Our latest project showcases an elegant herringbone parquet with a classic single row border in a large Victorian terrace house nestled within the heart of Clapham. Our work focused on perfecting the elegant herringbone parquet floor with an uninterrupted single row border throughout the ground floor of the home.⁠ The project was later extended to include revitalising and repairing damage to the floors following subsequent renovations.

We love herringbone parquet projects, especially ones made all the more elegant with a neat single row border. For this project, the aesthetically minded owners of a large Victorian terrace in Clapham, selected premium grade engineered oak in a classic standard size 20mm thick 70x280. The wood was meticulously sanded, sealed and treated onsite after the installation was completed to ensure an impeccable smooth finish.

To achieve this impeccably smooth finish, we applied two coats of Osmo Polyx clear satin oil, a high quality German product that we use regularly. The project encompassed fitting a herringbone parquet in the spacious double reception room, a substantial ground floor hallway, and a downstairs toilet.

We commenced the project by removing the previous floor covering and reinforced the subfloor to enhance its stability. Following this, we removed the skirting boards and installed a layer of hardwood plywood in the subfloor.

Our standard practice prior to laying parquet blocks involves building a strong subfloor that is sound, level and free of moisture. This allows us to create a parquet pattern with precise alignment, symmetry throughout the ground floor.
While it’s easy to get accustomed to the beauty of parquet pattern floors, the precision and planning that goes into a good layout is critical. Recently, we were contacted to advise on a poorly executed parquet layout by another contractor. The customers were understandably devastated upon realising that bizarre design and complete waste of high quality wood.

The ground floor features three extended steps leading from the living room to the kitchen extension. The steps were clad with the same herringbone parquet pattern as the main floor, with the risers meticulously crafted from matching oak boards, ensuring a seamless and cohesive design throughout the space.

We recommended a single simple-row border all around the expansive parquet to provide a discreet elegant frame. Following the principles of best craftsmanship, we do not cut across door lines with our borders. Instead, our borders are designed to turn around the door frames, ensuring the parquet flows seamlessly throughout the room without interruption. This approach avoids dividing spaces, creating an open and continuous expanse throughout the property. We installed new skirting boards to achieve a close, clean fit against the wooden floor. We did not interrupt the border when it reached the curved bottom step of the staircase. We simply crafted the border to follow the curve to maintain the integrity of the design. The single-row border also extended around the integrated door mat at the entrance. These fitted door mats are a Fin Wood favourite way to protect new wooden floors.

The customers were absolutely delighted with their newly finished parquet floor. After a couple of years, they had some further work done to their property. They instructed the builders to protect their floor, but the work involved lots of dust and debris which caused noticeable damage. We were called back to carry out a deep clean and address significant marks and scratches. Fortunately, we were able to complete the repairs without sanding the floor. We applied some Fin Wood magic to restore the floor to its original condition without affecting the lifespan of the floor. The customers were again extremely pleased with the results.