Issue 45 Feb 25 web - Flipbook - Page 94
Choosing Wood
Flooring for Heritage
Property Renovations
When breathing new life into heritage properties, changes should always be sympathetic to the building
and its history.
Whether you’re adapting historic spaces, undertaking conservation work on a Grade-II-listed building,
or reconfiguring an older home’s layout to suit modern day requirements, preserving the character and
integrity of the building will be a top priority. And,
as flooring plays a big role in a building’s interior aesthetic, it’s a key consideration for renovation work
in older properties.
Board Widths
Often, you’re likely to want wood flooring that’s a similar
width and appearance as the original flooring of its era.
You may want to specify a particular board width, to
reflect the width of the original floor, or to suit the
intended space. The traditional appearance of mixedwidth planks is likely to be a more heritage-appropriate
choice for many, but not all.
Aesthetic Integrity: Wooden Floors in Heritage
Buildings
Aged Oak Flooring Options: The Perfect Finish
There are many ways to give new oak floorboards the
authentic appearance of a time-worn wooden surface.
Adding textures to the boards is a popular method.
Wood flooring is a common and significant feature in
many of the UK's heritage properties. Old wood flooring
holds so much of a property's character, contributing to
its intrinsic beauty and historic value. Selecting the right
wood flooring for these kinds of projects, much like any
other material choice, is integral to the success of a heritage property renovation. If these floors are being
changed as part of a renovation, or in emergency repair
work, finding the right replacement wood flooring
requires careful consideration.
Adding Texture
Giving wood flooring a brushed texture involves wire
brushing the planks to remove the softer wood fibres. This
accentuates the grain of each floorboard. It highlights the
wood's unique structure and is an effective way to achieve
the appearance of a floor that has worn over decades.
Distressed textured boards are an excellent choice too.
Suppliers skilfully tumble the boards to create minor
surface indentations on the surface and edges. If done
well, this texture is particularly well-suited to heritage
properties and will continue to age gracefully.
There are many wood flooring options for that will look
fantastic in historic homes and public spaces. Equally,
though, there will be a lot of options that are not so wellsuited, and which will look out of place in these charming
old buildings.
Colour & Finish Choice
There are a wide variety of available options for pre-treatments and tinted oils to age the surface of wood flooring.
This allows you to create a floor that is the perfect colour
for your heritage property, even down to the sheen level
on the finished surface.
Honouring the Property’s History: A Bespoke
Approach
Every heritage property is unique. So, the ideal choice is
a wood flooring supplier that can offer made-to-order finishing, with the ability to control texture and to add pretreatments to age the wood. That way, you can choose a
bespoke option. This means you can tailor it to a project’s
exacting aesthetic requirements, resulting in a floor that
is sympathetic to the property.
Approach wood flooring companies with in-house finishing expertise. They should be able to make floorboards to
colour match to an offcut of the original floor. Or they
could create a brand-new bespoke finish with you and
your property’s needs in mind.
Choose the Right Wood Flooring Specification for
the Space
Consider Engineered Wood Flooring for Heritage
Properties
It’s vital that you make any changes to the wood flooring
in older properties with the care and attention that they
deserve. A renovation may demand the recreation of a
specific parquet pattern, or an extra-wide oak plank floor
that’s heavily distressed. If you find the right supplier, they
should be able to source exactly what you need to match
the flooring to your property’s character.
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Engineered wood flooring is an excellent choice for period
properties. High-quality engineered boards can balance
modern functionality and practicality with an aesthetic
that preserves a building’s historic character. There are
some fantastic engineered oak flooring options available
with an aged look designed to match historical aesthetics.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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