Project record · Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames

A chevron floor with a curved oak border and brass inlay

60m² of European oak, fully bonded, with a border that follows a curved wall instead of stopping at it. One week on site.

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The finished curved wall: curved skirting above a curved oak border, the brass inlay following the same sweep, with the chevron field cut into it point by point — One sweep, three lines Skirting, oak border and brass inlay all following the one curve, with every chevron point cut to its own length to meet them.

01What went under it first

Chevron blocks are cut at an angle at each end, so they meet in a continuous V — which is why the field shows every deviation beneath it. The substrate was moisture tested and made flat. Before anything was glued, the centre line was set out, the line the points of the V run along, and the chevron was laid loose across the room to see how the pattern would finish at each edge.

Exploded isometric drawing of the floor build-up, from the subfloor up: levelling compound, damp-proof membrane, trowelled adhesive and the chevron field

01SubfloorMoisture tested and made flat before a single block was cut.

02LevellingF. Ball Stopgap 1200 Pro, a self-levelling compound that sets to the flatness a chevron field needs.

03MembraneWakol PU 280, two coats. The first primes, the second is the damp-proof membrane, stopping moisture in the subfloor reaching the wood.

04AdhesiveBona R848 silane, trowelled across the whole underside of every block. Hard-elastic: it holds the floor firmly while letting the wood move.

05ChevronVitaStyle Pioneer Oak 202, Select grade European oak, 125 × 485mm blocks, 15mm board, 4mm wear layer.

Bare levelled subfloor with chevron blocks dry-laid to establish the centre line, packs of chevron blocks stacked against the wall — **Before**The prepared substrate, the first blocks dry-laid to set the centre line against the garden doors.

02Made to follow the wall

The chevron went down first, glued to the subfloor, with the last blocks at the curve left long and loose. A full-size template, cut to the exact line of the wall, was used to mark the curve onto them — then each block was lifted, cut to the line and glued back. Along the straight walls the chevron was cut back the same way. The border went around it, cut from 260mm boards in the same Pioneer Oak: wide enough to take the curve, and specified knot-free.

Once the floor had set hard, the same template guided a router around the room, cutting a 6mm groove between the chevron and the border for the 6 × 6mm antique brass, so the inlay finishes flush with the wood. The skirting was kerfed to match — saw cuts across the back of the board, deep enough to let a rigid length of timber bend to the wall without cracking the face. Border, brass and skirting then read as one curve rather than three attempts at it.

The full-size template on the floor at the curved wall, the curved oak border fitted beside it, with a router and protection board still down — The template, cut to the line of the wall. The chevron was marked from it, lifted, cut and glued back, and the border cut to the same line.

The curved oak border fixed against the wall with the chevron field met point by point, a plunge saw and two guide rails set up for the straight runs — Border in, every chevron point met at its own length. The groove for the brass is routed last, off the same template, once the floor has set hard.

Brass inlay strip bent to the sweep of the curved wall, chevron blocks cut into the oak border point by point — One flush line of brass between border and field.

Chevron running towards the curved wall, the oak border following the sweep — Each chevron point finishes into the curve at its own length — no repeating cut anywhere along it.

—Why not just run it straight

The easy option was to run the border straight and let the brass disappear into the curve. We templated the wall instead, cut the border and the groove for the brass to that template, and kerfed the back of the skirting so that bent round with it too.

Site note · Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames

03Around the granite, no break

The line that comes off the curved wall has to get around a rectangular block of stone and back into the field. The border is mitred at each corner — each pair cut at matching angles so they meet on a clean diagonal — so the oak runs continuously and the brass turns with it.

Brass against pale oak does very little until the light moves across it. Then it draws the geometry of the whole room.

Chevron blocks reaching the stone fireplace, loose boards and adhesive at the hearth — Border pieces cut and offered up dry before bonding.

Brass inlay mitred around a granite fireplace hearth set into the chevron field — Mitred corners step the border around the stone, the brass turning with it at each one.

