A wooden floor is, for many synonymous with comfort and quality. The floor is par excellence. But do you know the difference between a parquet and flooring? Do you think they are both the same? If you are going to change the floor of your house, you must consider this when it comes to wooden floors.
Wood floors within the parquet category
Parquets are wooden floors, one type among those that exist. And in turn, included within the parquets are solid flooring, multilayer parquet and veneers. Solid platforms are made of natural wood, so they can be sanded and varnished as often as necessary. The wood wears down in thickness, and that’s it. Multilayer parquet has several layers, as its name suggests. The upper one is made of natural wood, but underneath there are different materials. This lowers its cost. And finally, wood veneer floors are even cheaper than natural wood floors. These have a fragile wood veneer (the top layer) and do not support slashing.
Parquet: boards, strips or strips
The package is a hot and stately wooden floor. Its installation and the material itself (noble wood) are indeed expensive. You can choose oak, walnut, pine parquet. even with dyes ( white parquet floors are popular ). In addition, in terms of shape, there are floors made up of slats, slats or strips that vary in size (there are even special widths).
Installation of parquet flooring
A parquet wood floor can be installed with glue on the floor, on battens or floating (it is not fixed to the floor). The glued installation method is the most expensive, and the floating way is the most economical (it is installed on top of the existing floor if it is rigid and level) and quick, with the difference being double the price.
The maintenance of the wooden floor
A solid wood floor, in woods such as oak, cedar, pine or walnut, can be stabbed because the thickness of the board is reduced, but it remains intact. Therefore, it is recommended to perform the stabbing every 8 or 10 years. This process is carried out with a machine that slashes (that is, sandpaper) and simultaneously sucks up the dust generated so that this procedure is not as cumbersome as it was a few years ago. Stabbing eliminates imperfections in the floor such as scratches, stains (also the discolouration that occurs in areas that are in direct and prolonged contact with sunlight) and bumps.
Multilayer and laminate flooring, beware of chipping.
Multilayer flooring can be slashed because it is a type of wooden flooring within parquet flooring. It is not solid but only has a layer of wood, which can be stabbed and varnished later. Laminate floors do not slash; this is important because although the laminate looks like wood, it is not. After puncturing, the wooden floor must be varnished (in a gloss, matte or satin finish).
How are wooden floors restored?
The parquet slashing machine removes the varnish that covers the floor and smoothes the surface with coarse grit sandpaper that reduces the thickness of the floor by 1 or 1.5 mm. Then the machine sands a little more with a fine grain, and the varnish layer is applied. Therefore, leaving home to do the task is unnecessary since it can be done stay by stay.
Coloured wooden floors
That the floor is made of wood does not imply that it cannot have colour. In addition to the variety of shades provided by the different types of wood and the nuances of the varnish, there is the possibility of staining the floor. The stain or paint finishes the wood, and the final protective layer of clear varnish is also applied. Remember that not all woods are equally versatile when applying colour (a stain). In general, tropical woods are not very porous, which prevents the pigment from penetrating. Oak, for example, is easier to stain.
How much does a wooden floor cost?
There is a wide variety of prices when it comes to installing a wooden floor, first because of the different types of flooring in this material and the installation forms. As an orientation, one of the most common is multilayer oak parquet: 30-80 euros/square meter. The price also varies depending on the format of the slats (the larger, the higher the price). Solid oak wood flooring also raises the price to 90 euros/square meter.
And how much does it cost to stab the parquet?
If you finally decide on a wooden floor for your home, you must consider the (long-term) maintenance required. Surely you are interested to know how much money we are talking about. Sanding or stabbing and subsequent varnishing to return the shine to the floor for a floor between 70 and 90 square meters can cost 900-1,000 euros.
Can you put a parquet in the kitchen?
Wooden floors are warm and comfortable, timeless, and they adapt to all decorative styles, but can they be put in the kitchen? It is an area where there is the possibility of grease stains, water, humidity… The good news is that it can. Some models and brands sell wooden floors especially suitable for this situation. A well-sealed floating wooden parquet prevents water from seeping in, for example. However, it does not resist humidity as well as other floors, such as ceramic or vinyl, which also offer imitation wood finishes.
