What to know about Barlinek boards
Barlinek makes engineered wood flooring in Poland: real wood on top, with layers underneath that keep the board stable. It moves less than solid wood, but it is still wood. It reacts to the humidity in the flat and to moisture coming out of a fresh screed.
Floating is faster: the boards click together and sit on underlay with no glue. The floor sounds a little hollower under heels, but it is easier to take up later. A glued floor sounds more solid, yet it needs a flat, dry screed and more preparation. Which method your collection allows is in the instructions on the box.
If the flat has underfloor heating, check the instructions before you buy. Not every board or underlay is suitable for it, and the fitter should know about it in advance.
Check the finish too: lacquer or oil. It is printed on the pack and changes the upkeep. A lacquered surface just needs a damp mop; an oiled one gets a fresh coat of oil now and then.
Rather hand the job over? More here: apartment fit-out in Warsaw.
Where things usually go wrong
- Boards laid on a damp screed. The wood draws moisture from below and cups.
- No time to acclimatise. Unopened packs should rest in the room where they will be laid.
- No gap at the walls. The floor shrinks in dry winter air and swells in summer, and without room it lifts.
- Very dry air all winter. Gaps open between boards during the heating season.
- Skirting nailed into the floor. It stops the floor from moving.
Preparing for the install
- If the screed is recent, ask the fitter how its moisture will be checked, and do not rush it.
- Clear furniture and the old covering, or agree removal as a separate item.
- Buy boards with spare for cuts, and pick skirting and thresholds at the same time.
- Photograph the floor, the bottom of the doors and the areas around radiators.
Finding a parquet fitter
Describe the job in the app: floor area, laying method if you have decided, and whether there is underfloor heating. Photos of the screed let a fitter judge the work before visiting. Bids come back from tradespeople in Warsaw, each with their own price and timing.
You pick one based on price, rating and reviews. They get your phone number and address only after you choose, you pay them directly, and they issue the invoice. Boards, adhesive, underlay, rubbish removal and carrying materials in are paid separately from the labour.
Whoever laid the floor answers for it and redoes their own fitting. A damp screed, overdried air in the flat or hidden defects in the base are not on them.
Order in the app
Describe the job, add photos and the address. Tradespeople send their own prices and dates, and you pick one of the offers.
Open the app
