Wood Floor Blog

Thermo oak is a new product from Real Oak Floors Creative Collection.

The thermo treatment brings out and accentuates the best characteristics of the wood flooring – the colour is a very deep chocolate brown which exists throughout the wood – unlike a stain which simply covers the top of the board.  The boards are heated to a high temperature which causes the colour to darken, however it is a more environmentally friendly board as there are no chemicals used during this process – simply heat and steam.

There are a number of advantages in thermo treated boards:

1. Water absorption in the board is reduced.  The shrinkage and expansion of the wooden flooring decreases by 50% during treatment.  It can therefore be used in bathrooms and with under floor heating.
2. The wood becomes lighter in weight (not colour)
3. The colour runs throughout the wood – rather than staining the top.  The boards can be sanded or repaired and the colour will remain.
4. The hardness of the wood is increased
5. Eco-friendly manufacturing due to the process using only heat and no chemicals.
6. Thermo treated wood is a better sound isolator – perfect for flats or above ground floor rooms – meaning a quieter environment.

Properties of the thermo oak differ from standard timber in the following ways:

The density of the thermo oak engineered flooring is lower than untreated flooring.  The strength of the timber is also relative to the density meaning that the thermo timber has lower strength values to standard oak. As the density is lower, a solid thermo floor is not recommended for structural use but the engineered boards can still be used as a structural board if 20mm thick flooring is chosen.  Heat treatment reduces the absorption of water so care needs to be take when working with water based sealant or adhesive.  The thermal conductivity of the timber is 20 – 25% lower compared to untreated woods.