Choose your flooring with Europlac, it's EASY!

In order to make sure that you choose the right colour for your flooring and panelling, it is important to have a good idea of all aspects of your finished interior, such as the furnishings and general style. The current tendency is towards light, simple colours such as white, stone grey and sandy hues; however, warmer tones such as chocolate, dark brown, even black as equally popular.

Bear in mind that the use of light colours for floors, walls and ceilings tend to give the impression of a larger space, whilst darker colours give a cosier atmosphere.

A product research lead to prodcut datasheet of flooring and panelling presented to you in colour families. Europlac has assembled its wood varieties and tints into four families of colours: Black, White, Orange and Yellow. See every colour available

Bear in mind also that these colours can change slightly over time according to their exposure to sunlight and even moonlight. The more exotic woods tend to have the greatest changes. There is more information regarding this in Europlac's Technical Datasheet

The grade is a technical word used in the wood industry to define the texture of the wood. Your choice of texture will play an important role in your interior decoration project. Europlac offers three grades of oak and you will be able to see examples of these on the page entitled A PERSONALISED OFFER OF WOODEN FLOORING :

Select: Very few, small knots, and a homogeneous texture. Select would be ideal for the uncluttered, clean line appearance of a loft or warehouse conversion.

Rustique A: A certain irregularity sprinkled with small knots, cracks and the presence of some discolouration. This grade shows the beauty of the wood whilst maintaining a sober and classic style.

Rustique B: Rustique B is the grade that shows up the structure of the wood more than the others. It has very obvious knots, cracks and even some sapwood. This grade is suited to an interior decoration based on superior materials and emphasizes the structure of the wood. It produces a warm and convivial atmosphere.

Europlac offers three types of wood finishes: varnish, natural oil and rough sawn.

Twenty years ago, oiled parquet rather than varnish was the preferred option as it presented a more natural finish. However, today varnished parquets have made enormous progress and it is difficult to distinguish a "brushed mat varnish" from an oiled finish.

For ecological reasons, the oiled finish maintains its popularity over varnish as it has a biological origine. (NB. There are also synthetic oils). However, varnishes now have impressive credentials with non-solvent based composition, COV and formaldehydes emission similar to oils.

The major difference today between oiled and varnished finishes lies in the maintenance. An oiled finish enables local repairs in case of accidents such as cigarette burns, deep scratches etc. In general an oiled finish requires an annual re-oiling but this is not the case for Europlac's new generation natural oil. Another advantage for choosing Europlac's natural oiled finish.

Europlac's varnished finish: Europlac's varnished finish: Our varnishes dull the brilliance of classic vitrified varnish. They no longer have the film effect but show off strongly the true texture of the wood whilst maintaining all the protective properties. The resistance of the flooring as well as the texture of the wood is often accentuated in oak by the use of brushed finishes. We therefore call our parquets 'brushed mat varnish finish'. In fact Europlac leaves you to choose between brushed mat varnish, antique brushed mat varnish, mat varnish or satin finish varnish. The mat finish is the most popular as it gives a more natural effect.

Europlac's natural oiled finish: Our oil is composed of natural elements with pigments as often as possible natural. This oil is the latest generation and does not require re-oiling after laying, nor annually. In fact it never requires an extra coat! Repairing random damage is possible by applying a prebase (contact us for information, according to the type flooring) then oiling with a cloth. One minute after, wipe away excess oil.

Europlac's rough sawn look: The rough sawn collection offers several options. Our natural oil is applied to a rough sawn facing. For all technical information, refer to the natural oil finish section.

For further information on upkeep, refer to Installation and upkeep or our wooden floor, installation and upkeep for wooden panelling or to the Europlac's Technical Datasheet,, which will also give you more technical answers on the finishes.

If you have an underfloor heating system, please ensure that the type of flooring you have chosen is compatible with it.

Europlac's flooring is compatible with all systems of underfloor heating with the exception of Absolu 14 which is not compatible with an underfloor cooling system. Refer to the installation instructions for all technical information. Also note that beech flooring is not advised as the wood is too fibrous and reacts badly to certain underfloor heating systems. See the following logos :

 

 

 

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Your choice will mainly depend on the support. Some support are not compatible with a certain type of laying. For more details refer to Installation and upkeep of wooden floor.

 

The thickness of the flooring must be taken into consideration according to the different types of projects being undertaken. Europlac has four different thicknesses of flooring to offer from 8 to 15 mm.

With parquet flooring the thickness of the top layer has to be taken into consideration. This is the pure wood layer which is visible after installation. The thickness of this layer determines whether or not it will be possible to sand down the flooring in the future. Remember that laminated flooring which is often likened to parquet cannot be sanded as the top layer is paper impression.

Prestige et Absolu 14: Can be sanded 2 or 3 times

Absolu 10: Can only be sanded once

FunFloor: Cannot be sanded - but its resistance to marking is better than for parquet

We often mention the durability of the different wood types (see the index for each wood type on the Europlac's Technical Datasheet). Note that all the types of wood offered are sufficiently durable to withstand all types of usage. The harder woods which include most of the exotic wood types, are more resistant to rough daily use. However, it is normal for old parquet to show evidence of usage over a long period. Plus de renseignements dans la Frequently Asked QuestionsIs a soft type of wood with a low 'Brinell' hardness, incompatible with a living room?