken centuries to grow.
7.A much faster floor to lay as you are using longer and wider boards, making it less expensive.
8.Many of our customers will claim that the flooring feels far better using a longer, wider board and that it does not move like a solid oak floor could.
A handful of tips prior to obtaining engineered Oak wooden floor.

Never buy from an organisation that are unwilling to help you and give expert advise. Of course its your money your spending and an Oak floor should last you for life.
If you would like one of the best floors invest in European Oak flooring and not a Chinese
Look for 5 or 6mm of solid top layer of Oak and make sure your flooring is based on a 15 mm multi laminate plywood. 10 laminates for the best stability.
For those who care about the environment make sure your Oak arrives from a managed resource and never from unlawful logging.
Solely paying more for your flooring does not necessarily follow its better quality.
Ensure you are not paying a premium for delivery.
We provide our flooring at £34. 00/sq mtr Together with delivery(date 01/01/10)
Our delivery at jfjflooring includes overnight or whatever day you choose.
For any form of assistance and for more information about Oak flooring please give me a call on 01598740197 at jfj joinery.
Hope the above has some useful information but for more tips have a look at our web site.

So now those of you who have set your heart on a solid Oak floor or real oak floors as some people like to call them need to remember that when our engineered wood floor has been laid it is impossible to tell if its a solid wood floor or engineered oak wood flooring.
All our flooring comes to you with one coat of neutral clear oil on it as a finish. I personally would always stay well clear of a lacquered floor. We at jfjflooring used to supply top quality lacquered oak flooring. The problem with lacquered timber flooring is that if it get scratched or damaged it is very difficult to put right and often will require the whole wooden floor to sanded and re finished.
With all our engineered wooden / hardwood oak floors are treated with a single coat of neutral oil. This can be used as a finish in itself but do bear in mind that all oiled pre finished flooring will normally mark or stain if say a bottle of red wine were to be spilled on it. This again is were we can score a few extra points. All our oak wood floors can be treated with a product that is called Treatex hardwax oil with the initial clear oil that we have already treated the oak wood floor being compatible.
Treatex makes the real difference. This product has proved time and time again to be by far the best hard warring easy maintainable way to finish solid oak floors or engineered oak floors. Treatex is used for commercial flooring,kitchen flooring,engineered wood flooring,sports flooring,office flooring,shop flooring,bathroom flooring and most types of hardwood floors. Its very easy to apply with a brush or a roller and is as popular now with the diy flooring client or the retail flooring fitters. If your wood floors / engineered oak wood floor becomes scathed or damaged, simply rub a little treated hardwax oil or treatex polish into the mark. Treatex even do a flooring maintenance product that you simply add to water and just mop over the floor for general cleaning flooring etc. Treatex can also be used for wooden floor restoration,restaurant flooring,kitchen wood flooring,after floor sanding,gymflooring,parquet floor,shop flooring or virtually any real wood floor.
Elastilon is another product that we offer and highly recommend at jfjflooring. (do have a look at the video on our web site under “fitting instructions” Elastilon produces a floating floor which is the best way of laying a Solid Oak floor or an Engineered Oak floor on a screeded or concrete solid floor base. Elastilon comes in 1 mtr wide roles with a removable covering and peel off surface the top side. This produces a sticky top side only that sticks to the underside of the Oak floor boards and allows the whole floor to float on the underfloor or sub floor. This is a great way of fixing solid Oak floors and engineered Oak flooring to a solid base.

Hope a few of these tips have been useful to you. However you are welcome to call me on 01598740197 at jfjflooring or visit our web site. We are a family company and offer personal advise. Thanks to all our previous clients who have purchased from us during the last few years.