Timber Flooring in Invercargill and Southland
Southland is wet and short on sunshine, and moisture is the single factor that decides whether an engineered floor performs there or fails.
The good news is that Invercargill's temperature range is narrow. Timber moves with humidity and heat, and Southland delivers little of either extreme. Get the subfloor right and the floor will be exceptionally stable.
Specifying for Southland conditions
- Subfloor moisture is the dominant risk. We recommend testing, documenting, and holding off until readings sit within accepted tolerances. An installer who cannot show you the numbers is not protecting your floor.
- Ventilation under suspended timber floors carries real weight here. Persistent high humidity under a floor will find its way into the boards.
- Vapour barriers over concrete slabs. We would not lay in Southland without one.
- Engineered construction earns its place. A 20mm board with a cross-bonded eucalyptus core is far more stable in sustained damp than solid timber.
- Heating patterns matter. Southland homes run heating hard and long. Rapid drying of a floor that was laid damp is where cupping and gapping appear.
Light
Southland light is soft and low for much of the year. Pale colours hold it best. Blanc, Clair and Picasso keep a room open through winter in a way the darker end of the range will not, and Lune or Chocolat in a south-facing Invercargill room will read heavier than the same board in Auckland.
Delivery and consultation
We deliver throughout Southland. The nearest showroom is Queenstown, at 313 Hawthorne Drive, open Monday to Saturday.
Samples are free and unlimited. Order several and see them in the actual room before deciding.