Parquet is a floor built from short blocks laid to a pattern: herringbone, chevron or a Versailles panel, in engineered oak with a 3 to 4 mm wear layer in this range. In Bath 79% of homes are houses, most of them semi-detached houses (29%), so the questions are the subfloor and the underlay rather than impact sound.
The Bath and North East Somerset district counts 79,250 households in the 2021 census, and the mix of houses and flats in that count is what decides how a parquet floor is specified here.
Semi-detached houses are 29% of the homes in Bath and North East Somerset, and the semi's knocked-through living room is the room most often floored in herringbone across Bath: a pattern floor gives a long room a centre. Set out from the middle of the room, not from a wall, and where the room crosses from timber onto the concrete of an extension the two bases are levelled to each other first, because a glued pattern shows every step in the base.
Terraced houses are 27% of the Bath and North East Somerset stock, and a terraced hallway is where a herringbone floor earns its reputation: the pattern leads the eye down a narrow space and makes it read longer. The base is the work. A pattern floor is glued, so the old suspended boards are overlaid with ply, screwed down and levelled; the 90 x 450 mm Oxford blocks suit the proportions of a terrace better than the 125 x 600 mm ones.
Owner-occupation is 66% in Bath and North East Somerset, and a pattern floor is an owner's floor: it costs more to fit than a plank, it is planned around the room, and it stays. The Oxford herringbone and the Knightsbridge chevron in Bath go into the rooms that are lived in and shown, the hallway and the living room, and the 3 mm wear layer keeps a refinishing cycle in reserve.
Source: ONS, Census 2021, Bath and North East Somerset (E06000022) · Postcode districts: postcodes.io (ONS geography) · Range: our product catalogue
Delivery to Bath
We deliver across Bath and Somerset. Most in-stock orders reach Bath within a timeframe that depends on the delivery postcode. We also cover Bristol, Frome, Wells, Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and the surrounding Mendip and West Wiltshire areas.
The Oxford Herringbone blocks come in two sizes, 90 x 450 mm and 125 x 600 mm, in natural, light, dark brown, fumed and whitewashed oak; Oxford Herringbone Light Oak is the one most often chosen for a hallway. The Knightsbridge Chevron Natural Brushed Oak cuts the block at an angle for the arrow pattern, and the Montpellier Oak Versailles Panel is the 800 x 800 mm panel for a dining room. All are engineered, tongue and groove, and listed for underfloor heating.
Bath’s grand reception rooms call for solid oak in hand-scraped or distressed finishes, usually in wide planks (200mm+) that suit the room proportions. Herringbone parquet echoes original patterns found in many Bath townhouses.
Bath and North East Somerset in the 2021 census: 79,250 households, 78% houses, 21% flats.
Bathwick, Lambridge and Combe Down sit inside the BA1 and BA2 delivery area, together with Kingsmead, Lansdown, Newbridge and the Bathavon North and Bathavon South wards of Bath and North East Somerset. What stands out in the 2021 accommodation figures is conversion: 5.9% of homes are flats inside former houses, on top of 13.5% purpose-built, so 21.4% of the stock is flatted. An upper floor carved out of an older house rests on joists never designed to be split between two households, and deflection plus sound transfer governs the build-up, which usually means a floating layer over a resilient mat and door heights checked before any underlay is ordered. Ownership stands at 65.3%, a little below the 66.7% recorded in 2011.
Bath’s Georgian heritage is among the most architecturally significant in Europe, from the iconic Royal Crescent and the Circus to honey-coloured Bath stone townhouses lining Great Pulteney Street. Period interiors with high ceilings, original cornicing and proportions designed for grand entertaining demand flooring that respects centuries of craftsmanship.
A Georgian floor is suspended timber over a void ventilated by airbricks that later work has often closed up. Before anything goes over it, the question is whether air still moves under there — Lansdown, Bathwick and the streets off Kingsmead all hold houses where it does not.
Delivery times and options depend on the delivery postcode. See Delivery & Returns for the applicable estimate.
Guides
Before you choose
Before you order in Bath
Flat enough for glue A pattern floor is glued and every hollow in the base shows as a rocking block. A straightedge over the base is the first check; a levelling compound is often the second.
Set out from the centre The pattern is laid from a centre line so that the border cuts are equal at both walls. The drawing comes before the order, because it decides the quantity.
The pattern allowance Order 15 to 20 percent over the room area, the figure the manufacturers give for a herringbone or chevron, and order it in one batch.
One pattern over two bases A herringbone running from the timber front room onto the concrete kitchen needs both bases brought to one level and one flatness before the adhesive; the join is where it fails.
Ply over the old boards Old suspended boards are not a base for glue. A screwed-down ply overlay is, once the void beneath is ventilated.
A floor for the long term A glued oak parquet is sanded and refinished in place for decades. Keep the batch number and the adhesive name with the invoice; a repair years later starts there.
Herringbone in the 90 x 450 mm block suits the hallways and front rooms of terraces and semis; the larger 125 x 600 mm block and the chevron suit longer rooms; a Versailles panel wants a square room with the space to show it. The guide on herringbone against chevron sets out the difference in fitting as well as in look.
Can a herringbone floor be floated?
The engineered blocks in this range are glued down. A pattern floor holds its geometry through the adhesive; floated, the blocks drift. The rigid-vinyl herringbone is the click-together alternative where a glued floor is not wanted.
How much extra should I order for a pattern floor in Bath?
Manufacturers' guidance puts the waste allowance for herringbone or chevron at 15 to 20 percent, against 8 to 12 for a straight plank, because every cut at the perimeter produces an unusable offcut. The calculator on the site works with the real pack sizes.
What flooring suits Bath’s Georgian townhouses?
In a Georgian townhouse what goes under the floor is more constrained than what goes on it, and the constraint is depth: the finished level cannot rise past a threshold or a stair nosing that is part of the fabric. A thin build-up matters more here than in anything built since.
Do you deliver parquet flooring to Bath?
Yes. We deliver across Bath and Somerset from our UK warehouse, including the BA1 and BA2 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 parquet sample before ordering in Bath?
Yes: cut samples are £1.99 each, up to two per product, posted to your Bath 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 Bath
Every range and room for Bath, each on its own page with the same housing data read for that floor.
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