Different Types Of Oak Flooring.

Standard Oak

Standard oak flooring has not been coloured, stained distressed or aged in any way. It is machined straight from the log into various widths, thicknesses and profiles and it is then kiln dried and in some cases prefinished with a hard-wax oil or lacquer.

Reclaimed Oak

Reclaimed Oak as the name suggests is timber reclaimed from old buildings, railway carriages etc, either from the UK or France. It is the genuine article and is beautiful to look at having developed lovely hues which in truth can only come from time itself.
The downside is availability, it is getting harder to get, although we can source it from a couple of suppliers we know, the price is hefty; at least double what one pays for the distressed oak above. So if you have the budget it is well worth it, but if not the artificially distressed oak is an exceptionally good alternative.

Distressed Oak

This style of oak is processed from the Standard oak above but has been through an additional manufacturing process to give it an antique or aged appearance. Generally it is placed in a large drum and tumbled with nuts and bolts and bits of metal to beat it up a little. The process is very effective and floors like this can look almost the same as the much more expensive reclaimed flooring.
More often than not a stain is then added to give it that extra aged look… but this is optional. Once fitted professionally it will look as though your floor has been there for hundreds of years.

Coloured Oak

Coloured oak is when Standard oak is changed from its natural colour to one of a variety of different shades. This can be done either by applying a coloured wax or stain or by a process known as smoking, this is where ammonia is used to react with the tanins in the wood and turns it a darker shade of brown. If this process is repeated it is known as double smoked and it produces a very dark brown in colour, not achievable by applying a stain.
Other colour ranges that we supply are white oiled, walnut/ebony, and a cognac brown. The cognac is almost identical to the single smoked colour and is cheaper.

Coloured oak can be bought prefinished meaning the colour is applied at the factory alternatively the colour can be applied on site by us once the floor has been fitted. In some cases this is preferable when you are trying to achieve an exact look. In the latter you are also able to choose from the multitude of widths and grades that are available in the standard oak.