The word 'parquet' (pronounced like 'par-kay') is a French word, meaning 'small compartment'. In flooring terms, parquet is a geometric mosaic of pieces of wood, combined to make a decorative flooring pattern. Parquet patterns are usually angular, using rectangles, squares and sometimes triangles, but can contain curves in more intricate designs.

Parquet flooring dates back to 17th century France, where parquet designs were an elaborate show of wealth and a display of an artisan's prowess with flooring. King Louis XIV of France made parquet flooring popular in the 1680s, when he ordered the installation of parquet in Versailles Palace - where the 'parquet de Versailles' pattern gets its name.

The rest of Europe soon followed King Louis XIV's lead. In England, parquet arrived in the 17th century, when Queen Mary requested installation of parquet flooring in her official residence of Somerset House, which was redesigned in the late 1620s. 

Wooden parquet flooring soon became a popular alternative to marble or stone floors in European estate homes, because parquet was cheaper to install, cheaper to maintain and did less damage to a building's structural soundness over time than heavy stone floors did.

In the early days of parquet flooring, parquet blocks were cut by hand, glued to concrete and hand scraped to finish - but in later years, tongue and groove parquet became popular as an easier-to-install alternative.

Parquet remained popular until the 1930s, when carpets became more fashionable. As a result, many owners of homes dating back to before the 1930s have later found original parquet flooring hidden under carpets - which is where our parquet restoration expertise comes in!

The parquet flooring pattern seen most commonly nowadays in homes and more modern buildings (and probably what you think of when you think 'parquet flooring') is herringbone - rectangular parquet blocks laid to create a pointed repeating pattern on a floor. 

But other parquet patterns, like 'parquet de Versailles' where rectangular blocks are laid to surround square blocks in repeating patterns, are often found in older public buildings.

The type of parquet flooring that's best for your home or business is entirely up to you! Herringbone parquet is often the less costly option, as the blocks are all the same size and the pattern is simple, but more intricate patterns often have more impact, particularly in larger more open spaces.

Yes! Most damage to parquet flooring can be repaired by a parquet flooring specialist, like Mark Antony & Sons.

Most commonly, we see minor damage to the surface of parquet flooring - dents, bumps, scratches or stains from pets or contaminants. In these cases, most damage can be repaired by sanding parquet flooring back to bare wood and refinishing with a long-lasting oil or lacquer (varnish).

In some more extreme cases, full parquet restoration is needed. Parquet flooring that has been in homes or public buildings for a number of years and seen a high level of foot traffic during that time might experience individual blocks lifting over time, where the original adhesive has lost its adhesion to the sub-floor. In these cases, if the parquet blocks themselves are structurally sound, we will lift all loose blocks, remove all traces of the old adhesive, and then use a professional-grade high-bond adhesive to re-install the parquet blocks.

Where parquet floors have been hidden under carpets or not been maintained by previous homeowners, some parquet blocks may be beyond repair. If this is the case, we source reclaimed wood parquet blocks from trusted sources, finding the closest possible match to your floor. We install these reclaimed wood blocks using high-bond adhesive and then sand and refinish your parquet floor to blend replacement blocks in with the original floor.

If you're not sure whether your parquet flooring can be restored or not, get in touch! 

Parquet flooring that's uneven is usually causeed either by loose blocks or is the result of an unstable sub-floor. 

Loose parquet blocks are easily restored, by removing the loose block, removing any old adhesive traces, and re-installing the parquet block using a professional high-bond adhesive before sanding the entire floor.

If uneven parquet flooring is the result of an unstable sub-floor (e.g. damaged joists), a more extensive restoration process may be required before sanding and refinishing can be completed.

At Mark Antony & Sons, our parquet flooring specialists will identify the cause of uneven parquet flooring before recommending a course of action. 

In the most extreme cases, we will recommend removing the entire parquet flooring, repairing the sub-floor (including joist repairs or laying a new self-levelling screed to create a solid sub-floor again), cleaning old adhesive off the parquet blocks, then re-installing each block using a high-bond parquet adhesive. Once your parquet floor is structurally sound once more, we can proceed with the usual sanding and refinishing process.

Hardwood parquet flooring is largely made using oak, walnut, maple, cherry and sometimes exotic hardwoods, like mahogany or tigerwood.

When choosing the species of wood for your parquet flooring, there are a number of factors to consider, including the look you're trying to achieve (lighter species, like oak, are better suited to staining than darker species) and the location your parquet floor will be in (softer wood species will need more regular maintenance than others and some species are not suited to rooms with high moisture levels, like bathrooms).

If you're not sure which parquet flooring is best for you (or which species your existing parquet floor is made from), our parquet flooring specialists can help!

Parquet flooring can be solid wood or engineered wood!

If your parquet flooring is original (if, for example, you've found parquet flooring hidden under carpets), it's likely to be solid wood parquet - which means each block is a piece of solid wood. If your parquet flooring is more recently installed, it may be engineered parquet flooring - which is where a veneer of hardwood sits on top of a wooden block.

Engineered parquet flooring is often cheaper than solid wood parquet flooring and can be bought pre-finished, but it often has a slightly shorter life span than solid wood. Engineered wood parquet can be sanded and refinished over time, but as the solid wood layer is usually between 3mm and 7mm, there's a limit to how much of the top surface can be sanded off before the hardwood is removed completely.

Both solid wood parquet and engineered parquet flooring is available in tongue-and-groove style for easy installation. Reclaimed parquet flooring is likely to be solid wood blocks without tongue-and-groove.