European Oak Flooring

Quality
We are often asked what the difference is between French, American or European Oak? These are simply common names for different family members of the Quercus (or Oak genus), not an indicator of quality. The Botanical name for European Oak is Quercus Robur and is sourced from Central and Western Europe. European Oak tends to be lighter in colour to American Oak, with less pronounced grain patterns and is available in premier and rustic grades. Ecodure Premium European Oak is a selected premium grade Oak which has almost no knots when compared to lesser Oak grades. The lovely variation of natural grains and colours are achieved by enhancing with a wash or factory applied stain or leaving the natural colour as is.

Our 15mm engineered boards have a super thick 4mm of Premium European Oak applied on an 11mm solid plantation grade, cross-engineered timber plank − no reconstituted or synthetic materials are used, giving an impressive 15mm plank depth. In fact, engineered Oak is superior in durability and stability to solid Oak, as the multidirectional construction of the engineered board counteracts the effects of humidity and temperature fluctuation on natural wood, allowing each board to expand and contract without warping or cupping. Solid boards are far more susceptible to warping along the natural grain lines of the plank.

Seven coats of the best quality German Treffert solvent−free, water-based polyurethane gives Ecodure Premium Oak a long lasting and beautiful finish. We have put together a list of frequently asked questions which contain more detailed advice to help you make your choice of an Ecodure Premium Oak Floor.

Easy Maintenance
No need for vacuuming or messy wet mopping, just a simple sweep and swish with a microfibre mop is all that is needed to keep your floor fresh and dust free. Hence the flooring is asthma and allergy friendly, a quick spray of water and swish with a microfibre mop is the only regular maintenance needed to keep your floor looking stunning and dust free. For full details please refer to our Oak Maintenance Guide found in the Additional Information download link.

Allergy Friendly
Ecodure Oak Floors are ideal for people with dust or pet allergies as the tight UNICLIC joins means there is little chance of dust mites or pet dander gathering. A regular swish with a microfibre dust mop and a spray bottle of water is all that is required to maintain your Ecodure Oak Floor.

Installation
Ecodure Premium Oak floors are installed in the same manner as any other hardwood timber flooring. It is precision manufactured, resulting in an exceptional quality UNICLIC product. Engineered Oak Floors can either be glued directly to concrete or plywood/particle board subfloors with Sika T-55 adhesive, however we strongly recommend professional installation for all glued floors; or it can be installed as a Floating Floor over the Accord Premium Floating Floor Underlay, which has outstanding compression resistance for comfort underfoot and sustained noise reduction. Floating floors can be installed by a professional, but are also suitable for self-installation by someone competent in DIY. Concrete slabs may need to be moisture sealed with Sika Primer or Thomsit R755 Moisture Barrier.

Stair nosings are also available for all the Oak floor colours.

Adhesives and Moisture Barrier
Ecodure Flooring only recommends Sika Bond T-55 or Sika Bond T-53 adhesives for a glue down floor and should a Moisture Barrier be required where Sika glue is used, Sika Primer is recommended as a Moisture Barrier. For more information or specifications on these products, please visit the Sika site on www.sika.co.nz.

Should Moisture Barrier be required with a floating floor, we recommend the Thomsit R755 Moisture Barrier. For more information or specifications on these products, please visit the Thomsit site on www.thomsit.com.

Accord Premium Underlay
Ecodure Flooring only recommends and uses the Accord Premium Underlay where floors are floated. See our additional information page for full specification on the Accord Premium Underlay.

Hardness Rating
Oak is a medium dent-resistant wood according to the Janka hardness test that measures the resistance of a type of wood to withstand denting. It measures the force required to embed an 11.28 mm steel ball (that’s about the size of a Jaffa!) into wood, at half the ball’s diameter. The higher the number, the harder the wood. The results of testing of various species commonly used for flooring is shown below. This test result is in kiloNewtons (kN), although you may see results shown in pounds force. Wikipedia gives instructions for conversion.

As can be seen at 6kN’s, Oak has half the dent resistancy of Compressed or Strandwoven Bamboo, yet it is twice as dent resistant as any of our NZ Native Timbers – making it a good wearing, timeless, stylish flooring choice that offers medium dent resistancy.

Stability
An Ecodure Engineered Oak board provides all the benefits of being structurally robust. All our Engineered Oak boards have a superior 4mm thick solid European Oak layer applied on an 11mm solid plantation grade, cross-engineered timber plank, with no reconstituted or synthetic materials used, giving an impressive 15mm plank depth. As the multidirectional, cross-engineered construction of the Engineered board counteracts the effects of humidity and fluctuating temperature, allowing each board to expand and contract without warping or cupping, it is perfect for both business or residential use; in both small and large continuous floor areas. Not only is Ecodure Engineered Oak Flooring beautiful and value adding, but also provides for superior performance and stability.

Environmentally sound
Being an Engineered board, Ecodure Engineered Oak is more environmentally friendly than its solid Oak counterparts, as only a 4mm strip of the valuable Oak timber is used per plank; the plantation grade, FSC Approved backing made from a far faster growing, sustainable timber – this also allowing it to be cost effective……but, without compromise, as the generous 4mm wear layer of the precious, solid European Oak timber can, if ever necessary be sanded time and time again – thus truly making this a floor for a lifetime. Ecodure Oak is grown in controlled, FSC Approved plantations.

All Ecodure Oak is finished with top quality German Treffert solvent free coatings. These are VOC (volatile organic compound) emission-free, and contain no formaldehyde, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals or phthalate plasticisers. All adhesives and coatings used in the product manufacture meet the European E0 environmental standards for off-gassing of formaldehyde, as well as the German Eco Institute Certification.

Treffert Coating
To ensure a superior finish, all our products are pre-finished at factory level with seven layers of eco-friendly, UV cured water-based matt polyurethane, which includes two layers of German Treffert’s world leading anti-scratch technology.

Uniclic
All Ecodure Oak Floors have the UNICLIC join system for tightness and ease of installation.

Warranty
Ecodure Oak Flooring comes with a no fuss, no worry structural and wear layer coating warranty.

Please contact us for a copy of our Warranty & Terms & Conditions.