Timber Floor Installation Sydney
We've been installing a wide variety of timber floors in Sydney for more than 15 years. New hardwood flooring is one of the best improvements you can make to your home.
From solid wood flooring to engineered, glue-down and nailed, we have you covered.
What does a typical installation process look like?
Here are the stages involved in a timber flooring installation in Sydney.
We’ll keep a close eye on the timber’s moisture content in the following days. Once it's acclimated correctly, we can start installation. If it's installed before we go through this process, there’s a good chance you may issues with your timber floors in the future.
This is particularly important in Sydney, with a wide range of temperature and moisture conditions throughout the year.
A new floor is only ever as good as it’s foundation. We take enormous care in subfloor preparation. The extra effort we put into the parts of the flooring you can’t see always pays dividends in the long run.
Making sure the subfloor is perfectly flat is key. If there are highs or lows anywhere, we grind down or fill in those areas until it meets our exacting standards.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. At Know-How timber flooring, we don’t just slap wood on the floor and solve problems as they arise. (Many other timber installers in Sydney will do that).
Rather, we use a process called ‘racking’, where we sort through the individual boards and plan their placement. This makes sure there are no ugly ‘H-joins’ or awkward small pieces butting against the wall.
We also go through the planks of supplied timber piece-by-piece searching for flaws or inconsistent grain patterns that might affect the overall look of the finished product.
Depending on the size of the space, the timber flooring product you’ve chosen, the installation technique and the finish you’ve selected this can take between two days to a week.
Once the timber floorboards have been laid down, finished and polished, we’ll make sure the workspace is immaculately clean before we leave the site.
The different process required to install timber flooring
Engineered timber floors come in a variety of styles with different hardwood veneers.
It’s a reliable, consistent material that can be affixed neatly to a timber subfloor – whether batten frame or plywood. It’s also possible to securely glue the slats to concrete if it has been correctly prepared to accept the adhesive..
If you choose to install an acoustic underlay, engineered floors have been designed to be neatly glued directly to it or floated above it.
During our consultation, we will discuss the benefits of each of these options, and whether you project will suit one particular installation solution more than the others.
Parquetry is typically laid in either a chevron or herringbone pattern. But if you wish to explore the creative possibilities of a timber floor, parquetry is the best technique for it.
If you’re looking for something special, we can offer some dynamic installation styles you may not have considered. Or if you prefer, we can work with your interior designer to bring something completely unique to your project.
Whichever style of parquetry you choose, we will be there to guide you through the process all the way.
Solid timber flooring is far more durable. A quality installation can last a hundred years with the proper care.
But there are circumstances where Solid Wood Flooring might not be the best option. For example, it typically is not as adept in wet areas, such as around sinks or dishwashers. It is also not as forgiving with spaces that experience large temperature and moisture fluctuations. If you wish to have underfloor heating, for example, it may not be the best material to consider.
Solid timber floor installation is a true craft. It takes years to develop the skill and experience to install it correctly. We have years of experience, and know all the ins, outs and potential pitfalls that every piece of lumber can bring.
Similar to engineered timber parquetry, this material can be installed over concrete, a timber subfloor or an acoustic underlay.
We are incredibly proud of the beautiful work we have produced with this material. It takes enormous care and knowledge to bring a solid timber parquetry floor to life.
Being solid all the way through, it does have the same drawbacks described in the solid and recycled flooring paragraph above. But if you have the right space for it, it can be a truly spectacular statement piece that will bring life and warmth to your home.
Make an appointment with our team today
Wherever you are in Sydney, our experts can help with your timber flooring. Get in touch with Know-How Timber Flooring today.
Happy Customer Feedback
This company was absolutely Amazing & So Professional Re their task of replacing all my old carpet with stunning new European Oak timber floors. The staff were all super compétant & expedient with the job . Phoned me daily with updates . There were a few tricky decisions to be made along the way but their advice always solved the issues. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone thinking of renovating their flooring. Great Company. 👍👍
The people at Know How Flooring were very professional and the completed the work in a timely fashion. After 2 years the floors are still like brand new, I would recommend this company to anyone looking for new flooring.
