Herringbone · Weybridge

From the joists up: herringbone in a hall and kitchen

In the hall and dining end we went down to the joists, secured and levelled them, and boarded over in 18 mm plywood. In the kitchen, the tiles came up off the screed beneath, and the plywood was set level with it. Then 32 m² of Haldon Oak herringbone was glued down through all three.

By Altin
The base →Questions
A long kitchen with light rustic oak herringbone running between the units to a cast-iron fireplace at the far end
Fitted by AK Hardwood · The kitchen, towards the fireplace
Project
Siobhan WVictorian terrace, Weybridge
Floor
Haldon Oak rustic herringbone80 × 350 mm · 20/6 mm · brushed and oiled
Area
32 m²Hall, dining end and kitchen
Base
18 mm plywood, level with kitchen screedPlywood over joists in the hall and dining end; screed in the kitchen
Fixing
Fully bondedBona R848 adhesive
A narrow hall looking towards the front door, the old tiles and their base partly lifted, the joists, pipes and rubble underneath exposed, stairs on the right
Before · The old tiles and their base coming up
The job

Down to the joists first.

For Siobhan W in Weybridge, we took up the old tiles in the hallway and kitchen. In the hall, the tiles and the base they were laid on came up to expose the joists underneath. In the kitchen, there was a screed under the tiles.

Through the hall and dining end, the joists were secured and levelled with shims where they needed it. Then 18 mm plywood was glued and screwed down over the top, set level with the kitchen screed. The herringbone runs unbroken from the front door, through the hall and dining end, into the kitchen, with a flush finish throughout. On that we glued down 32 m² of Haldon Oak, a rustic oak herringbone: 80 × 350 mm blocks, 20 mm thick with a 6 mm oak top layer, brushed and oiled. New skirting went on to finish.

The base

Plywood over the joists, screed in the kitchen.

In the hall and dining end, with the old base up, the joists were secured and packed level with shims where they needed it. A bead of Bona R848 adhesive was run along the joists and 18 mm plywood screwed down on top, so the boards are held along their length as well as at the screws and don't work loose over the years. The plywood was set level with the screed in the kitchen, which had no plywood: once its tiles were off, the screed became the base. Together they give the herringbone one flat, continuous surface to be glued to.

Every block is fully bonded: glued to the plywood or screed across its whole underside with Bona R848, a hard-elastic adhesive that holds the floor firmly while allowing for the wood's natural movement.

The joists
The hall floor opened up: joists with new timbers fixed between them, pipes running underneath, a spirit level on the boards

The hall opened up, with new timbers fixed between the joists and the pipes running underneath.

Plywood and set-out
The hall boarded in plywood, a few herringbone blocks laid loose in the middle

The hall boarded in plywood, with a few blocks laid loose down the middle to set out the pattern.

Laying
A fitter kneeling in the hall laying herringbone blocks into combed adhesive, spare blocks resting on the radiator

Laying the hall into the adhesive.

Before and after

The same spot, dining end to kitchen.

On the left, the plywood in the dining end meets the kitchen, where the tiles are up and the screed is showing. The plywood was set level with the screed. On the right, the same spot finished: one floor, no step and no threshold.

Before: plywood in the dining end meeting the kitchen, where the tiles are off and the old screed is exposedBefore
After: the same spot finished, herringbone running from the dining end into the kitchen towards the back doorsAfter
The details

The hall and the hearth.

Plywood boarded up to a tiled hearth in front of a cast-iron fireplace
Before the herringbone

Up to the hearth

In the dining end, the plywood was cut in around the tiled hearth of the cast-iron fireplace, and the herringbone was laid up to it.

Looking from the dining end down the hall to the open front door, herringbone laid along a centre line through the doorway, the old skirting removed, plywood still showing in the foreground
Dining end to front door · the old skirting off, ready for the new

A narrow hall

The hall is long and narrow, so the pattern runs in one straight line from the front door, down the hall and through to the end of the dining room. The kitchen opens off to the left.

Finished

Hall to kitchen.

The kitchen herringbone running to a pair of glazed back doors

The kitchen, to the left of the dining end, towards the back doors.

The hall laid in herringbone, looking towards the back of the house

The hall, laid.

Herringbone half laid across a room on plywood, a fitter working at the far wall

The dining end, part-laid. The hall and front door are behind the camera.

From the hall doorway into the dining end, herringbone laid part-way with the plywood still showing in the foreground

From the hall doorway into the dining end.

Questions about this floor

Q&A

Can herringbone go over a suspended timber floor?
On this job it did. In the hall and dining end we took the old floor up to the joists, secured and levelled them with shims, glued and screwed 18 mm plywood down over them, and glued the herringbone to the plywood with Bona R848.
Can a tiled hall and kitchen be changed to wood?
Yes. Here the old tiles came up in the hall and the kitchen. In the hall we rebuilt the base in plywood over the joists; in the kitchen the screed under the tiles became the base. The plywood was set level with the screed, and the herringbone runs through both without a step.
Does the skirting have to be replaced?
No. Beading can cover the expansion gap at the edges instead. New skirting gives a cleaner finish, and on this job we supplied and fitted 25 m of it once the floor was down.
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