Herringbone Flooring in Bristol

A Clifton hall laid in herringbone from the front door to the stairs is what most Bristol orders in this category are for, and the pattern is set out from the centre line so the cut blocks land evenly against both skirtings, which matters more in a Georgian house whose walls have moved with the hill. The finer Oxford block suits a terrace hall in Bishopston; the broader block fills a Redland reception room.

Bristol’s slopes show up inside the houses, so the plywood deck over the levelled joists is where a herringbone floor is won or lost: the pattern reveals an uneven base more readily than parallel boards do. Over the heated screed at Knowle West the engineered block is the only construction to use. The order carries the higher cutting waste of a diagonal layout, and the blocks sit in the room for a few days before laying.

Flats are 35% of homes in the City of Bristol district, and a flat is where the two herringbones in the range part company: the engineered blocks are glued to the slab and, where the lease asks for impact-sound performance, need an acoustic layer the adhesive is approved for; the rigid-vinyl herringbone floats on its own underlay and answers the clause more simply. The lease decides, so read it first.

With terraced houses at 32% of the City of Bristol stock, the Bristol hallway is a narrow one, and that is the room herringbone was made for: the diagonal pattern draws the eye along the length and the hall reads wider than it is. The smaller 90 x 450 mm block keeps the pattern in proportion. Over a suspended timber floor the blocks are glued to a ply overlay; the rigid-vinyl herringbone clicks together over an underlay and needs no glue.