In The Hague we have placed a planchette floor in this beautifully renovated 1930s house. The trend big, bigger, biggest…. does not apply in this case. No PVC herringbone, XL herringbone or whale bone, but these residents opted for a small herringbone. And what kind!

What are planchettes?
Planchettes are solid wooden slats of an inch thick in a fixed ratio of 5 cm wide by 25 cm long. They are not planks or panels but all loose strips. Think, for example, of a street clinker, but a bit thinner.

After the slats are cut to the right size, they are placed in a kind of rotating drum. This makes the sides a bit rounded and the corners are no longer sharp, so that it becomes friendly to use. This is called aging or drumming. We use oak wood for our planchettes because oak is a solid and hard wood and therefore very durable. In addition, you can use it in many different ways in terms of color, processing and sorting.

Oak is an excellent wood type to combine with floorheating. Especially in the form of a planchette because it shrinks or expands little due to its small size and can also be placed without an underlay. By the way, this should be done by a professional, so choose a specialist.

For a planchette floor you need a flat screed, such as a cement screed or a chipboard subfloor. Planchettes are glued to the subfloor and no nails are used. The floor is therefore installed according to a fixed installation system. The planchettes are not sanded and are already finished. A crack or some height difference is part of this floor and gives it that nice character.

This planchette floor is placed in a herringbone pattern, but many more patterns are possible. Are you also looking for a different, modern twist and a mood maker in your home? Then choose a planchette floor.