RECM1001 Tumbled Block Rustic 70mm Solid Oak Herringbone Wood Flooring

Of course, this means that smoking also enhances the individuality that is fundamental to the charm of a real wood floor. Results will vary from plank to plank - even those cut from the same tree can show a difference in colour. And the process also emphasises the sapwood (the living part of the tree through which sap and water flow), throwing it into greater relief. If you prefer a more even tone you may wish to opt for a product that owes its appearance to stains or coloured oils instead.

But if you are charmed by its unique and subtle visual, smoking offers another major advantage over staining - its effects run right through the lamella (the wear layer). This makes fumed and smoked products ideal for use in high traffic areas where scratches are inevitable. But beware of cheap imitations. The wood should be held in a sealed chamber with freely circulating air, enabling the fumes to penetrate the cell structure, but if ammonia has simply been wiped across the surface, its effect will be merely superficial.

This board uses rustic grade timber, which means that it is visually very interesting. It will certainly contain knots and there are no limits as to their size or number. Knots are formed when a branch has died and its base has become enclosed by subsequent layers of trunk wood as the tree grows, so their presence is emphasised by the grain of the wood flowing around it. Filler is used in the larger knots, the colour carefully selected to complement the wood rather than to match it exactly. The colour of the filler may vary.

As a rustic grade wood this will also contain both heartwood and sapwood and there will be colour variation. You may also see some checks (cracks across the growth ring) and possibly some end shake (cracks between the rings). None of these are cause for concern.

In general, European mills utilise a technique known as live sawing. This results in a mixture of plain, quarter and rift sawn cuts all in one wide plank of wood. Capturing all parts of the wood in one cut like this gives the floor a unique and notably beautiful appearance, and because at least a third of the cut is quarter sawn, the planks themselves are particularly stable.