Flooring by Type

Which flooring type should you choose?

The choice usually comes down to three questions: is there underfloor heating, how wet does the room get, and how much traffic will it take. Answer those and the field narrows quickly.

Engineered oak flooring

Our largest range at 101 floors. A solid oak wear layer bonded to a multi-ply core, so the surface is genuine oak but the board underneath stays stable. That stability is what makes it work over underfloor heating and in kitchens, where solid wood would cup or gap.

It also allows far wider boards than solid oak, and it is the only type we stock in every pattern: herringbone, chevron, plank and Versailles.

Choose it if you want a real wood floor in most rooms of a modern home.

Solid oak flooring

17 floors, milled from a single piece of oak through the full thickness of the board. The most traditional option, and the one that can be sanded and refinished the most times over its life.

The trade-off is movement. Solid oak expands and contracts with humidity, so it is generally unsuitable over underfloor heating and needs a stable environment. It suits period properties and living rooms where there is no heating beneath the floor.

Choose it if you want a genuinely traditional floor and the room conditions allow it.

SPC and LVT vinyl flooring

33 floors. Luxury vinyl tile and stone polymer composite are fully waterproof rather than water-resistant, which makes them the only sensible choice for bathrooms, utilities and wet rooms.

They are also the most forgiving underfoot and the quietest, and they handle temperature swings without moving, which suits conservatories. The wear layer is a clear protective film rather than timber, quoted in fractions of a millimetre.

Choose it if the room gets wet, or you want maximum durability with minimum fuss.

Laminate flooring

46 floors, and the most affordable way to get a wood or tile look. A printed decor layer over a high-density core, sealed with a hard-wearing overlay that resists scratching better than real wood.

Modern laminate is a long way from the flat, obviously fake product of twenty years ago. Embossed textures follow the printed grain, and bevelled edges give the impression of individual boards.

Choose it if budget matters, or the floor needs to survive children and pets.