Brass inlay strip mitred around a black granite hearth within a chevron floor — **The hearth, finished**The brass carried around the black granite and back into the European oak chevron field.

04Where the floor stops

Two edges, handled the same way. At the hall the build-up was planned from the start so the chevron, the border and the stone finish at the same height — flush, with no step and no threshold strip. The border and the brass carry straight across both openings, so the change of material reads as one drawn line.

At the garden doors the border runs the full width beneath the frame. At the hallway it carries straight across the opening to meet the stone.

Brass inlay running the full width of the oak border beneath the garden door frame — At the garden doors: brass held parallel to the frame, the full width of the opening.

Chevron floor seen from the stone-floored hall through an open doorway — From the hall: travertine to oak border to chevron, in three steps and no trim.

05The same room, one week later

The frames below were taken after the furniture went back in — the curve, the skirting, both thresholds, and the way the brass changes as the light moves across it through the afternoon.

The finished room, chevron running the full length past the sofa towards the hall — The room

Brass inlay following the sweep of the curved wall through pale chevron — The sweep

Chevron in afternoon light towards the garden doors, brass inlay along the border — Afternoon light

The oak border and brass carrying across the doorway to meet the travertine of the hall — Into the hall

Chevron running towards the curved wall in a furnished room — The run

The oak border and brass line stepping around a corner into the skirting — At the skirting

Chevron blocks meeting the black granite hearth, the brass inlay turning at the corner — At the hearth

—Questions this job answers

What flooring was installed?

VitaStyle Pioneer Oak 202 chevron in Select-grade European oak: 125 × 485mm blocks, 15mm engineered construction with a 4mm oak wear layer.

What subfloor preparation was used?

Moisture tested, levelled with F. Ball Stopgap 1200 Pro, two coats of Wakol PU 280, then fully bonded with Bona R848.

How was the curved border made?

The wall sweep was templated full-size on site. The border was cut to that template from 260mm Pioneer Oak boards, specified knot-free, and once the floor had set the same template guided a router cutting the 6mm groove for the brass.

How was the chevron cut into it?

The blocks at the curve were laid long and loose, marked from the template, then lifted one at a time, cut to the line and glued back.

How was the skirting curved?

Kerfed — a run of saw cuts across the back of the board, deep enough to let a rigid length of timber bend without cracking the face.

How does it meet the stone hall?

The build-up was planned so the chevron, border and stone finish at the same height. The border and brass carry straight across the doorway — flush, with no step and no threshold strip.

—Chevron flooring in Walton-on-Thames

This project was completed in Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames, about a mile and a half from the AK Hardwood Flooring showroom on Queens Road in Weybridge. The business supplies and installs engineered wood, herringbone and chevron flooring across Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and the surrounding Surrey area.

Supply and installation is handled as one scope: measuring, subfloor preparation, flooring installation and finishing. If you are considering a chevron or herringbone floor with a border, the boards and detailing can be reviewed full-size in the Weybridge showroom before ordering.

—The same detail, a darker floor

A brass inlay set into an oak border, worked the same way — but around a dark-stained herringbone field rather than pale chevron. The border is mitred at every corner and the brass turns with it, and it runs unbroken beneath the garden doors.

These are the only photographs from that job. They were taken at the end, as the floor was uncovered and the site cleared for handover, which is why there is no before or during.

A dark-stained oak herringbone field framed by a wide oak border with a brass inlay line, mitred at every corner — Mitred all round

Dark herringbone running towards garden doors, the brass inlay carrying along the border beneath the frame — Towards the doors

Herringbone blocks meeting the oak border, the brass inlay line between them — Into the border

The oak border and brass inlay running the length of the window wall — The line

The oak border turning a corner, the brass inlay mitred through the turn — The turn

Chevron · herringbone · parquet

See a floor like this full size

Borders, inlays and setting-out details can be worked through in the Weybridge showroom with the boards in front of you. Bring a plan or the room measurements.