Frequently Asked Questions

Read simple, plain English answers from our experts to the questions that we are most frequently asked about choosing and installing our beautiful wood flooring. You can find more helpful information in our 3 minute guide to choosing a wood floor and our wood flooring installation guide but if you’d rather just talk to someone knowledgeable, get in touch with one of our showrooms and the team will be pleased to answer your questions directly.

<strong>Frequently Asked Questions</strong>

Most of our wood flooring can be used in any room as long as it is free of damp and all plaster and concrete are fully dry. The exceptions are bathrooms or other areas of high humidity where we don’t recommend using solid wood flooring over 150mm wide. See the site preparation section of our wood flooring installation guide for further details on conditions suitable for wood flooring.

Broadleaf have been successfully supplying wood flooring for use over underfloor heating for nearly 20 years. All of our wood floors have options that are compatible with underfloor heating when fitted in line with the simple underfloor heating advice in our installation guide and these are clearly marked in the options table on each product page.

Some solid products will require re-kilning which attracts a small price supplement.

If you do wish to fit wood flooring over underfloor heating, make sure that your underfloor heating system takes account of this and is sufficiently powerful to heat the room to the temperature you want taking into account the thickness of the flooring and any underlay required.

Our solid oak plank flooring will need to be glue or nail fixed, our Strata and Essentials Engineered oak plank flooring can be nail fixed, glue fixed or floated, and our parquet flooring will need to be glue fixed, in accordance with our installation guidelines.

Which fixing method is most suitable will depend on the product you choose and the type of subfloor you have. Details are given in our flooring selector and further information on the fixing methods can be found in our installation guide.

How well your wood flooring is fitted will be integral to the look and performance of the end result. In the absence of complicated site conditions, most Broadleaf wood flooring is designed to be accessible to a competent amateur, assuming that they have the correct tools and follow the installation guide closely. Generally however, we would suggest that you use an experienced professional fitter and particularly if you are considering installing parquet flooring or have a less than perfect site. Please ask our staff for advice if you are in any doubt.

Our Solid and Strata Engineered wood flooring will typically be a few mm thicker than a good quality carpet and underlay, but any height difference between rooms can be simply and discreetly accommodated with an appropriate threshold and a small adjustment to the door. Our Quintessential engineered oak is approximately the same thickness as a good quality carpet and underlay, so minimal adjustment should be needed.

You will need enough wood flooring to cover the floor area of the room, plus wastage for cuts at the edges and dealing with off square walls. Recommended wastage allowances for all products can be found in our flooring selector.

Wood is a hydroscopic material which is sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. Some movement in response to seasonal and atmospheric changes is characteristic of  wood flooring and part of it’s beauty. It is quite normal to see small gaps between planks and blocks that vary over time.

No. It will need to be acclimatised for 7-14 days in order to adjust to the particular atmospheric conditions of your home prior to fitting. Click here for more information about acclimatisation and why it is necessary or see our installation guide.

Quite simply, no. Our high performance, modern finishing products are designed for modern living. A simple regime of vacuum and damp mop, plus a quick application of Wood Floor Wax or equivalent from time to time is all that is generally required. For guidance on keeping your wood flooring in tip top condition see our aftercare guide.

No. All adhesive tapes, even those marked as low tack, contain solvents that will damage the finish on your wood flooring. In our experience, the best way to protect your floor if you need to decorate the skirting after it has been fitted is to use a sheet of newspaper and to slip this under the skirting.

Both Broadleaf Solid Oak and Broadleaf Strata Engineered Oak flooring have a thermal resistance of 0.1176m2 K/W which based on a conversion rate of 1 Tog = 0.1m2 K/W equates to 1.176 togs.

Broadleaf Essentials Engineered Oak Flooring has a thermal resistance of 0.088m2 K/W which based on the conversion rate above equates to 0.88 togs

Need some advice?

Need some advice?

We hope we have covered all of the key things that you might need to know, but if you have any questions or would like some more specific advice or explanation, please get in touch.

Our friendly and knowledgable Showrooms Teams will be happy to help.

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