Timber Flooring in Dunedin

Dunedin is one of the more forgiving climates in New Zealand for timber, and one of the least forgiving housing stocks.

The air is cool and damp year-round, without the wide humidity swings that cause boards to move in Central Otago or Canterbury. That stability is an advantage. The complication is underneath the floor rather than above it.

Specifying for Dunedin conditions

• Subfloor ventilation is the first question. Much of the city's housing sits on timber piles with enclosed or partially enclosed subfloors on sloping sites. Restricted airflow plus persistent damp is what we see behind most engineered floor problems in the lower South Island.
• Moisture content is worth measuring rather than assuming. Industry practice puts timber subfloors below 14% before laying, and in Dunedin that reading is often higher than the builder expects.
• Vapour barriers over concrete. On this housing stock we recommend one every time.
• Cool, stable air means less seasonal movement. There is no perimeter expansion gap to allow for on our boards, so the moisture readings above are where the attention belongs.

Heritage interiors

Dunedin has a great many intact Victorian and Edwardian interiors. A 240mm board is wide for a villa, and in smaller heritage rooms it can overwhelm the proportions. Our herringbone format, at 120 by 600mm, is often the better answer in period spaces, and it sits comfortably alongside original joinery and skirting.

The warmer colours in the range, Nectar and Saint-Tropez, tend to work with kauri and rimu detailing. The greys fight it.

Delivery and consultation

We deliver throughout Otago. Our nearest showrooms are Queenstown, at 313 Hawthorne Drive, and Christchurch at 149 Victoria Street. Design consultations are free at both.

Samples are free and unlimited. Order the three colours you are weighing up and live with them in Dunedin light, which is cooler and flatter than anything a photograph will show you.