Wood Floor of the Week: Pro Tackles 75,000-Piece Oak Floor in Warsaw

Oak is the most common choice for hardwood floors in Poland, says Warsaw-based wood floor pro Paweł Bąkowski. What’s uncommon is the intricate design Bąkowski chose to install in his own home, which features approximately 75,000 pieces of oak.

“Nobody has the same floor,” Bąkowski said in an email, noting the labor required to install a sea of 5-inch-long, 1/3-inch-wide strips would be expensive. Fortunately, once he purchased the precut oak, Bąkowski took advantage of his own craftsmanship for the unique installation.

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Bąkowski used adhesive on his home’s concrete subfloor for the nearly 800-square-foot project. Working around the huge piles of oak delivered to his home, Bąkowski pushed himself to install the thin strips of flooring in nine days. He then sanded the floor four times before coating it with an oil finish.

Clearly, being a skilled craftsman has its perks when it comes to tackling challenging projects—particularly when they’re personal projects. “Anyone who looks at it says it’s amazing,” Bąkowski says.

Suppliers:

Adhesive: Uzin | Finish, Sander: Pallmann