Herringbone parquet: what it is and how to care for it

If you have ever visited older apartments in central Rio or in Botafogo, you have probably walked on herringbone parquet. It is one of the finishes that most defines buildings put up in the first half of the twentieth century, and it is coming back strongly in renovations that prefer to preserve rather than replace.

What herringbone parquet is

Parquet is a wooden floor made of small, solid pieces, glued or nailed onto a subfloor. Unlike a plank floor, where the boards are long and aligned, parquet is laid with short pieces.

In the herringbone pattern, each piece is set at an angle to the previous one, forming a "V" that runs diagonally across the room. The result is a floor with visual movement, which changes as the light falls on it.

It is a solid wood floor. That means it can be sanded and given a new coat of varnish several times over its life. That is the main reason it is worth assessing recovery before thinking about replacing it.

Why it appears so often in older buildings in Rio

It was a common finish in residential and commercial construction of the period, because of the combination of durability, cost and the availability of timber. Many buildings in the centre and in older neighbourhoods were handed over with this floor.

Over the decades, part of that stock was covered with other materials: carpet, vinyl, porcelain tile. In many cases the parquet is still underneath, preserved.

How to tell whether it can be recovered

Not every parquet floor can be recovered, but most can. The assessment is simple and needs no tools:

• Loose pieces: walk barefoot and listen. Pieces that "knock" have come unstuck. A few loose pieces are a small problem.
• Unevenness: large variations in level point to a problem in the subfloor, not in the parquet.
• Darkened or crumbling wood: may indicate damp. Here it is worth investigating the source before deciding.
• Woodworm: look for small holes and a fine residue like sawdust. This is the item that needs specialist assessment.
• Missing pieces: replacement is possible, but new wood does not match the tone of the old. The floor gains patches of history, which for many people is exactly the appeal.

In general, a floor with a few loose pieces, no damp and no woodworm is sorted with sanding and a new top coat.

Day-to-day care

Solid wood asks for little, but it asks consistently.

• Water is the main enemy. Do not use a soaking cloth or a wet mop. A damp cloth, well wrung out, is enough.
• The right products: clean with a product made for wood. All-purpose cleaner with alcohol or strong detergent attacks the varnish.
• Protect furniture feet: felt pads on chairs and sofa legs prevent scratches, which on solid wood are permanent.
• Watch direct sun: constant exposure darkens or lightens the wood unevenly. A curtain helps.
• Leaks: deal with them quickly. Water standing on wood leaves a mark within hours.

Preserve or replace?

From a practical point of view, preserving usually makes sense when the floor is structurally sound. The cost of recovery tends to be lower than replacing it with another material, and the result is a solid wood floor, which does not exist at the same price in laminate options.

There is also a market reason: in older buildings, herringbone parquet is a differentiator. People looking for that kind of property are often looking for exactly that.

Replacing starts to make sense when there is structural damage, recurring damp with no solution, or advanced woodworm.

Where to see this floor in our properties

Some units that have been through Portalis's renovation kept the herringbone parquet and received a new finish. The result can be seen in the photographs:

• Available properties, each with a photo gallery
• Completed work, with the result of the renovation unit by unit

If you want to know what was preserved in a specific unit, talk to the team. Because we follow the work, we can answer what was kept and what was replaced.