Tag Archives: engineered wood flooring thickness

01 Oct

About Your Floor, Essential Reading, General Knowledge

The thick floor myth: why a 6mm oak top layer puts your money in the wrong place

October 1, 2026
By Ed Grant
engineered wood, engineered wood flooring thickness, parquet flooring

Thicker sounds better. But the German parquet industry expects a floor to be sanded twice in 50 years, so on a 6mm top layer you’re paying for 4.6mm of oak you’ll never touch. Here’s where your money should go instead.

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GOOGLE REVIEWS

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Rahul P.

3 weeks ago

Ed and the team were incredibly helpful with choosing our flooring for our house renovation. The knowledge Ed has is really impressive and we now have the floor in and it looks great. They have a product for every price point and the quality is very high. Would highly recommend using Kite for your flooring needs.

Response from the owner:Thanks Rahul, that's really kind of you. Glad the floor's in and looking the part. Enjoy the new house, and if anything ever needs a bit of TLC, you know where we are. Ed

Katie E.

4 weeks ago

I have used Kite flooring professionally and personally and I can not fault them. I love our wide oak planks, they are the perfect scale for our loft. The finish is very natural so you can feel the texture of the wood, but still stands up to wet/damp feet coming from the the bathroom. They have a great curated selection of flooring in their showroom and offer really good value for the quality.

Response from the owner:Thanks Katie, that means a lot, especially from someone who's seen us from both sides of the fence! Enjoy it, and see you on the next project. Ed

marina B.

2 months ago

Impeccable service, beautiful flooring, highly recommend!!

Response from the owner:Thanks Marina, Really glad you're happy with the floor. Ed

Laura J.

2 months ago

We did a full home renovation and went for Kite’s engineered wood flooring in most of the living areas - a combination of Lewis Herringbone and Lewis wide planks, including cladding our new staircase. We were very impressed with their more curated selection when we visited them in the store - it made it less overwhelming when we already had a million other decisions to make! They were very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable throughout the process and the team they had installing and finishing the floor were exceptional too. Highly recommend Kite if you’re looking for high quality and well priced wooden flooring for your home!

Response from the owner:Thanks so much Laura, this is lovely to read. You've hit on exactly why we keep the range tight! I'll pass your kind words on to the fitting team too. Enjoy the house. Ed

Jake B.

2 months ago

As owners of a luxury bespoke furniture business, we're pretty particular when it comes to materials and workmanship. We actually first came across this company after one of our clients had a solid woodfloor fitted by them and asked us to colourmatch the finish and stain for some bespoke furniture we were making. We reached out to Ed, who couldn't have been more helpful. His knowledge, advice and communication made the whole process really easy, and nothing ever felt like too much trouble. That experience actually led us to have a properlook through their range when we started renovating our own home. We originally planned on engineered or solid wood, but after speaking to Ed and receiving samples of their extra wide laminate, we were genuinely impressed. Honestly, if you didn't know it was laminate, you'd struggle to tell. The texture, grain and overall finish are incredibly realistic, and to the untrained eye it looks every bit as good as a much more expensive floor. It was straight forward to fit, the locking system worked perfectly, and once laid it felt solid underfoot. We've now fitted it throughout our home and couldn’t be happier with the finished result. It looks fantastic, has completely transformed the space and offers incredible value for money without compromising on appearance or quality. A huge thank you to Ed and the team for the excellent service from start to finish. We've already recommended them to several of our own clients and will continue to do so.

Response from the owner:Thanks Jake, coming from a furniture maker, that's high praise indeed! Most companies won't tell you this, but a good laminate often beats a cheap wood floor, and the best ones really are hard to spot. Thanks too for the recommendations, we really appreciate them. Ed

Adil H.

3 months ago

I cannot recommend Kite Flooring enough. Ed went above and beyond to help me find a flooring option that worked for my project and source a material, finish, style and colour that was in line with what I was looking for. I was truly impressed by his attention to detail and willingness to go out of his way to make things work to my specifications and accommodate my timeline. The final product is gorgeous.

Response from the owner:Thanks Adil, really kind of you. Glad the finished floor is worth it. Enjoy it! Ed

Simon W.

4 months ago

Both Ed and Ian are a pleasure to deal with.

Paul W.

5 months ago

Done an excellent job for us. Reliable, efficient, great communication. 5 Stars!

Paul P.

5 months ago

My wife and I are so pleased with our flooring and the service we received from the Kite Team. We would highly recommend them to anyone looking to purchase new floors.

Sarah M.

5 months ago

Kite Flooring were amazing, Ed took time to listen to what I was after, gave great advice and made choosing our floors so easy. The process of ordering and having the flooring delivered to site was seamless as was adding extras that were needed. I would definitely recommend Ed and his team.

Rasharn A.

5 months ago

Love my floors so much thanks for all your help.

Luke S.

5 months ago

Couldn’t thank this company anymore. Their delivery service was excellent and the flooring was just perfect. Would definitely recommend to others.

Cecilie Jensen G.

5 months ago

Our floor looks fabulous! Smooth ordering process and efficient installation.

Ben C.

