Parquet panels vs loose-lay: Versailles, Chantilly and how each is fixed

At a glance

Letters are the sources read (see the last section). 'Our reasoning' means the sources are silent: the partner confirms. Panels means pre-assembled parquet panels, not the Versailles tile pattern in stone.

What a panel is, and what the names mean

A loose-lay parquet floor is built on site from separate blocks, battens or strips, so the installer makes the pattern. A panel floor is made in the workshop: many small pieces are assembled into squares or rectangles, and the fitter lays the panels like large tiles. The two can look alike once laid. They differ in what the joints are, where the setting-out is done, how the floor is fixed and how it is repaired.

Names are not consistent, and the sources disagree on detail. The historical meaning is clear enough. The joiner Roubo, in his work on joinery (1770), as quoted by a Walloon heritage agency, defined parquet as a kind of joinery covering a floor, made in one of two ways: of several pieces of wood assembled by mortise and tenon that form compartments, or of boards joined by tongue and groove, which he calls the plancher (AWAP). So in the old sense “parquet” is the panel, and the plank floor is something else. A modern English reader often means the reverse.

One reference dictionary defines three panel patterns by their layout: Versailles is a border with compartments positioned diagonally to it, Chantilly a border with compartments at right angles to it, and Arenberg a border with different geometric figures (VD). Makers describe the inside of a Versailles panel as squares held together by an interwoven mesh of strips within a frame (MK1), and a dealer as interlaced diagonals (DEAL). Other sources we read describe Chantilly differently, so ask the partner for its own panel drawing and put that on the layout drawing. We found no source that defines “tapis” panels, and none that describes an “Arcachon” panel, so the sheet does not use either name.

Sizes: what is stated, old and new

The table sets the old figures beside what makers list now. The historic panel was about a metre square (97 to 130 cm) and 20 to 35 mm of solid oak. The modern engineered panel is smaller, at about 800 to 850 mm in the ranges we read, and 13 to 20 mm thick with a 3 to 6 mm top layer. The top layer limits how often a modern panel can be sanded: see solid vs engineered wood flooring for the wear-layer arithmetic. The bespoke range goes from 400 to 1,000 mm, which is why the module is a design decision, not a given.

Sizes are what each source states, not standard sizes. The French foot is taken as about 32.5 cm to convert the dealer's 3 to 4 feet to 97 to 130 cm; that is our assumption (the heritage agency uses about 30 cm). Panel thicknesses are of the whole panel.

Fixing: pegged and nailed then, bonded now

Historically a panel was not glued. A dealer's article describes each square leaf as jointed with mortises, tenons and pegs, assembled by hand without glue and waxed, and carried on battens and joists that formed a rough floor beneath (DEAL). It says the panels were usually laid on the diagonal to the room, though the original rule was to set them out from the fireplace. English Wikipedia says parquet floors were formerly usually adhered with hot bitumen (WIKI, no citation given there); that describes blocks, not Versailles panels.

Today the sources we read bond a panel. A UK distributor's guideline for design flooring that includes panels says all of it is fully glued with flexible adhesive (DIST), and a UK maker says adhesive installation is commonly used for stability and that the panels are not for beginners (MK1). The US trade body's chapter on parquet tiles, which are 12 in (30 cm) tongue and groove squares, also lays them in adhesive, with a ½ in (12.7 mm) expansion space and a warning not to force them together (NIG, chapter 7). The loose-lay guideline from the same distributor bonds and pins its parquet, with about six 23 gauge headless pins to each batten (DIST, parquet).

One distributor's guideline, quoted as a checklist of what to ask for, not as a standard. BS 8201:2011, the UK code of practice, was not read. A conservation contractor notes that softwood subfloors expand and contract and weaken the glue, and recommends rebuilding on cross-bonded, waterproof plywood; old floors were laid with animal glues (BCD). See subfloor requirements and underfloor heating.

Set-out: choose the module from the room

A merchant quoting Roubo says he advised sizing the panels to each room so that only whole or half panels meet the walls (MERCH). It is the same arithmetic as for loose-lay, done the other way round: instead of letting the wall fall where the pattern lets it, choose the module that fits the room, and let a border take up what is left. The table shows what a 10 mm perimeter gap (the least the distributor gives) and panels laid square to the room leave at each side.

