Flooring is the face of your home. Exactly. When a person enters the room, the first thing he looks at is under his feet, and only after a while he begins to look around. I must say that the floor always experiences a lot of stress. It is important to choose a high-quality floor covering that will be both beautiful and durable, and preferably environmentally friendly. All these requirements correspond to a parquet board. Feedback on this material is very good.
History
Parquet board came into fashion in the 14th century. Since then, it has never lost its relevance. And this is unlikely to ever happen. In those ancient times, material was available only to very rich and influential people. Now the material is also not the cheapest, but at the same time almost every family can afford such flooring today.
Unfortunately, we recognize the fact that the best flooring in Russia comes from abroad. We have in our country several factories producing parquet boards (joint ventures of Russia and Europe), but the quality of their products is still lower than their foreign counterparts. Check out any review of the floorboard, you will see it right away. Brief reviews of several parquet boards will be presented below.
Reviews
Parquet board is an elite floor covering. No linoleum or laminate are competitors of a parquet board. The only hint of competition is the array, but that is a little bit wrong. Back to the floor.
Customer reviews praise the flooring for its environmental friendliness, appearance. There are also references to the excellent performance properties of the material and its durability. People who have encountered a parquet board, note the simplicity of its installation.
The material is really good. Parquet is made of wood, and not of sawdust, shavings, and more. A tree is a tree; during operation, the parquet does not begin to creak, does not swell due to increased moisture. This material is fully consistent with the price that is being asked for. Parquet is a material for high-quality repair. Reviews about the floorboard should remove all your doubts, if you have any.
The advantages of flooring
This material has a lot of strengths. Consider the main advantages:
- Environmentally friendly material (parquet is made exclusively of wood, without any chemical additives and other).
- Strength (material is durable, very strong and solid). Reviews of the parquet board indicate that the material can last ten or more years in the most difficult conditions.
- Aesthetics. The tree in its natural form always looks very noble, stylish and expensive.
- Naturalness of the picture (the picture of the board always looks natural and pleasant, the natural tones of wood look very stylish).
- Easy styling. In most cases, the owners of the apartment (house) can independently lay the floor with a parquet board, without the help of specialists.
Material flaws
There is nothing perfect in our world. You can always find at least some small flaws. If we talk about the floorboard, reviews say that the material has really few weaknesses, but we tried to find at least something:
- Marriage. Sometimes it occurs, most often marriage can be found on a relatively cheap board from a dubious manufacturer.
- Color scatter. When buying several packs, we recommend that you compare the color scheme of different packages with the floorboard with each other so that you do not fall into trouble later when laying, this disadvantage also occurs with manufacturers without a reputation.
- High price. Quality and natural materials determine this pricing, which simply needs to be taken for granted.
Board structure
Parquet is a multi-layer coating. For the front (outer) layer of parquet, always valuable wood is selected. The thickness of the floorboard is an important point. Even more important is the thickness of the front layer of parquet. It is its thickness that determines the maintainability of the floor. Speaking of repairs, we mean the number of polishes of the coating, if possible and necessary.
The thickness of the front layer varies from three to six millimeters. The middle layer is usually made of coniferous lamellas (the thickness of the middle layer is up to 9 mm.), The lowest layer is usually 2 mm, it is made of strong fir plywood. Thus, we get the thickness of the parquet about 15-17 mm, say that the thicker the parquet - the better, more stable, durable and tougher it is.
In the market of building materials, parquet boards with a thickness of 7 to 25 mm are offered. The best parquet board is the thickest. Such a board can be sanded if necessary, it is solid, durable and will not “walk” under your foot. But there are cases when you need a thin parquet board.
If your subfloor is not distinguished by a perfectly even surface, that is, it has slight curvatures in level, then it will be better for you to lay it with a thin parquet. Also, this option is relevant if the room is not too high ceiling. It would seem that the difference of 10-12 mm will not be noticeable, but this is not so. Sometimes the financial aspect plays a role in choosing not the thickest parquet board.
Solid larch parquet board
This is a special option. Larch is a material that is very resistant to external negative factors. Larch is not afraid of water, it is not attacked by insects and rodents. All this is possible thanks to gum, which is present in large amounts in the structure of wood. Therefore, a parquet board made of larch has all the same properties as the wood itself. The price of such parquet bites, but it's worth it!
Other wood types for parquet board
For the production of parquet , wood grades with good wear resistance, hardness and durability are suitable. In addition to the above larch, the following are suitable:
- Oak. This wood is very popular as it is very strong and strong. Oak products are always of the highest quality, the oak does not rot for a long time, it is not exposed to the action of the fungus, it is not afraid of moisture, and it does not warp and does not dry out over time. Parquet board from oak looks very attractive.
- Ash. Cheaper wood. Ash wood flooring looks very beautiful. Such a parquet board loses a little oak in terms of durability and hardness, but the price of products is much lower.
- Beech. Products from this wood always have a pleasant light shade, they are extremely resistant to moisture and durable.
- American walnut. Exclusive wood for our forests. It is easy to guess from the name where this variety of tree grows. American walnut coating is extremely strong and durable. Oak parquet board is not inferior in this indicator. The American walnut is naturally endowed with an amazing pattern of dark brown wood. The price of parquet from this species of wood is high.
Varieties of flooring
Before the final choice of parquet, you need to know how its different types differ. Parquet board is:
- Single-lane (the top layer of a single-lane parquet board consists of only one canvas, the wood pattern looks clear and pleasing to the eye).
- Two-way (the top layer of the board consists of two slats, they are connected end-to-end).
- Three-lane (the decorative layer is composed of three lamellas, which have an offset along their length). A three-lane board may have a pattern in the form of a “wicker” or “Christmas tree”.
- Four-way (according to its manufacturing principle, the board is similar to three-way, the difference is only in the number of slats).
In terms of performance and durability, a single-lane parquet board looks a little more profitable than other options. But the choice should be yours, because the difference between the above types is not critical.
Some manufacturers
Kahrs uses the best materials for its products. This is oak, beech, ash, poplar, cherry, birch, walnut, maple, hickory, kopalovy tree and more. The company's products are undeniable in terms of quality. The manufacturer offers a lot of options for flooring. But even the most budget options are very expensive. The manufacturer warrants its products for 12 years or more.
Haro is a German company that has existed for more than 150 years, during which time it has grown from a family small sawmill into a leading manufacturer of the best flooring in the world. For the production of parquet use: oak, beech, ash, maple, American cherry and exclusive white acacia. This manufacturer combines the old traditions of woodworking and modern innovative technologies.
Parquet selection
First decide on the material of the finish layer. And a parquet board from ash and oak, for example, should be considered for purchase. The fact that when we said that oak is stronger and more durable should not in any way diminish ash products. If we are talking about foreign products, then all of them comply with international standards and have a sufficient supply in terms of their performance.
It is worth considering the fact that your floor should look harmonious in your room. Try to figure out various options to find the right shade of the floor.
If you have never been involved in repairs and have no idea how to lay a parquet board yourself, then it is better to resort to the help of professionals in this matter. A well-laid parquet in compliance with all necessary standards and technologies will delight you for a very long time without squeaks and other unpleasant moments.