What is core-fumed oak parquet?

‘Fuming’ creates the dark colouring of parquet wood (predominantly oak), while still retaining the natural colour variation and graining of the wood. It involves a reaction of substances within the wood, and imitates a natural process. This natural process normally takes place when oak trees have been stored for long periods of time in swamps and bogs, where they are cut off from air, and due to a chemical reaction, the wood takes on a uniform, intensely dark colouring – commonly known as “bog oak”.

As a result of the “fuming process” the wood takes on this new colouring throughout its cross-section, which is why it is referred to as ‘core-fuming’. One of the benefits of core-fuming is that when the parquet floor is renovated/sanded, the colour character of the wood is retained even if it’s sanded down several times.

Due to fluctuating levels of tannin in oak, the fuming produces naturally diverse colour and structure in the parquet. As with all timber species, even core-fumed oak can change colour with the passing of time. While the process of core-fuming may limit such variations in colour, the wood can still yellow and lighten, depending on the duration and intensity of the exposure to sunlight.