Timber Flooring in New Zealand: Solid, Engineered or Laminate
Timber flooring in New Zealand is not one product. It is solid boards, engineered boards, and a large market of laminate, hybrid and vinyl that borrows the look of timber without the timber. The right choice depends on where in the country you are building, what sits under the floor, how long you expect it to last, and how honest you want it to be when someone runs a hand across it. This guide sets out the options as we would explain them in the studio, and where Marchand's own engineered European oak sits among them.
The three kinds of timber flooring
Solid timber is one piece of wood through its full thickness, traditionally rimu, matai or kauri in older New Zealand houses and oak, ash or blackbutt in newer ones. It can be sanded many times, but it moves with humidity, wants a timber subfloor or battens rather than a slab, and is usually finished on site, which means sanding dust and a coating cycle in the house.
Engineered timber is a solid timber face bonded to a cross-laminated core. The face is what you see and walk on; the core is what keeps the board flat when the humidity swings. Because the layers run against each other, an engineered board is stable enough to glue directly to a concrete slab, to run over underfloor heating, and to be laid without the perimeter expansion gaps a solid floor needs. Quality varies enormously, and the difference is almost entirely in the thickness of the timber face, which decides how many times the floor can be sanded, and in the finish.
Laminate, hybrid and vinyl are not timber. They carry a photograph of timber under a wear coat. They are inexpensive, water-tolerant and quick to lay, and they are replaced rather than refinished when the surface wears, typically within fifteen to twenty years. Our comparison of oak laminate and engineered oak goes into the trade-off in detail.
What to look for in an engineered timber floor
Ask three questions of any board. How thick is the timber face? A 2mm to 4mm veneer allows one careful sand at most; a 6mm face allows four or five, which is the difference between a floor that lasts the life of the house and one that is replaced when the children leave home. What is the core? Cross-bonded hardwood or eucalyptus holds its dimension; softwood and fibreboard cores move more and dent more easily. And what is the finish? Factory UV lacquer applied in multiple coats is harder and more even than anything applied on site, and it means no coating happens in your house.
Marchand boards are 20mm overall with a 6mm European oak wear layer on a eucalyptus core, 240mm wide, pre-finished in nine coats of matt UV lacquer, FSC 100% certified, with a 25-year residential and 5-year commercial warranty. The same board comes as plank, herringbone, a 120mm wall and ceiling board and stair nosing, so one colour can run through a house floor to ceiling.
Timber flooring for New Zealand's climate
New Zealand is several climates, and a timber floor feels every one of them. Auckland and Northland are humid, so the risk is a board laid at the wrong moisture content swelling in its first summer. Canterbury swings hard between dry nor'westers, cold still winters and heat-pump-dry interiors, so a wide solid board there will move a long way in both directions across a year. Central Otago is dry in a schist-cold winter with the fire going and wet in spring, and alpine builds add underfloor heating over slab. In every region the answer is the same: a stable engineered board, a moisture reading of the substrate rather than a guess, acclimatisation on site, and a vapour barrier over concrete as a matter of course. Our studio pages for Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown go into the regional detail.
Choosing a colour
Oak takes colour better than any other flooring timber, which is why almost every timber floor colour sold in New Zealand is oak underneath. Marchand's twelve colours run from a washed near-white through natural and honeyed mid-tones to grey, smoked and deep brown, and they are grouped by undertone in our colour guide. Decide the undertone from the materials already fixed in the house, then the depth from the light you have, and order three free samples rather than one.
What timber flooring costs in New Zealand
Engineered timber product ranges from roughly $90 to $280 a square metre excluding GST, with thin-veneer boards at the bottom and thick-wear-layer European oak at the top. Marchand oak is $190 a square metre supply, with installation typically $55 to $80 a square metre on top depending on the substrate and pattern. Solid timber sits in a similar band for product but adds site sanding and finishing. Laminate and hybrid start at around a quarter of those figures, which is the honest reason they sell, and the difference over twenty years is that one floor is refinished and the other is replaced. Our interior finishes calculator puts a first number on the floor and everything around it in about two minutes.
Where to see it
Timber flooring is judged in the hand and in your own light, not on a screen. Samples are free and unlimited anywhere in New Zealand, and our studios in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown have the floors laid, with interior designers on hand for a free consultation about the floor and the scheme around it. Or see the boards in finished houses in our projects.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best timber flooring for New Zealand homes?
For most new builds and renovations, an engineered board with a thick timber face: it is stable across New Zealand's humidity swings, can be laid over concrete and underfloor heating, and can be refinished rather than replaced. Solid timber suits a suspended timber subfloor and an owner happy to finish on site.
Is engineered timber flooring real wood?
Yes. The surface is solid timber, in Marchand's case a 6mm European oak face, bonded to a cross-laminated core for stability. It is sanded and recoated like any timber floor.
Can timber flooring go over a concrete slab?
Engineered timber can, glued down over a flat, dry, primed slab with a vapour barrier. Solid timber generally needs battens or a plywood subfloor over concrete.
Does timber flooring work with underfloor heating?
Engineered timber does; the cross-bonded core holds its dimension as the slab warms and cools. Our underfloor heating declaration sets out the operating limits.
How much does timber flooring cost per square metre in NZ?
Engineered product from about $90 to $280 a square metre excluding GST, plus installation. Marchand oak is $190 supply, with laying typically $55 to $80 depending on pattern and substrate.
How long does an engineered timber floor last?
With a 6mm wear layer and a recoat every ten to fifteen years in busy areas, the life of the house. Thin-veneer boards that cannot be sanded are usually replaced within fifteen to twenty years.
Last reviewed September 2026.