The wooden floors Despite the emergence of new flooring materials, they are still the most popular. Why? Because wood combines with any type of interior, adds warmth to rooms and brings that natural beauty that only natural materials can achieve.
The parquet or multilayer parquet It is one of the most popular alternatives to dress the floors of our homes. You can find it in narrow formats with a single plank or in extra-wide formats with 3 planks, with different lines, colors and finishes. Do you want to know more about this product? We will tell you.
What is parquet or multilayer parquet?
"Park. Of Fr. parquet. 1.m. Parquet made of fine woods of various shades, which, conveniently assembled, form geometric patterns. " (RAE)
Regardless of the definition of the RAE, it is known as parquet to all those wooden floor whose top layer has a minimum thickness of 2,5 mm. before being installed. When this noble layer of wood is glued to other less noble woods or other materials that improve its performance, it is known as multilayer parquet.
Multilayer parquet is usually made up of a top coat or nobl coate (oak, jatoba, elondo, iroko ... etc), an intermediate layer or shutter formed by a slatted of small pieces placed transversely and a base layer that gives cohesion to the whole, being the total thickness of about 14-15 mm.
The top or noble layer of the parquet is usually finished with some kind of varnish in the factory (water-based, polyurethane ... etc) and it is the one that we can cut and varnish in case of needing a restoration. The thicker it is, the greater number of times it will allow us to work on it.
Parquet is a product that is finished at the factory and ready to lay. It comes with different settingsThe most common being those formed by one slat, two slats or three slats across the width. And of course in different colors and shades. As for its installation, it has two variants that we explain in more detail below.
Installation types
The multilayer parquet floors are factory finished and ready to place. They are usually placed floating, which allows those with a little skill to install it without hiring a professional. However, this is not the only installation system for this type of material. Multilayer parquet floors can have an installation:
- Floating: Parquet is not fixed to the subfloor, it is normally installed by means of a simple anchoring system between pieces. To place it, you only need a carpenter's meter, a pencil and a saw. It is also essential to check that the floor is well leveled before starting and then respect the expansion joints using spacer wedges. Once installed, the replacement of the pieces is relatively simple; they can be removed without a trace.
- Glued: Some manufacturers allow the installation glued to the subfloor, however this option complicates its installation and makes it better to leave it in the hands of a professional. The advantage? The wood works less and with this system the noise of the footsteps is muffled. It is quieter and therefore more suitable in commercial spaces with a lot of traffic. Against it, it has a greater possibility of dampness.
Key features
Why choose a multilayer parquet floor? ¿What advantages does it have compared to solid wood floors or laminate flooring? Multilayer parquet floors provide rooms with the warmth and natural beauty of wood, but greater stability than solid wood floors. In general, we could say about these soils that ...
- They provide rooms with the natural beauty typical of wood
- They provide comfort when walking due to the elasticity of natural wood.
- They have a good balance and a good stability thanks to the layers that compose it.
- Like all living material, wood is sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. However, they rarely deform with normal use. It is enough to avoid the accumulation of steam or stagnant water.
- They may stab themselves once or twice depending on the thickness of the top layer. Fewer occasions than a solid dream would allow us, but more than a laminate floor.
- Conclusion more economical than solid flooring, but more expensive than laminate flooring.
Multilayer parquet is a great alternative as a floor, providing us with a balance between the characteristics of solid floors and laminate floors. It is also suitable for placement on heating systems by radiating floor and even on underfloor cooling systems.
Its appearance also positively influences the aesthetics of the rooms to which it provides warmth. Do you want to know a trick that will help you look even better? Lay the parquet parallel to the incidence of light if you want the joints to "disappear" and crosswise if you want to reinforce them.
Now that you know everything about multilayer parquet flooring, would you opt for this option?