Oxidisation of Timber Flooring

Have you ever removed a rug or piece of furniture and seen that the floor underneath was noticeably darker than the rest? Well, this is timber oxidisation at work. This change is harmless to your floors and is in fact a natural part of the products lifecycle. However, it’s important to learn about these changes in your flooring so you can take measures to ensure that this process happens gracefully and without severe alteration.  

What is Oxidisation?

Oxidisation is the natural process of wood colour changing with exposure to air and sunlight. Flooring behaves very much like human skin in this instance. Depending on the person, UV will affect everyone differently. Some will tan slowly over time; others darken much quicker or even burn till their skin is damaged. Timber flooring acts in the same way.

How timber flooring reacts to exposure to UV will change across timber types, colours and finishes. For example, smoked colours will oxidise a lot quicker than unsmoked floors over the first 12 months after install. Similarly, white, neutral and brown tones will tend to take on a yellower tone over time.

Some Helpful Tips!

This fading and colour change is an inevitable part of having timber floors. Embelton Flooring’s range of Engineered Timber flooring features 7 layers of UV resistant acrylic coating to help combat this process, but there are still measures that should be taken to ensure that oxidisation happens gracefully. Firstly, even floors need a little shade. It is important to ensure that your home is fitted with window coverings as well as awnings if necessary.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to mix it up! It is recommended that rugs and furniture be re-arranged at various points, particularly in the first 6-12 months of installing new floors, when they are most vulnerable to change, to ensure that this process takes place consistently across the floor. 

It’s important to remember however, that just as our skin changes over time so will your timber flooring and this is part of the beauty of having a natural product like timber in your home.

If you have any questions about timber flooring and oxidisation, get in touch with our experienced customer service team.

By James Embelton