Lacquered vs Oiled Wood Flooring

29th September 2018
oak wood flooring

So you’ve opted for a real wood floor, so what finish do you opt for – lacquered or oiled and brushed?

We often have customers asking us our opinion of lacquered vs oiled and brushed wood flooring, wanting to know which finish is best. The quick answer is that it’s really down to personal taste.

Much of the wood flooring bought in the UK is pre-lacquered before installation. These lacquers can come in a high gloss or matt, and will literally sit on the surface of the wood. The great thing about a lacquer is that it will allow the beauty of the wood to come through, along with being tough and durable.

Lacquer

Should the floor have any scratches, a lacquered surface can be repaired with a special lacquer repair kit. After many years, if you want to give your lacquered floor a complete make-over, then it can be sanded back and a new layer of finish applied. This will bring your floor back to brand new – as good as the day it was installed. However we would always recommend a specialist for this job. Many people like the lacquered finish, especially in a more modern home as it looks clean and slightly more reflective than the brushed and oiled, helping to maximise the light in your home.

Brushed and oiled

A brushed and oiled floor is one of the most popular wood flooring finishes, especially when installed in a period property, as the grain is much more defined than with a lacquered surface. With brushed and oiled, the surface of the wood has been brushed and several coats of oil are applied. This process will give your floor a real natural feel and the textures are just lovely. We would recommend that an oiled floor be re-oiled about every two years, but this is not a hard job and can be done by one person. Oiled floors are great for maintenance too, as they can be spot cleaned using a clean soft cloth, and special wood oil. If you have any scratches or marks, they will blend well into the brushed, natural grain and adds to the authentic appearance.

The upshot is that oak is a fantastic wood flooring option and the brushed and oiled surface will give you a real warm look. It is a great choice if you love the grains and textures of real wood to come through, and the oils used smell so beautifully natural.

At First Floors we sell repair oil and lacquer so talk to us if you would like to discuss how you can maintain your new wood floor.

 

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Customer Reviews

First Floors

Customer Reviews

Jim Hillier 1st June 2022

TrustPilot
Absolutely Delighted with the Conduct and Quality of Work. My Wife and I decided to replace our Bedroom Carpet and lay down wooden flooring for our Hall. We noticed that there was a possible supplier for flooring at first floors shop on Fenwick Road. We met up with David and Graham and explained that we were looking for quality products for both Items. We were shown flooring possibilities from their extensive range of designs and thicknesses and soon found a product that we were interested in. We were delighted to find out that they had carpet selections at the back of the shop which surprised us; you could not appreciate the size of the place from the shop front! We chose a carpet that we thought met our specifications and were given a reasonable sized sample to take home to see how it would look in our room taking into account of our particular lighting conditions. First Floors sent out a guy to take measurements for floor, accessory fittings and carpet.
Being very happy with the proposition given to us and estimates of work completion dates and prices we went ahead with the order. Graham kept us updated with the schedule and I am happy to say that the work was carried out on time and was completed to a very high quality with which we were both delighted with.
I would be happy to reference this company for anyone who is interested in upgrading their floors or replacing carpets.

Alastair Barrie 2nd June 2022

TrustPilot
Good selection, service and fitting.We were able to take home some samples to select the carpet that was just right for our room. There was a delay in our furniture arriving and First Floors were very accommodating in putting our fitting date back to suit. The fitting went very well indeed - couldn’t have been easier.

Olive Leitch 1st May 2022

TrustPilot
Excellent service from First Floors. All staff including fitters have been helpful and gave a friendly professional service. My new stair carpet has been fitted very well and already received many complements

Linda McBrearty 27th April 2022

TrustPilot
Excellent service with care. On our first visit to the showroom, David advised and helped us with our choice but never rushed us and gave us lots of confidence in making our final choice of engineered wooden flooring. Our new build home was delayed for a few months and during this time David and his team waited patiently with us until the flooring was able to be fitted! The fitting throughout our new house was more than excellent. The care and attention to detail was everything we could have hoped for, our thanks to the fitting team. We would have no hesitation in recommending First Floors, their professionalism and customer service was 100%.

Anna Smylie April 2021

Google
Fantastic service. David gave me great advice on which flooring would be most suitable for my business premises. Within the week Steven came to fit the flooring and, as promised, was in and out in a day. Can’t recommend this local Company enough. Anna Smylie ZuZu Giffnock.

Dawn Henry November 2021

Google
We recently purchased engineered oak flooring and carpets from First Floors. The customer service from David and team was exceptional. We had just moved home from overseas and bought a house with no floors so we did not have access to allow First Floors to measure. Theye allowed us to use our own measurements as we wanted the floors laid ASAP once we had the keys. The floor is beautiful and laid very professionally (thanks Steven). The carpets are also lovely and exactly what I wanted. The only thing I would change about the experience would be to have First Floors assess the house in advance. We have fire doors which were a problem the day the carpets were laid. This was not the issue of First Floors and it was resolved quickly. Thanks again David, we would highly recommend First Floors to anyone.

Ian and Lesley Proctor January 2022

Google
Another Great Job Done!!
Just had our third floor project in seven years completed by First Floors once again.
Great service from David and his showroom team from assisting in the selection of materials through to arranging the installation. Chris and his team worked tidily and efficiently on the hardwood flooring with great attention to detail. Gordon who fitted the stair carpet was very professional in his work and was able to resolve some problematic details to our entire satisfaction.
Would definitely recommend First Floors.

Gavin Reid 18/08/20

TrustPilot
We recently had First Floors install laminate flooring in our lounge and hallway and are absolutely delighted with the final result! It has been finished to a high standard with great attention to detail.

Having had a rough idea of what we were looking for, David helped find the perfect flooring for both rooms.

We were booked in quickly and kept informed throughout the process.

We would definitely recommend and use again.

Christine Sharp 23/08/20

TrustPilot
Wee have recently had a new laminate floor laid in our upstairs hall. We are very happy with the result and feel the level of workmanship and finishing detail was excellent

Chris Milne 30/08.20

TrustPilot
Excellent service from first point of contact. Staff took time to discuss and review options, then worked to suitable timescale based around my schedule.
Work completed on time and to a very high standard, delighted with results.
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