Oak plank · West Byfleet

An oak floor that ends in a curve

V4 oak planks, fully bonded over underfloor heating in a kitchen in West Byfleet. The oak ends in a curve where it meets the tiles, and the boards are cut round the glass hatch of a wine cellar under the floor.

By Altin
The curve →The cellar hatch
The finished oak floor with the round glass cellar hatch in its yellow frame, and the curved edge where the oak meets grey tiles
Fitted by AK Hardwood · The cellar hatch and the curved edge
Project
Sophia WWest Byfleet
Floor
V4 A112 oak plank190 mm wide · rustic grade · UV oiled
Board
14 mm engineered3 mm oak wear layer
Base
Underfloor heatingGrooved panels with the pipes set in
Fixing
Fully bondedMS polymer adhesive
The finished oak floor curving round towards the kitchen units, with grey tiles beyond the curve
The curve · Oak on one side, tile on the other
The job

Oak on one side of the line, tile on the other.

Large grey tiles run along the kitchen units. They were already down when we started. The oak meets them in a curve.

A wine cellar sits under the floor, reached through a round glass hatch. Two floor sockets sit in the oak as well. The floor runs up to the doorway into the hall and stops there.

The curve

Laid dry first, then cut to a template.

The boards were laid out dry first, with no glue, running past where the curve would be. That showed which board would go where, and where each one would need cutting. The curve was templated in hardboard, and the boards were cut to it.

Laid dry
Oak boards laid loose across the floor, some running past the line of the curve onto the tiles

Boards laid dry, some still running past the line onto the tile.

The template
Hardboard template pieces taped together on the floor, following the curve beside the cellar hatch

The hardboard template, taped together on the floor along the curve.

Cut and bonded
The oak cut to the curve and glued down, with Altin fixing the cork strip along the edge

The boards cut to the curve and glued down, and Altin fixing the cork strip along the edge.

Adhesive trowelled out over the white underfloor heating panels, next to the boards already laid
The base · Adhesive trowelled onto the heating panels
The base

Glued down over underfloor heating.

The heating sits in grooved panels, with the pipes set into the grooves. The oak is fully bonded: every board is glued across its whole underside, not floated on an underlay.

The adhesive is an MS polymer adhesive, trowelled out onto the panels.

The details

Where the oak meets something else.

The cellar hatch

The boards are cut round the cellar opening, so the hatch and its yellow frame sit back in flush with the oak.

The round cellar opening with wine racks below, oak boards cut round its edge
The finished oak running up to the glass cellar hatch, kitchen beyond
The opening, before the hatch went back in · The hatch back in, flush with the oak

The cork strip

A cork expansion strip runs the whole length of the curve, between the oak and the tile.

Close view of the curved oak edge against the grey tile, with the thin cork strip between them
Close up: oak, cork, tile
The curved edge of the oak against the grey tile, with the cork strip running along the curve
The cork strip along the curve
Finished

The finished floor.

The finished oak floor seen low down across the kitchen, with the cellar hatch on the left, looking towards the garden doors
Looking towards the garden doors.
The finished curve with a brass floor socket set into the oak
The oak curving round the end panel of the kitchen units, with tile under the units
A brass floor socket, cut into the oak · The curve passing the end of the kitchen units.
Questions

If you're planning a floor like this.

Can a wood floor meet tiles in a curve?
On this job it does. The curve was templated in hardboard, the boards were cut to it, and a cork expansion strip runs the whole length of the curve between the oak and the tile.
Can engineered oak go over underfloor heating?
This one does. The heating sits in grooved panels with the pipes set in, and the 14 mm engineered oak is fully bonded with an MS polymer adhesive.
Can a floor hatch sit flush with a wood floor?
Here the boards are cut round the cellar opening, and the glass hatch in its yellow frame sits flush with the oak.
Planning a floor like this?

Talk to us about your floor.

Tell us what you're after and what's happening on site, and we'll tell you what would work.

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Showroom
Unit A/B Investment House
28 Queens Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 9UT
Hours
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Sun closed