What types of flooring do you offer?

We stock engineered wood flooring, solid oak, herringbone and chevron parquet, luxury vinyl (LVT), laminate, porcelain and ceramic tiles, and decorative wall panels. Every product is hand-selected for quality, durability and design.

Do you offer samples and how ly do you deliver?

Yes. You can order samples directly from any product page. We ship samples and full orders across the UK with dispatch. Most in-stock items are dispatched promptly with delivery options.

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

Engineered wood has a real oak top layer bonded to a stable plywood base, giving it excellent dimensional stability for underfloor heating and rooms with fluctuating moisture. Solid wood is milled from a single piece of timber with a thicker wear layer that can be sanded and refinished multiple times. Both deliver a premium natural look.

Is LVT vinyl flooring waterproof?

The planks are — vinyl takes on no water, so it will not swell or lift at the joints the way timber and laminate can. That makes it a natural fit for kitchens, bathrooms and busy family homes. It replicates the look of natural wood or stone while providing hard-wearing durability, comfort underfoot and easy day-to-day maintenance.

Fitting guide 2 min read

Herringbone Installation Guide

Planning and fitting a herringbone floor. Why the pattern needs full glue down, how to set the first row, and the waste allowance to order.

Difficulty

Professional advised

Method

Full glue down

Waste allowance

15% to 20%

Underfloor heating

Suitable

1/ 6

What you are taking on

Herringbone is the same oak as a straight plank floor, arranged so that every block meets its neighbour at a right angle. That arrangement is the whole appeal and the whole difficulty. On a plank floor a small error disappears into the next row. In a herringbone field it accumulates, and by the far wall it is visible from the doorway.

Blocks arrive as left hand and right hand boards in matched quantities. Check both are present before you start, because a field laid with the wrong ratio cannot be finished.

Good to know: Herringbone and chevron are not the same pattern. Herringbone blocks are cut square and meet at a right angle. Chevron blocks are cut at an angle so the rows form a continuous point. They are ordered and fitted differently.

Order the right quantity

This is the number people get wrong, and it is the one that stops a job halfway.

Straight plank

8% to 12% extra for waste

Herringbone or chevron

15% to 20% extra for waste

Why the difference

Every perimeter cut in a pattern floor produces an offcut that cannot be used elsewhere in the field.

Important: Order the whole quantity, including the waste allowance, in one go. Boards are produced in batches and a later top up may not match what is already down.

Why glue down, and only glue down

A floating herringbone floor is a bad idea, and it fails in a predictable way. Each block is small, so each one carries very little of its neighbours. Without a bond to the subfloor the individual blocks work loose over time and the pattern opens at the joints.

Full glue down locks every block in position, keeps the pattern tight, and gives the firmer, quieter feel underfoot that people expect from parquet. It is also the method that works best over underfloor heating, because the floor is in direct contact with the heated slab rather than floating above an insulating air gap.

Pro tip: Spread adhesive for one or two rows at a time. Cover more than you can lay inside the adhesive open time and the bond is compromised across the whole area.

Setting out the pattern

The floor is decided by the first two rows. Everything after that follows them, including the mistakes.

Find the sightline

Herringbone is normally set along the longest view through the room, usually from the door towards the main window. Snap a chalk line on that axis.

Dry lay a test row

Lay one full pattern row across the room without adhesive. Shift the centre line until the cut blocks at both walls finish at a similar width.

Fix a batten and work to it

A straight batten on the chalk line gives the first spine something true to sit against. Free hand starts drift.

Check the angle constantly

Put a square across the pattern every few blocks. A small error is invisible at the third row and obvious at the thirtieth.

Cut the perimeter last

Lay the full field first, then cut into the walls. Trying to fit the border as you go locks in any drift.

Before the room goes back into use

Adhesive needs time, and this is where an otherwise good job gets damaged.

Keep off it while it cures

Walking on a freshly bonded field moves blocks before the adhesive has taken.

Furniture back last

Felt pads under every leg, and lift rather than drag.

Damp mop only

Standing water sits in the joints of a pattern floor far longer than on a plank floor.

Mats at the doors

Grit is what cuts the finish, and a pattern floor has more joints for it to sit in.

Our recommendation: We recommend a professional fitter for herringbone. The material cost is the same either way, and the difference between a good pattern and a poor one is entirely in the setting out.

Questions about fitting herringbone

Can herringbone be floated rather than glued?

The oak blocks in our range are glued down; each block is small and carries little of its neighbours, so a floating oak herringbone works loose at the joints over time. If you want a click floor in the pattern, the rigid vinyl herringbone is made for it and floats over an underlay.

How much waste does a herringbone floor produce?

15% to 20% over the room area on the manufacturer guidance we can cite, against 8% to 12% for a straight plank, because every perimeter cut in a pattern floor produces an offcut that cannot be used in the field. Order it with the floor, in one batch.

Where should the pattern start?

From a centre line along the longest view through the room, not from a wall. Dry lay one full row first and shift the line until the cut blocks at both walls come out equal; a straight batten fixed on the line keeps the first spine true.

Does herringbone work over underfloor heating?

Yes. The Oxford herringbone blocks are engineered oak and listed for underfloor heating, and a glued floor is the better construction over a heated screed. The screed must be dry on a hygrometer reading and the heating run through its commissioning cycle before the adhesive goes down.

See the pattern before you commit

Herringbone reads very differently in a real room than on a screen. A sample on your own floor settles it in a week.

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