What is Solid Timber Flooring?

Solid Timber (Hardwood) flooring is manufactured from planks milled from a single piece of timber. It is usually installed as solid timber planks nailed and/or glued down to a subfloor. When the subfloor is wooden based (for example, pine, yellow tongue), the solid timber flooring can usually be directly laid down to the subfloors. However, for a concrete slab subfloor, it usually needs to be laid with battens or plywood sheeting.

What is the difference between solid timber flooring and engineered flooring?

	Solid Timber	Engineered Flooring
Composition	one piece of solid wood from top to bottom	a balanced construction, made up of multiple layers of wood pressed together.
Thickness	18 or 19mm	mostly 14-15mm or 20-21mm
Joint	tongue and groove	tongue and groove, locking system.
Installation	fix down installation	fix laid down, floating installation

What to consider when choosing Solid Timber flooring?

Cost: Solid timber is usually much higher price than other types of flooring options, both in terms of materials and installations. If you are looking for more cost-effective flooring, you may consider using timber-lookalike laminate/hybrid flooring or engineered flooring.
Hardness: Australian flooring timber is generally hardwood. The ‘Janka’ rating measures the hardness of each species. The harder rating means the timber will perform better over the lifetime of the floors. Spotted Gum, the most popular timber in Australia, is an exceedingly robust timber with a hardness rating of 11 on the Janka scale. Offering excellent termite resistance, spotted gum is ideal for solid timber flooring and engineered wood.
Colour: The species of timber will affect the colour of the flooring and can usually be broken down into blondes (like Blackbutt and Tasmanian oak), reds (such as jarrah) and browns (for example, Spotted Gum, and brush box).
Grade: The grade of the timber refers to the level of visible natural features in the wood – natural gum veins, borer markings and other imperfections – and will ultimately influence the look of the floor. ‘Select’, ‘standard’ and ‘rustic’ are the three main gradesfor timber floors. Select grade has very few gum veins or natural imperfections; standard grade has a small amount on every board in the pack; and rustic grade has bigger features on every board on the floor.
Raw or Prefinished: Raw timber is just made up of raw wood. It won’t have been stained or sealed, and aside from the occasional, minor treatment, this wood remains untouched. In contrast, prefinished hardwood has already been sanded, stained and sealed in the manufacturer. If you have a historical home, a raw timber floor may fit better than a prefinished floor. If you have children or pets, a prefinished floor might be more durable in the long run.

What ranges/colours of solid timber flooring do you have?

Please see below the photos of the options. However, we have many more brands, ranges, and colours available than the website displays. Please contact us for more details.