Solid oak is the most enduring wood floor you can install — a 20mm board can be sanded and refinished across generations. The trade-off is that solid wood requires a timber subfloor and cannot be installed above underfloor heating. Where the subfloor is right and the brief suits it, LIGNORA supplies and installs solid oak across London and the South East — secret-nailed, finished on-site, with our own team on every job.
Solid oak is a single piece of hardwood from surface to back — typically 18–22mm thick, 90–200mm wide. The entire thickness is real wood, which means it can be sanded multiple times across its lifetime, becoming a floor that genuinely improves with age rather than simply wearing down. A solid oak floor installed correctly in the right property is an investment in the fabric of the building.
The constraint is clear: solid wood moves. It absorbs and releases moisture as humidity changes, expanding across its width in damp conditions and contracting in dry, heated air. This movement is manageable when the subfloor is timber — the boards are secret-nailed, allowing controlled movement — but cannot be accommodated on concrete, where the floor would have nowhere to expand and would buckle, gap, or fail.
Solid wood is also incompatible with underfloor heating. The moisture cycle driven by UFH — hot and dry in winter, ambient the rest of the year — produces movement in solid boards that the installation method cannot absorb. For any property with UFH, engineered oak is the correct specification. For a property with sound timber joists, no UFH, and a brief that calls for the most enduring floor available, solid oak is worth considering.
We assess the subfloor in person before recommending solid oak. The assessment covers:
Prime grade (minimal character markings, tight grain, consistent colour) suits formal rooms in period properties. Rustic and character grade (natural knots, grain variation, colour change) suits country-character homes and properties where a more natural aesthetic is the brief. Width from 90mm to 200mm — wider boards have more character variation and require more careful acclimatisation. We specify width at the home visit based on room size and proportions.
Secret-nail fixing only — an angled nail driven through the tongue of each board into the subfloor, concealed by the next board. This allows the boards to move across the grain without the fixing restraining them, which is what prevents gapping and failure. Glue-down of solid oak onto timber is not a fixing method we use — it prevents the natural movement of the board and causes problems that develop over months rather than immediately.
All solid oak installations receive an on-site finish — the floor is sanded after installation to a flat, smooth surface, then finished in hardwax oil or lacquer in two coats. Pre-finished solid oak boards exist but are not our preference for new installation: the micro-bevel between boards accumulates dust and is impossible to sand flush in a future restoration. A site-finished floor is flat, seamless, and can be fully restored in the future without limitation.
| Solid Oak | Engineered Oak | |
|---|---|---|
| Subfloor requirement | Timber only — cannot be used on concrete | Any subfloor — concrete, screed, timber |
| Underfloor heating | Not compatible | Fully compatible (14–18mm recommended) |
| Fixing method | Secret-nail only | Glue-down, floating, or secret-nail |
| Thickness | 18–22mm typical | 14–20mm typical |
| Wear layer | Full thickness | 2–6mm real oak surface |
| Sanding life | 5–8 sands over lifetime | 1–3 sands depending on wear layer |
| Seasonal movement | Higher — boards expand and contract | Lower — engineered core is more stable |
| Lead time (stocked) | 2–3 weeks | 2–3 weeks |
| Cost (supply & install) | £70–£110/m² | £60–£95/m² (straight lay) |
| Best for | Period properties, timber subfloors, no UFH | Most London properties — concrete, UFH, all patterns |
Solid oak suits properties with intact timber subfloors — which in London means predominantly Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis built before 1930, where the original suspended timber ground floors are still in place. We install solid oak in these properties across all London boroughs and throughout the South East. Properties in Richmond, Wimbledon, Chiswick, Barnes, and the Edwardian suburbs of Middlesex and Surrey are well-suited where subfloor condition is confirmed during the assessment visit.
Richmond · Wimbledon · Chiswick · Barnes · Putney · throughout SW London's Edwardian housing stock
Twickenham · Teddington · Esher · Weybridge · throughout our full South East service area
Hampstead · Islington · Ealing · St John's Wood · all London boroughs covered where subfloor is suitable
The full engineered oak guide — why it suits most London properties, all patterns and fixing methods.
View guide GuideRestore original boards or install new — how to decide, and which specification suits a period property.
Read guide PricingSolid oak supply and install: £70–£110/m². Full transparent pricing across all floor types and services.
View pricingWe visit, assess the subfloor condition and moisture content, and tell you honestly whether solid oak is the right specification — or whether engineered oak produces a better result for your property.