Herringbone Flooring in Southampton

In an Ocean Village or Bargate Quarter flat a herringbone floor is a study in depth: the lease sets the acoustic layer, the screed is often heated, and the engineered Oxford block goes over both because a solid block would gap over the heat. The finer block suits a flat’s hall; the broader block suits a Highfield or Bassett reception room, where it goes on a plywood deck over levelled joists.

The pattern is set out from the centre line of the room so the cut blocks land evenly against both skirtings, and the perimeter border is settled before the field is laid. In the post-war centre the solid floor is flat for free once the membrane checks out, and the whole job is the setting out. A diagonal pattern wastes more in the cutting than a straight plank, and the order allows for it.

Flats are 42% of homes in the Southampton 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.

Private renting is 29% of households in Southampton, and a herringbone in a rented home is chosen where the floor is part of the rent. The engineered blocks are refinished in place between tenancies; the rigid-vinyl herringbone is the version that takes a change of tenant without needing to be. In Southampton both are specified, for different ends of the market.