Oak Flooring

Oak is our favourite hardwood for making floors. We use one species exclusively, from one supplier only. Their wood has a beautiful bright creamy colour with subtle variations in its ‘raw’ form, with a varied (but not too wild) grain.

We can achieve a multitude of different looks with Oak. Have a look at some of them below, or READ MORE to find out why we are so fond of it.

Where does your Oak come from?

The species we use is called Quercus Robur and it is commonly known as ‘English Oak’. Whilst this tree does indeed grow in the UK, we source our wood from managed forests in the Ukraine.

Why the Ukraine?

Cold Winters make for Harder Wood

First, the Eastern European Winters are longer and harsher. The colder climate means that the trees are very slow growing; a tree felled to be used in a Woodcraft floor will typically be 150 years old. This slow growth makes their wood tough, dense and hard-wearing – unlike far cheaper imports from Asia.

Top Quality Planks / Blocks

If we are to make and install a superb floor, we need a superb product to work with. We have always used the same supplier for Oak, and it took us four months to find them. Our founder Mursel made his decision after going to the Ukraine to see for himself every step in the production process, from planting young trees and managing the forest to how the planks and blocks were made.

Our supplier is certified by both FSC and CARB.

Good to Work With

We have found that this Oak species, from this part of the world, has a much more neutral tone overall than other types of Oak. This means that when it is oiled it retains a more consistent finish.

It is a hard wood (one of the hardest on the planet), but not too hard. This means we can distress / age it if a customer wants. That’s not to say that this is easy to do; it’s just that harder woods (some of which we do also use to make floors) are far harder and time-consuming (and therefore more costly) to distress.

Read about the ways your Oak floor can be customised here.

A Truly Bespoke Service

We will order pre-cut planks or blocks to the dimensions agreed with the customer. Options include ‘fuming’ (or thermo-treatment), a brushed or smooth finish, and a bevelled or straight edge. All planks and blocks are always unfinished. We do all finishing, by hand, in our warehouse.

Engineered or Solid?

We would always recommend an engineered Oak floor – see why. We’ve also explained why, in our view, solid floors are not a great choice – unless you want solid parquet blocks, which are suitable in many situations.

Want to Know More?

If you’ve questions about how our ordering, customising and fitting process works, read this page. We will walk you through every step.

Light Oak

Light Oak

A custom finish for a home in Buckinghamshire. Here a combination of different hard wax oils produced colour variations on the planks from sandy yellow to honey.

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Oak, Black Satin

Oak, Black Satin

A custom finish resulting in almost totally black planks with a touch of brown left in certain lights for this beautiful residential interior design project.

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Oak, Traditional

Oak, Traditional

The look for this project involved 'fuming' (heat-treating) planks for six hours then applying a clear finish, to produce colour variations from sandy to mid-brown.

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19th Century Oak

19th Century Oak

Distressed planks, custom smoked oil for a client in Hertfordshire. Note the truly random look from hand distressing, with colours from tea through to dark chocolate.

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Oak, White

Oak, White

A custom finish for a floor for a residential customer in Berkshire. The colour range achieved is a selection of pale sandy tones, rather than 'paper white'.

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Oak, Graphite Grey

Oak, Graphite Grey

This custom finish creates a distinctive pencil-lead grey tinge to the wood grain, but also some milky tea tones. The floor was installed in a house in Buckinghamshire.

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Oak, Black Matte

Oak, Black Matte

A custom finish for a London flat. Both black and clear oils combine to create a midnight black colour, which also resembles black coffee in certain lighting conditions.

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18th Century Oak

18th Century Oak

This custom finish used smoked oil to create a rich and fairly uniform mid brown tone, with a touch of terracotta throughout, for a contemporary home in Buckinghamshire.

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Oak, Ash Grey

Oak, Ash Grey

Planks were 'twelve hour fumed' (heat-treated) before a custom finish was applied, for a 'two-tone' effect with grey in the grain, for this modern and stylish Wimbledon home.

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Platinum Project in Barnet

Platinum Project in Barnet

Find out more about our Custom Finishes. OUR GUARANTEES: 25 years on engineered planks, plus 3 years' free maintenance - find out more.

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