Parquet Flooring Types: New Tiles, Laid Patterns and Restoration
Parquet is wood set in small pieces to make a geometric pattern instead of long boards. It covers both new floors and the glued block floors already sitting in many older homes, and the jobs are priced quite differently.
Block parquet tiles
Ready-made parquet tiles come as squares of small wood fingers already joined into a repeating pattern, and go down one tile at a time. HomeGuide calls them easier and cheaper to install than true parquet, at $10 to $16 a square foot installed. Bob Vila prices parquet-style kits at $7 to $15. On a slab they're glued down, so the concrete should pass a moisture test first.
Hand-laid pattern parquet
True parquet is laid piece by piece in basketweave, herringbone or a custom design. This Old House calls it the most expensive way to floor a room, at $13 to $40 a square foot, and Bob Vila's figure for traditional parquet runs $20 to $45. Fixr says the intricate detail needs an experienced installer. For one-direction zigzags, see herringbone wood floors.
Restoring glued older parquet
Block parquet on a slab is held by adhesive, and blocks that have let go sound hollow underfoot. Ask for those to be lifted, cleaned and re-glued before any sanding. HomeAdvisor says parquet needs specialized sanding because the grain changes direction block to block, at $3 to $5 a square foot. Bob Vila lists acid-cured finish as well suited to parquet for its durability.
- Refinish, parquet (HomeGuide): $3 to $6 a square foot.
- Time: 2 to 6 days for a refinish (HomeGuide).
Medallions and inlays
A medallion is a decorative panel of mixed woods set into a floor, usually at the center of a room or an entry. An inlay is a thin band or shape of contrasting wood routed into the field. Both are fitted into a new or sanded floor and finished with it. No cost guide we read priced them, so ask for the piece, the cutting-in and the finishing as separate lines.
Why Pompano Beach homeowners call Pompano Wood Flooring
- One local flooring contractor calls back, not a bidding list
- Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing
- Ask for the slab moisture readings in writing
- Florida doesn't license flooring: ask for the business tax receipt and insurance certificates
Before an Older Parquet Floor Gets Sanded
Most of the risk with old parquet is in what's under it and around it, not in the wood. Settle these before work starts:
Adhesive test
A lab result for the black adhesive, since floor-tile adhesives are on the list of materials that may contain asbestos (see the FAQ).Loose blocks counted
A walk-through tapping for hollow spots, with re-gluing priced per block or per area.Finish choice
Which finish goes on, and its cure time before rugs and furniture go back.Slab readings
A moisture test before blocks are re-glued or new ones laid.
See exotic hardwood flooring for harder imported species.