Parquet Hardwood Floor

Parquet or parquetry is a mosaic of wood used for ornamental flooring. (French parqueterie, from parquet.) The large diagonal squares known as parquet de Versailles were introduced there in 1684, as parquet de menuiserie ("woodwork parquet"), to replace the marble flooring that required constant washing, which tended to rot the joists beneath the floors. Such parquets en lozange were noted by the Swedish architect Daniel Cronström at Versaillles and at the Grand Trianon in 1693.

Materials contrasting in color and grain, such as oak, walnut, cherry, lime, pine, maple etc. are employed; and in the more expensive kinds the richly coloured mahogany and sometimes other tropical hardwoods are also used. While not technically a wood, bamboo is also a popular material for modern floors. The patterns of parquet flooring are entirely geometrical and angular— squares, triangles, lozenges. In parade rooms of Late Baroque Northern Italian, German and Austrian palaces, curved and irregular forms were also employed, as at Schloss Benrath near Dusseldorf, La Solitude near Stuttgart and Belvedere, Vienna.

Solid parquet tongue and groove boardsThere are three main classes of parquetry in use: solid parquet, veneers and laminates.

Solid parquet, as the name suggests, is solid wood, the standard thickness of each board is typically 1.5 cm or more; this enables the wooden floor to be heavily sanded numerous times over its lifetime.
Veneers are a layer of solid wood, normally 5 mm (referred to as the 'wear' layer) in thickness attached to a base of cheaper wood or plywood; this enables a floor to be sanded and finished using conventional techniques, and can be repaired by light re-sanding.
Laminates are the cheapest form, consisting of a faux-wood image applied to a cheap base such as particle board and a clear protective layer applied on top; laminates are prone to chipping and cannot be repaired.
Boards generally fit together with a tongue and groove, having consequently the pattern alike on both sides.

Wooden floors can be installed in a number of configurations. In a floating floor configuration, a layer of underlay is placed on top of the existing floor (for noise and heat insulation), the boards are then placed on top, locking together using the tongues and grooves, the weight of the combined boards holds them in place. Over time as the wood reacts to moisture in the environment, cracks are more prone to appear compared to permanently fixing the floor to the subfloor.

To attach the floor more permanently boards can be either fixed using nails (driven through the tongue at an angle of roughly 35 degrees), or attached using a water or organic solvent based glue if the subfloor is unsuitable for nails, such as concrete.

One of the most famous parquet floors is the one used by the Boston Celtics of the NBA. The original floor, which was installed at the Celtics' original home of Boston Arena in 1946, was moved intact to Boston Garden in 1952 and used there until the team moved to what was then known as FleetCenter in 1995. The floor remained intact and in use until it was cut up and sold as souvenirs in 1999, after the 1998 demolition of Boston Garden. The Celtics today play on a parquet floor that combines old and new sections.

Cleaning and Repair

Parquet hardwood floors and other hardwood flors are generally difficult to maintain. However there are certain chemicals in the form of varnishes, oils and waxes which can restore the shiny appearance they have when they are new. Many companies offer wood floor renewal as well as maintenance products for wood flooring.