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Wide Plank Flooring

Wide boards change a room more than colour does. Fewer joints means fewer lines across the floor, and the eye reads the space as calmer and larger. We keep 62 wide floors against 46 narrow and 25 medium, so it is the bigger half of what we sell.

All of them are engineered oak or walnut in plank form, supplied on their own or supplied and fitted by our own fitters across South East and South London. Prices run from £39.20 to £83.99 per m² excluding VAT.

See the range ↓

What Counts as Wide, and What Ours Actually Are

There is no official line where a board becomes wide. In practice anything from about 180 mm reads as wide in a London room, and below 150 mm reads as traditional. Our range sits mostly at one number: 52 of the 62 are 190 mm.

HerringboneChevron
Block shapePlain rectangle, cut squareCut at an angle at both ends
How it meetsEnd to side, steppedPoint to point, continuous V
FeelTraditional, informal, forgivingFormal, directional, more modern
Waste10–15%More — the angled cuts throw away more
CostHigher than plankHighest of the three
Best inAlmost any room; the safe choiceLong rooms and hallways, where the V has somewhere to go

Above that it thins out quickly — four boards at 207 mm, three at 220 mm and one at 240 mm. If you have seen a 300 mm board somewhere and want that, say so and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth ordering in for your room or whether 190 mm will give you the same effect for less.

What Width Does to a Room, and What It Does Not

A wide board suits a large, well-lit room and an open-plan space, because there is enough floor to see the pattern of the grain rather than a run of lines. It also suits a long, narrow room laid across the width, which stops the room reading as a corridor.

Smoked oak herringbone floor in a Norwood living room
Smoked oak herringbone in a Norwood living room. Wide blocks, run down the length of the room.

What width does not do is make a small room look bigger on its own. In a box bedroom a 190 mm board gives you three boards and two joints, and the floor stops being a floor and becomes three planks. Narrow boards earn their place in small rooms, and we keep 46 of them.

The Catch Nobody Mentions: the Subfloor

A wide board is stiff. It bridges a dip instead of following it, and where it bridges it drums underfoot. A 90 mm block would have followed the same dip and you would never have known. This is the single most common reason a new wide floor disappoints.

So the base has to be flatter for wide boards than for narrow: roughly 2 mm over 2 m, measured rather than judged by eye. On a timber floor that usually means packing or a ply overlay; on a slab it means levelling compound. Either is a line on a quote, and it is better to see it on the quote than to discover it afterwards.

Movement is the other half. A wider board moves more across its width with the seasons, which is why every one of our 62 wide floors is engineered rather than solid. A cross-grained core is what keeps a 190 mm board flat through a dry winter.

What Wide Plank Costs, and Why It Costs More

Our wide floors run from £39.20 to £83.99 per m² excluding VAT, with the median at £49.49. For comparison, our narrow floors run from £25.99 to £59.27 with a median of £44.99.

So wide costs more, and it is worth knowing why: a wide board needs a wider log, the yield per tree is lower, and the boards are longer — 15 of ours are 1900 mm and four are 2200 mm. You are paying for timber that is harder to get, not for a marketing category.

Fitting is the same price as any other plank, £20 per m² excluding VAT for a straight lay, and our fitting guide sets out how it is done. What can add cost is the preparation above. Send us your room sizes and we will give you a figure including waste and fitting.

Shop Wide Plank Flooring

62 wide floors, 190 mm and up, in engineered oak and walnut, from £39.20 per m² excluding VAT. Three samples free.

Showing 1–48 of 62 results

Wide Plank We Have Laid

Wide natural oak through a rear extension in Dulwich, where the kitchen and the garden room run together and the long boards carry the eye straight through. In a Honor Oak house we laid wide rustic oak across a hallway and two reception rooms.

Rustic grade oak herringbone floor in a Rotherhithe house
Rustic grade herringbone in Rotherhithe. The knots and colour variation are left in rather than sorted out.

More of these, with photographs, are on our recent work page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is wide plank flooring suitable for a small room?

Usually not. A 190 mm board in a box room gives you three boards and two joints, and the floor stops reading as a floor. Narrow or medium boards suit small rooms better, and we keep 46 narrow and 25 medium for exactly that.

Can wide boards go over underfloor heating?

Some can, and fewer than people expect: 24 of our 62 wide floors are approved for it, against 64 across the whole range. A wider board over heating moves more, so the approved list is shorter. Tell us before you choose, not after.

Do wide boards need a better subfloor?

Yes, and this is the part most quotes leave out. A wide board bridges a dip instead of following it, and drums where it bridges. Roughly 2 mm over 2 m, measured. Levelling is a line on the quote, not an optional extra.

Are your wide boards solid or engineered?

All 62 are engineered, and deliberately so. A solid board at 190 mm moves enough across its width to open gaps in a dry winter. The wear layer on ours is real oak, 3–4 mm on 40 of them, so it sands like a solid floor.

How long are the boards?

Mostly long: 15 of our wide floors come in 1900 mm boards, nine at 1860 mm and four at 2200 mm. Long boards are part of why a wide floor looks calm — fewer end joints across the room.

Can I see a wide board before ordering?

Yes, and with wide boards it matters more than with anything else. The showroom in Forest Hill lays floors out in full boards rather than sample chips, because a 190 mm board looks nothing like a small square of the same wood. Three samples are free to take home.

What Our Customers Say

★★★★★

“We had some herringbone flooring fitted recently. It was a great experience from start to finish and we couldn't be more happy with the result. Ruslan is a…”

— Dave Thompson

★★★★★

“Beautiful job, I’m so pleased. Ruslan is very knowledgable, flagged any potential issues early and advised me on what I could preserve from the existing f…”

— Rosa O'Mara

★★★★★

“I went to visit Wood4Floors to see some samples, and had a super helpful man show me some things and gave me a few full sized samples of herringbone flooring.…”

— Drew Theunissen

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How do I get a price for a wide plank floor?

Send your room sizes for a price including waste and fitting, or order free samples and see the width in your own room before you decide.

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