5 months ago

Fantastic flooring with an exceptional customer experience, very helpful all the way from start to finish.

Mouli G.

6 months ago

The process was seamless from the visit to the showroom to select the boards right through to delivery. Would highly recommend for a knowledgable, professional and reliable service. Well done and will be returning again for sure.

Chris H.

6 months ago

This is the 2nd time I've had Kite install new wood flooring in my flat. The first was in 2021 for the first floor bedrooms, hall and stairs. This time round was for a complete kitchen/dining room redo and a 2nd set of stairs. Ed, Bjor, and the team have been great and I would use again, but no more floors left at mine! :) My only regret is that the flooring I used on the first job was no longer available as I love it so much and get many compliments. This is down to the manufacturer discontinuing it, nothing to do with Kite! In the end we found another floor that is great quality and goes with with the previous well. The team is very friendly, easy to talk to and accommodating. I especially like they both have the larger boards samples to look at that they visit on site with to make sure of no disappointment. Cheers, Chris

Tiziano A.

6 months ago

Superb Floor Restoration! We’re absolutely delighted with the transformation Kite Flooring and his team performed on our wooden floor — they truly brought it back to life. From the very first inspection they were unfailingly professional, promptly providing a clear, detailed quote and a realistic timeframe which they met precisely. We had been considering replacing the floor, but Ed honestly recommended restoring our original boards — a candid, trustworthy piece of advice we greatly appreciated. Communication was excellent throughout: they patiently explained each step, showed colour samples so we could choose confidently, and kept us updated at every stage. The crew caused minimal disruption and went above and beyond by helping to move furniture out and back to the house, a generous touch we didn’t expect. The workmanship is outstanding; our original floor has been restored to the highest standard with a flawless finish. The different technique used to fill the gaps, compared to previous one, has made the floor feel significantly more solid. We’re thrilled with the result and wholeheartedly recommend Kite Flooring to anyone seeking expert, reliable floor restoration.

Oliver S.

6 months ago

Great floors! We are really pleased with our floors. We have three kids and a busy house. Floors are perfect. Great service and clear that the team laying the floors were proper experts. All the preparations and guidance was clear and we have had no issues since floors were put down. Highly recommend Kite team.

Matthew R.

6 months ago

As Architects, we’ve worked with a number of timber floor suppliers but Kite are by far our preferred supplier for several reasons. They have a great selective range of good quality options, as opposed to offering hundreds of confusing variations. Each of their floor options has individual merit, which really helps to narrow down decision making. The team at kite are really knowledgable about their floors, and they are really great communicators which helps to make decisions and inform yourselves of options, pros and cons etc. Their showroom has large scale samples, making it easy to see the options in shade and in daylight, and experience walking on the floors for true experience. We recommend Kite to a lot of people, and we recently installed one of their engineered floors in our own home refurbishment - very happy with it. Furthermore, the supply timescales were exactly as advised. They also offer their own in house install team if needed, and can help with bespoke edge trims. Would definitely recommend considering Kite and popping into their showroom to check out options and chat to Ed and the team!

Jonathan G.

6 months ago

We were really happy with Ed and the Kite team. Ed was really knowledgeable and helpful from the outset, the floor arrived on time and as promised and we were very pleased with the quality. Overall an excellent service.

jenine W.

6 months ago

The whole team at Kite Flooring are great - knowledgeable , very helpful and always prompt at getting back to you on any request- I ordered my first set of flooring with them a few years ago and have gone back to order more flooring for the rest of my house as their customer service is fantastic. I would not hesitate to recommend Kite Flooring - the materials are great quality and the team from start to finish could not be better

Charlie I.

6 months ago

I have worked with Ed and his team on many projects over the years and have always found them to be helpful and professional. I am a designer based in East London so require a high standard of service and quality products for my clients. KITE go direct to the best factories, so you can get an amazing product for a decent price. They are also able to source floors so if I need something a bit different or special they are my go-to. Their range of reclaimed and hand-scraped flooring is particularly beautiful. To top it all off they are a lovely bunch of people to work with and always go above and beyond to solve any issues which no-doubt come up on projects! I highly recommend them, 5 Stars!

Jonty E.

6 months ago

Quality of the product is excellent - Lewis Herringbone (large) looks great throughout the ground floor of our renovation. On a par with the quality of the product is the level of customer service. There was a slight mix up with a delivery - the team at Kite went out of their way to rectify the situation even providing one of their own installers to finish the job our builder had to leave to go to another job - first class all round - thank you Kite!

Polly F.

7 months ago

We had a brilliant experience with Kite when fitting our beautiful new laminate floor. We had an old, damaged floor that needed to be removed and an uneven sub floor that required levelling, but the work was completed within a week and the fitters were fantastic. We’d recently painted our flat and they managed to avoid any damage! Kite’s premium laminate is stunning, it’s totally transformed our home. We would 100% recommend Kite, the communication and attention to detail throughout has been second to none.

John T.

7 months ago

From survey to completion everything was very smooth. Given the wonky existing floor, installation wasn't straight forward but nothing was too much trouble. Looking for other floors I could do! Thank you!

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