Demand for wood floors on the up in Europe

The European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP) has reported that sales of solid wood floors in Europe have increased slightly.

The FEP defines wood flooring as either solid wood or engineered wood flooring with a wear layer that exceeds 2.5mm thickness. The FEP met at the beginning of October to examine the trends for wood floors. Germany, the largest market for wood floors, had a growth in sales in the first six months of 2019 compared to the first half of 2018, as did Austria, France, Poland and Spain. Sales in the rest of Europe had a mixed picture with some markets slightly increasing and other countries slightly down compared to last year, with Norway and the Netherlands two of the nations to have seen a small decline.

The FEP said that luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) are the main competitor for wood floors. The trade wars between the US and China has affected the European market because of increases in tariffs that have made wood floors manufactured in China more expensive.

Wood floors are very popular in Chester. They look stylish and are very durable. They can be expensive to buy and install but they add to a home’s value. Engineered wood looks the same as solid wood flooring because it has a top layer of real wood. LVT tiles that have a realistic wood pattern are a less expensive alternative to wood and are more suitable for wet areas where wood floors could become water damaged.