To install a reclaimed parquet floor: a bit more detail to get things going.

Parquet-Parquet Kent from Sarah Whittaker on Vimeo.

The time lapse above is an Opepe floor, lovely warm honey tones, and was laid in 3 days by 2 of us, to give you an idea. More guidance follows:

• Sub floor preparation is one of the keys to a successful installation. If the moisture content is high or the surface is uneven, this must be addressed prior to fitting. Parquet blocks can be laid on numerous substrates such as concrete, dry screed, self level compound or flooring grade ply wood or chipboard, but never directly onto floor-boards.

• The blocks need to be acclimatised preferably in the space that they will be fitted, which must be dry but ventilated in order to get the moisture content down to the right level. When placing the wood blocks in the room, spread them out in little piles because the ambient temperature can only reach all blocks evenly if they are not bunched together. If they are not sufficiently acclimatised, this could cause movement later which, although not disastrous, would mean re-sanding, filling and polishing.

• The reclaimed parquet block has to be prepared: it comes dirty and usually with bitumen on the underside. But don’t be put off, as you can see from the time lapse film, it all works out in the end! So, the tongues and grooves need to be clear of any dirt or debris, or bitumen, and need to be scraped with a sharp chisel -  quickly scrape along the edges to ensure a tight fit for the blocks when laid. Don’t be concerned about dirt and surface scratches as that will sand out in the process and the bitumen on the bottom of the wood blocks fuses with the glue.

• Once you have decided from the possible parquet pattern options ( herringbone, basket-weave, brick pattern and perhaps with a contrasting border) you establish the central point from where you begin to lay the blocks, sometimes referred to as the ‘dragon line’. Then by dry laying a line of the pattern in the opposite direction you ensure there is an equal pattern of the parquet blocks across the floor.

• The adhesive recommended by many floor-fitters is Ball B92 (Styccobond) as this bonds well as does Laybond L19. Manufacturers Bona, Lecol and Sika are other options. Every so often lift a wood-block to check for good adhesion as you lay the floor.

• When the parquet floor is completed use an orbital sander coupled to a high capacity surface-preparation vacuum, and face mask. Then switch to a fine finishing machine to achieve a scratch-free surface for filling  and sealing. Expect to start the sanding with a coarse grade paper and to finish with a fine grade paper.

The products recommended for sealing and finishing are those by Bona or Smith & Rogers (Glasgow) who also have a range of sealers etc. We usually use Junkers Pro for sealing samples that we send out to customers. And we really like Osmo products on our refurbished reclaimed parquet floors!