Herringbone Flooring in Bearwood, Smethwick

Bearwood has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian houses with long hallways and generous front rooms, and herringbone suits them perfectly. It is also the least forgiving floor to lay, because the eye follows the pattern straight to any line that drifts.

Herringbone is set out from a centre line, not from a wall. Walls in older Bearwood houses are rarely straight, so the pattern is aligned to the room's main axis - usually the length of the hall - and the cuts are taken up at the edges. A border around the herringbone hides those cuts and gives a traditional finish.

The base must be flat, because every block sits on its own and any dip shows as a step. Timber floors in Bearwood houses usually need a ply overlay; concrete needs levelling.

Herringbone can be done in engineered wood, solid wood or LVT. Wood gives the classic look and can be refinished; LVT copes better with water and is easier on a budget.

Colour and block size change the character of a Bearwood hallway. Smaller blocks in a warm oak give a traditional period look that suits the older houses, while larger blocks in a pale or grey tone feel more contemporary. A contrasting border strip can frame the pattern at the edges. Seeing the blocks laid dry in the actual room before fixing makes the choice far easier than a showroom sample. A floor that bounces, boards that creak and shift, or damp coming up through a solid floor are worth sorting before anything new goes down.