Prefabricated parquet
Prefabricated parquet is a floor covering made of wood or with a wooden surface for rooms in closed buildings that is already ready for installation .
With prefabricated parquet, the individually laid strips or planks are already sealed or oiled, etc. The parquet made of solid wood or as a multi-layer parquet (precious wood wear layer applied to a carrier system made of mostly cheaper softwood or multiplex with or without a counter-tension) is free of surface defects and processed with a particularly precise fit. The particular advantage lies in the simple and cost-effective assembly on the construction site, since there is no need for grinding, cementing and finishing. A pre-fabricated parquet is "habitable" much faster. Simple multi-layer parquet floors are also cheaper than strip or mosaic parquet because of the significantly thinner wear layer (usually only 2–6 mm) compared to strip parquet . A particularly high-quality variant is sharp-edged solid parquet as prefabricated parquet with painted surfaces.
A worn or scratched parquet floor can be renovated by sanding and then repainting. With multi-layer parquet flooring, however, this is only possible once or twice due to the small thickness of the wear layer, as the top layer of wood is then "sanded through" and the substrate becomes visible.
Distinguishing features
Pre-fabricated parquet is available from several manufacturers in different versions, which differ from one another in some criteria.
Wood species
Parquets are traditionally made from oak , beech or softwood . However, there are also parquets made of other woods such as cherry , maple , ash , walnut , birch or teak .
In addition to their appearance, the types of wood differ in their structure and strength. The hardness of wooden coverings is determined using the Brinell method. A steel ball is pressed onto the wood under defined environmental conditions. Their imprint is measured and shows the hardness of the wood covering.
Sorting
Most manufacturers offer their parquets in different carefully selected selections. A finer sorting of pieces of wood with flaws and knotholes ensures a more even appearance of the floor covering. If the pieces of wood are not sorted out, a natural, rustic appearance remains.
Layer structure
Solid parquet as prefabricated parquet is made from a solid piece of wood. With multi-layer parquet, the layer structure is an essential quality and distinguishing feature. The top layer is always the real wood layer, optionally oiled or lacquered. One or more support and stability layers can be found underneath. Spruce sticks are usually used for these layers. On some types of prefabricated parquet, impact sound insulation is attached directly as the bottom layer, while on others, separate impact sound insulation must be laid as the sub- floor .
Laying way
Originally, multi-layer parquet was always stabilized and made moisture-proof by gluing the tongue and groove to be joined together. For some time now, more and more multi-layer parquets have been offered for glueless installation and / or with various “click systems” for easier assembly. 2-layer prefinished parquet is to be laid in a shear-proof manner, i.e. to be glued or nailed.
Processing notes
Depending on the type, pre-finished parquet can partly be laid floating (without being attached to the sub-floor). As with the prefabricated parquet firmly connected to the substrate, an expansion joint to the wall or at the transition to other floor coverings must be created. This prevents the floor covering from bulging when the humidity changes (swelling and shrinking).
Difference from laminate
Parquet, as well as prefabricated parquet, always has at least one top layer made of real wood, while the cheaper, parquet-imitating laminate flooring only has a plastic surface that is similar to wood in color and structure.