The Ultimate Guide to Hardwood Parquet for a Beautiful Home

The Ultimate Guide to Hardwood Parquet for a Beautiful Home

Parquet flooring is the result of exquisite craftsmanship where the wood is cut into small pieces and fitted to form unique geometric patterns. Parquet has come a long way and evolved into parquet wood tiles made by arranging the wood veneers in geometric patterns and mass-produced, making them readily available to thousands of homeowners at a more affordable price.

This post covers all kind of information you may need about parquet hardwood flooring so that you can determine whether it is the best choice for your home.

Advantages

Parquet flooring is available in a variety of patterns apart from the conventional herringbone style or simple parallel. Also, parquet tiles made of a variety of hardwood species including exotics make it an attractive choice among homeowners looking for flooring that stands out. The following are certain advantages associated with it that make it a popular choice.

• Parquet tiles are easier to install than solid hardwood. This is because they are thinner and hence easier to cut. Also, gluing down the tiles is easier and since the glue has a significant drying time, you can adjust the placement.
• Parquet tiles are made from solid wood and not veneers meaning they are highly durable.
• Mid-century and vintage home décor has always made a comeback. This flooring choice makes an ideal choice for homeowners who are trying to create a period-specific home décor.
• Parquet tiles are usually available in the prefinished state side-stepping the mess of staining and finishing them on-site. Moreover, they are coated with highly durable polyurethane finish and are available in a variety of colours.
• The tiles have a beautiful 3D appearance because of the multi-piece construction. The patterns are varied and you have numerous choices, and create unique floors by combining different patterns.
• Parquet flooring tiles are more affordable than solid hardwood planks as they are thinner.

Disadvantages

• Wood parquet tiles cannot be used in basements because of humidity and water exposure damage, similar to solid hardwood. In short, any place where hardwood does not fare well, parquet flooring will face the same problems.
• These tiles are comparatively thinner than solid wood floorboards and without a strong underlying framework, it may flex when you step on it.
• Depending on the thickness, only light sanding once or twice may be possible. Also, the complicated design of parquet can make sanding and buffing the tiles difficult.
• Parquet is a unique flooring style that may not fetch a good resale value for your home unless the new potential owners have an appreciation for mid-century art and styles.

Types of Patterns

There are different types of parquet flooring patterns that you can consider for your home, like:

• Herringbone style is the most popular choice, named after the bone structure along the spine of these fishes. The rectangular woods are laid at 90 degrees to each other forming a zigzag pattern. It can be laid parallel or diagonal to the wall. A variation of this pattern is the double herringbone design.
• Chevron pattern creates a perfect arrow point when installed and can make the room look longer than it is.
• Basket weave is often created by using different wood textures and colours together to form the pattern. There are different types of the basket weave pattern like the diagonal and square basket.
• Brick style is rather self-explanatory. The rectangular pieces are placed in a pattern like lying bricks forming a brick-wall pattern on your floor.

Important Things to Note

There are certain important things that you must take note of before investing in parquet flooring.

• Texture and treatment

Parquet flooring can be distressed to create a customized and unique look for the floors. You can even consider reclaimed parquet blocks for designing the floor of your home. Parquet floor blocks can be tumbled to impart a rustic appeal to them with scratches and dents adding more character.

• Maintenance

The maintenance depends on the finish of the flooring and depending on the type of parquet tiles you have chosen. Lacquered parquet tiles require very little maintenance and the tiles are sealed against minor water damage. However, it has a drawback- scratches show up very prominently on lacquered tiles and one must sand and refinish with a fresh coat of lacquer in order to hide the imperfection.

Oil finish is not as durable but it imparts a more natural look to the floor. It will have to be reapplied every two to three years in order to preserve the lustre of the flooring. Oiled finishes, however, is not durable enough to withstand water damage and any spills must be immediately cleaned.

• Application

Parquet flooring looks suitable for any part of the home. However, it is not the best choice for humid areas unless you are choosing a lacquered and sealed version of the parquet flooring that will not absorb spills.

Parquet tiles are noted for their unique design and have gained popularity for their competitive prices but outstanding beauty. Keeping in mind the factors discussed above, choosing a quality parquet tile flooring will become much easier from any reputed store.