Why Cavendish deVere?

We fit wooden floors to the very highest standards - which is why we were voted 'Best Bespoke Fitting Company of the Year' in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for the entire London area - not just South Kensington!

We only use the very best, most experienced wood floor installers, experts in fitting parquet, basket-weave, planks, random patterns and chevron.

Why have a wooden floor?

Wood is still one of the most beautiful materials you can fit to a floor. It has timeless appeal, it's warm under-foot, works well with under-floor heating and a high quality wood floor will last for decades - in some cases it ages better over time. As it's been used for flooring for thousands of years, it's tried and tested.

Buy the most expensive you can afford and get it installed properly. You will always get your money back on a quality wooden floor when it comes time to sell your property in South Kensington, so it's worth the investment over almost any other type of flooring.

Types of wooden floors we fit

• We supply & fit parquet floors and flooring blocks
• Engineered and plank style flooring installations
• We supply and fit good quality laminate floors
• Bespoke and specialist wood flooring designs

As with any other floor the sub-floor preparation is key. This is one of the most common failings when DIY is attempted or general builders are asked to install wooden floors. We take great care to ensure the sub-floor is perfect for the wooden flooring project to be successful and to ensure it has a long life.

Full 360 degree wooden flooring service

In addition to the sub-floor, wood floor installations have some unique aspects that must be considered before undertaking.

Dust Control

In a working home, shop or office, dust can be a major problem when undertaking a wooden floor installation. Properly cleaned floors free from dust help with better adhesion and adjacent rooms and their contents should be protected and sealed off. We spend a lot of time prepping the areas to minimize cleaning at the end because wood sawing equipment can capture only a percentage of the dust released. We are also one of the only installation companies using air purifiers to extract dust from the air. Nevertheless, you must be prepared for a good builder's clean at the end of the project.

Moisture checking

Incorrect moisture is another reason for wooden floor installation failures. We will ensure that moisture is within acceptable tolerances to minimize the risk of expansion or contraction within the new floor. A wood floor must be allowed to acclimatise to the humidity and temperature in the property during autumn and winter seasons.

Sub-floor preparation for wood floors

The sub-floor must be clean, level, solid and dry, free from dust and debris. We like to undertake the sub-floor preparation ourselves to remove unevenness from the floor and improve the bonding of the adhesives. In some installations we have undertaken in South Kensington, a liquid damp-proof membrane will be applied to the top of a concrete floor to protect against rising damp.

Wooden floor installation methods

There are many methods of installing a wooden floor but unless there are special circumstances which dictate it, we always recommend the 'stick-down' adhesive method for engineered wood floors. This makes the floor a part of the building, reduces the hollow sound that a floating floor makes when walked upon and makes it much less likely the floor will buckle in extreme heat or cold or if the floor gets wet. But there are others.

Floating 'Click'

A glue-less method useful for installations of thin engineered wood flooring and laminates. As we don't sell thin engineered wood we don't use it often but each plank locks to the next without the need for glue. As the planks are not fixed to the sub-floor an underlay can be installed for extra sound insulation. Most often this technique is used for fitting quality laminate floors.

Floating 'Tongue & Groove'

Each plank attaches to the other like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and allows the installation of flooring planks with a thickness of 18mm plus.

Nail-Down

Using the invisible nail method, nails are hammered below the surface of the plank at an angle of 45 degrees, pushing the plank down and backwards and into the previous row. A good technique for fitting thick, good quality hardwood.

Our suppliers

We have a small range of cost effective wood floors but we mostly specialize in high end, bespoke, beautiful wood floors that offer something unique. Most of our wooden floors are sourced from Tedd Todd, where we are a preferred supplier and from V4, Kahrs or Havwoods.

Wooden floor patterns in parquet

A parquet floor allows you to be very creative with the pattern. The most popular are herringbone, brick, chevron, basket weave and random designs.

Random pattern wooden parquet floor

Requires mixed lengths of planks and allows for a whole host of creativity and imagination as it is less structured than the other methods of laying wooden floors. Random patterns can create beautiful and dramatic wood floors.

Brick patterns

Requiring regular plank lengths, a brick pattern, just as the name suggests is a wooden floor installed in the style of traditional brickwork one. Brick pattern wood flooring can cover a whole floor but benfits greatly from borders or feature strips.

Herringbone pattern wood parquet

Probably the most popular parquet wooden flooring pattern in South Kensington or anywhere else for that matter and well suited to bigger rooms but with some clever planning it can also enhance the look of smaller rooms. Herringbone patterns involve laying planks at 90 degrees to each other to create this famous design style.

Chevron pattern

Chevron pattern wood flooring is a variation of the herringbone style. Particularly associated with the grand buildings found throughout Europe, as you might imagine it really requires a large room to show it off. Laid either parallel to the wall or diagonally and often incorporated with a contrasting coloured lacing strip between the chevrons.

Basket weave pattern wooden flooring

Basket weave flooring pattern is less commonly seen wooden flooring style nowadays but making a big comeback - ironically because it is a popular design in Luxury Vinyl Tiles. A flexible pattern which can be produced using most types of wood, created in single or dual colours to create attractive effects. It works well in both small and large rooms.

Versailles panels wood flooring

Versailles panels, parquet de Versailles. A wood flooring design named after the famous Palace of Versailles (Ch??teau de Versailles) in France, where in 1684 they are introduced for the first time to replace the old marble floor within the palace. Not often seen in South Kensington but arguably the most beautiful wooden floor design, certainly one of the most expensive, works well in large rooms - or palaces

The costs of installing parquet floors

All wooden parquet floors and particularly herringbone and chevron designs are more expensive to install, for the simple fact that they take more time to install. They also have higher wastage but it does create an extremely stable and attractive floor.

Wooden floor fitting and supply in South Kensington

South Kensington - home of museums, theatres, restaurants, shops, cafes and offices and full to the brim of prestigious streets, exquisite homes and garden squares for the elite of London. And we feel very at home here installing beautiful wooden floors.