RESTORING PARQUET FLOORING

For many, restoring parquet flooring is a way of bringing the character and charm of its period flooding back-Natasha Brinsmead explains how to bring floors back to their best

- NATASHA PRINSMEAD

NATASHA PRINSMEAD Associate Editor Natasha has two renovation projects under her belt - and is now looking for the next challenge...

If you are lucky enough to have an original parquet floor in your home, restoring it to its former glory is definitely worth the effort.

Parquet floors comprise solid wood blocks (also known as strips or tiles), with fixed dimensions that are laid in various geometric or regular patterns, such as herringbone and chevron. These pieces of wood are typically rectangular, but also come in squares, triangles and lozenge shapes, along with feature designs such as stars. Parquet flooring is now available in engineered wood; originally it would only have been made from solid wood.

HOW IS IT INSTALLED?

Parquet flooring used to be installed using hot bitumen as an adhesive but now cold adhesives are preferred. It often comes with tongue-and-groove edges.

There are several reasons why a parquet floor might need repairing. Steaming ahead without professional advice and pulling up damaged blocks can further damage the floor, causing something of a chain reaction and means more blocks get taken out than was originally necessary. As such, it's good to get t the input of a professional first.

Some of the most common issues include missing, unstable or loose blocks; gaps between pieces; an uneven surface; raised sections; and scratches and stains.

REPLACING MISSING PARQUET

There are several reasons why parquet might be missing. Perhaps electrical or plumbing work was carried out, or walls were removed. Sometimes, parquet is missing around a fireplace hearth, or water damage may have left individual tiles beyond repair.