Herringbone is laid from rectangular blocks with square-cut ends, set at right angles and staggered so the end of one block meets the side of the next; in this range it comes in engineered oak, which is glued, and in rigid vinyl, which clicks. In Hemel Hempstead 77% of homes are houses, most of them terraced houses (30%), so the questions are the subfloor and the underlay rather than impact sound.
Herringbone flooring in Hemel Hempstead: what the housing says
The Dacorum district counts 63,413 households in the 2021 census, and the mix of houses and flats in that count is what decides how a herringbone floor is specified here.
With terraced houses at 30% of the Dacorum stock, the Hemel Hempstead 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.
Social renting is 21% of households in Dacorum, and a pattern floor appears in that stock through the rigid-vinyl herringbone rather than the glued oak: it clicks, it floats, it is listed as waterproof, and it can be laid across a refurbishment programme at the pace a programme needs.
We deliver across Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire. Most in-stock orders reach Hemel within a timeframe that depends on the delivery postcode. We also cover Watford, St Albans, Berkhamsted, Kings Langley, Tring and the surrounding Dacorum area.
In oak, the Oxford Herringbone blocks in 90 x 450 mm and 125 x 600 mm, in natural, light, dark brown, fumed and whitewashed faces: Oxford Herringbone Dark Brown Oak and Oxford Herringbone Light Oak are the two most often set against each other. In rigid vinyl, the BML Herringbone European Oak SPC and BML Herringbone Grey Oak SPC click floors, listed as waterproof, with a 0.55 mm wear layer.
Dacorum in the 2021 census: 63,413 households, 76% houses, 23% flats.
Census results here are published for Dacorum, the district Hemel Hempstead belongs to, where terraced dwellings make up 29.8% and purpose-built flats 20.6%. HP1, HP2 and HP3 cover Adeyfield East, Adeyfield West, Bennetts End, Boxmoor, Gadebridge, Grovehill and Chaulden and Warners End. A terraced plan puts the staircase in the middle and pushes most of the day's traffic through one narrow hall, so the wear rating counts for more than the pattern does. Stair nosings are best specified alongside the floor rather than bolted on afterwards, and where the covering changes at a doorway a flush threshold bar avoids the raised ridge that catches a toe and starts lifting the edge.
Hemel Hempstead is the most evenly mixed town in this part of Hertfordshire: three in ten terraced, a quarter semi-detached, one in five detached and one in five in purpose-built flats. There is no single typical Hemel house, which means there is no single right floor for the town.
Boxmoor and the older streets sit on stock that predates the New Town; Adeyfield, Bennetts End and Gadebridge are post-war and built to a plan. The first group brings suspended timber and the damp questions that go with it. The second brings solid ground floors that usually want a moisture reading and a smoothing coat.
Delivery times and options depend on the delivery postcode. See Delivery & Returns for the applicable estimate.
Guides
Before you choose
Before you order in Hemel Hempstead
Oak or rigid vinyl Oak is glued, sandable and for dry rooms; rigid vinyl clicks, floats and is listed as waterproof. The room decides.
The setting-out drawing A herringbone is laid from a centre line with a planned border. The drawing decides the quantity, so it comes before the order.
15 to 20 percent over The waste allowance for a pattern floor, on the manufacturers' guidance. Order it in one batch.
Ply first in a terrace A glued herringbone goes onto a screwed-down ply overlay, not onto loose old boards.
The click version for a tenancy Glued blocks are permanent; the rigid vinyl herringbone clicks and lifts. Tenancy agreements commonly need the landlord's consent for a hard floor either way.
Herringbone flooring in Hemel Hempstead: questions, answered
Which rooms in a Hemel Hempstead home suit herringbone?
The hallway and the living room above all: the pattern reads best along a length. In a kitchen the rigid-vinyl herringbone is the version to use, because it is listed as waterproof and the oak blocks are not.
Does herringbone cost more to fit than a plank?
A glued pattern floor takes longer to lay than a floating plank and uses more material, 15 to 20 percent waste against 8 to 12. The cost guide linked below cites the published fitting figures rather than guessing them.
Can I lay herringbone over underfloor heating?
The engineered Oxford blocks and the rigid-vinyl herringbone are both listed for underfloor heating. The screed has to be dry and the system commissioned before either goes down.
What flooring suits Boxmoor’s period homes?
A Boxmoor house of that age sits on suspended timber over a ventilated void, and the air moving under the boards decides more than the board on top. Check the airbricks are clear, then keep the build-up shallow so thresholds and stair nosings stay where the joinery expects them.
Do you deliver herringbone flooring to Hemel Hempstead?
Yes. We deliver across Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire from our UK warehouse, including the HP1, HP2 and HP3 postcode districts. Delivery cost and timing depend on the delivery postcode and are shown at checkout, and samples come by post first so the floor can be seen in the room before the full order.
Can I see a herringbone sample before ordering in Hemel Hempstead?
Yes: cut samples are £1.99 each, up to two per product, posted to your Hemel Hempstead address. Two or three side by side on the floor, in the room's own light morning and evening, settle the colour faster than any photograph.
All ranges
More flooring pages for Hemel Hempstead
Every range and room for Hemel Hempstead, each on its own page with the same housing data read for that floor.
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