Know-How flooring have laid the floor on my latest project - my own home - to the highest standard. As an architect, attention to detail , quality of service and reliability are essential and Zsolt and his team exceeded my expectations in every area. I would not hesitate to recommend them for any project and will be using them as my first choice flooring installers on future projects for my clients.
Specific FAQ’s about Timber Floor Installation in Sydney
Solid wood flooring is the same type of wood all through. The flooring, tongue, groove, everything. Engineered wood flooring is solid wood on the top layer above the tongue, and plywood on the base layer.
Many engineered floors have a very thin top wood layer. Some have just a veneer. You can only sand these thin layers once, twice, or some not at all. We don’t work with these lower quality products though.
In most cases, you would never be able to tell the difference in looks and usage verses solid wood flooring.
The engineered flooring we use also has several benefits over solid wood floors for the Sydney area:
1) Engineered flooring can be installed directly over a concrete subfloor without the need for a plywood base. This is more cost effective, and it also avoids height issues with doors, cabinets, dishwashers, and so on.
2) Engineered flooring is more stable. It doesn't expand and contract as much as solid wood floors. Which means fewer gaps through your floor with the seasonal weather changes we experience here in Sydney.
3) Engineered flooring is better for old-growth forests. Solid wood flooring takes 100 percent old-growth wood to make. And most of that never gets seen. With quality engineered flooring products, only the vital wear layer uses old-growth trees. The sub-layers are made from plentiful and fast-growing trees. Which means you typically get 3 to 4 times the amount of flooring from a single old-growth tree.
Engineered timber flooring is an incredibly versatile product. They perform beautifully in beach houses in the Eastern Suburbs and the Northern Beaches. They are the best choice for underfloor heating the Inner West, Lower North Shore and Upper North Shore.
When we come over for your consultation, let us know if you’re interested in Engineered flooring and we will bring some samples to your Sydney home so you can see the beautiful quality.
The first thing to look at is the thickness of the wear layer. The top, real wood layer can vary in thickness between products and suppliers.
The super-thin wood layers on cheaper products are either rotary peeled or sliced veneer. They can't be re-sanded. This is a problem if you need to do a floor repair after some damage. With the cheapest products, a deep scratch will reveal the plywood layer.
The second attribute that distinguishes high quality engineered flooring from cheaper products is that the base has more layers of top-quality birch plywood.
Inferior flooring products only have 3 layers, and are made with lower quality plywood. The engineered flooring we supply has a minimum of seven layers. The more layers there are, and the better quality the plywood is, the more stable and durable the floor will be long-term.
When it comes to engineered flooring products, you really do get what you pay for. But when remodelling your home, office, or business, isn't it better to know you that your timber flooring will maintain its appearance and durability for years to come – whatever might happen.
We can install both solid wood flooring as well as engineered flooring over a concrete slab.
Engineered flooring is the simplest to manage, as it can possibly be glued directly to the floor, which is the simplest and cheapest approach.
But if you plan to install acoustic insulation beneath your timber floorboards, it is just as manageable to install solid timber flooring as it is to install the engineered products. It will still be more expensive to install the solid timber flooring, though, as we will likely need to install a batten frame above your concrete to create a ‘floating’ timber floor. But the results can be spectacular.
It depends on the following:
- The type of hardwood flooring being installed.
- The humidity level of the room.
- The moisture level of the sub-floor.
We will always go by the manufacturers acclimation and installation instructions. We don’t cut any corners.
If there is a difference in moisture levels between the new timber flooring and the subfloor, there will inevitably be future issues with gapping, crowning, or cupping of the floor.
We don't want that to happen on any of our Sydney hardwood flooring projects.
We test the moisture levels of both the subfloor and the newly delivered flooring with a professional moisture meter. That tells us how much time we need to wait before the installation can begin.
It’s usually somewhere between four days and two weeks.