From our experience with floor finishing the natural progression was to provide our clients with ready to lay flooring that eliminates the labour and time required for hand applied floor finishes, and to give a beautiful surface finish that does not rely on the skill of the applicator or the condition of the existing floorboards.
We have created a range of colours and finishes in premium quality French Oak engineered wide boards that reflect our philosophy of delivering beautiful, durable and environmentally sustainable products.
Why choose French Oak?
French Oak has a tighter grain structure and denser timber. The cold climate of France means slower growth, which creates a beautiful fine patterned grain, and the denser timber provides superior durability, wear and impact resistance.
French Oak contains a higher tannin content than other oak species, giving a warm golden honey colour and a more even tone.
For more information, read the 5 essential reasons to choose Porter's French Oak Flooring.
Grading explained
Porter's French Oak is Select Grade, also known as ABC, whereas most oak flooring sold in Australia is ABCD grade. Features taken into account when grading timber include colour variations, sap content, mineral lines, light edges and the number and size of knots. Individual floor boards may have none, one or a number of these features.
ABC grade means smaller knots, narrower light edges and fewer black lines, but of course timber is a natural product and we don't believe in grading out these beautiful features. Oak trees take hundreds of years to grow and that allows plenty of time for insects to establish homes, and for sap, knots and cracks to develop, so naturally all floorboards will feature such characteristics.
The benefits of Porter's engineered floors
Multiple layers of quality ply are used to ensure stability, which eliminates "cupping", a warping problem that can occur in solid timber floors, especially in wider widths.
Engineered timber floors are extremely stable and many of the problems that effect floor laying, such as drying, shrinkage and moisture expansion, are eliminated or reduced.