Our arithmetic: (room width minus 2 × 10 mm gap) divided by the module, whole panels, and the remainder shared between the two sides. It ignores any shuttle strips or frieze between panels. A remainder of 40 or 90 mm is a thin cut band, which is why a different module or a wider border is usually chosen.

• Choose the module from the room, then the border from the remainder. If the two sides of a room leave different borders (190 mm and 140 mm in the plan), alter the module or the border until they match, or accept and draw the difference.
• On the diagonal. Panels laid on the diagonal, as the dealer says they usually were, meet the walls as cut triangles, so the walls decide the cut: draw it. See herringbone vs chevron for the set-out arithmetic on loose-lay.
• Doorways and borders. Draw where the panels stop, the border or frieze, and the threshold: see borders, frames and medallions and floor transitions.

Repair

The sources say little about repair, so this section says what they do say and marks the rest as reasoning to confirm with the partner.

• What the sources say. A conservation contractor says the trick in restoring old flooring is precision, with new sections cut to working tolerances of 0.1 mm using laser technology, original finishes kept where possible and new parts dyed and polished to match, with antique European oak for replacements (BCD). The studio's own Slide collection page says a damaged area of a modular panel floor can be worked on in isolation, not across a full run of planks.
• Sanding. A panel with a 3 to 6 mm top layer can be refinished only a limited number of times, as for any engineered board: see solid vs engineered wood flooring. A historic solid panel of 20 to 35 mm has far more timber to sand.
• Our reasoning, to confirm. A damaged loose-lay block can be cut out and replaced on its own. A damaged bonded panel is a bigger piece to lift, and a replacement has to match its neighbours in colour and batch, so ask whether the partner holds spare panels from the same run, and how a bonded panel is lifted without damaging the tongues of its neighbours.

When to choose panels, and when loose-lay

Neither format is better. The choice is between a pattern made in the workshop to a drawing you approve, and a pattern made on site to a layout you set out. Use the table to see which risks you are taking on.

Whatever the choice, approve a sample first. For panels that means a whole panel, with its joint detail, in the finish and the grade of the order, before production starts: see sample hierarchy and approval.

The sources behind the keys

Several sources are suppliers, a dealer or a merchant, and none is a conservation authority. The keys in brackets above point to this table. Names are described by type; the names and addresses are in our notes for review.

Pattern: [parquet de Versailles / Chantilly / bespoke design] in [species and grade], supplied as pre-assembled panels of [800] x [800] x [20] mm, top layer [6] mm, edges [tongue and groove], from workshop drawing [ref] showing the element sizes inside the panel. Panels laid [square to the room / on the diagonal] from [reference point], border [none / [ ] mm plank frame], [shuttle strips / no strips] between panels. Layout drawing [ref] to show the panel module, the border width at each wall and the threshold at each doorway.

Panels fully bonded to [subfloor type] with [flexible adhesive named by the workshop], applied with a notched trowel to the adhesive maker's instructions. Subfloor to be flat to [3 mm under a 2 m straight edge] and dry to [the limits the workshop states]. Room held at [45 to 65] % RH and [15 to 25] degrees C before, during and for the life of the floor. Perimeter gap [ ] mm, covered by [skirting]. Panels taken from [three] packs.

One complete panel in the specified finish, with its joint detail, to be approved by [designer] before production. [ ] spare panels from the same run to be delivered with the order. The workshop is to state in writing how a bonded panel is lifted and replaced.

Standards and sources

• BS 8201:2011: BSI: Current (31 October 2011). Not read.
• BS EN 13488:2002, BS EN 13226:2024, BS EN 14342:2013: 13488 and 14342 Current on BSI; 13226:2024 seen in reseller listings. None read: ask the partner which covers its panel.
• Roubo (1770), UK distributor guidelines (Jan 2024), UK makers' pages: Roubo second-hand; the rest are suppliers.

Questions we are asked

What is a parquet panel?

A square or rectangular unit made in the workshop from many small pieces of timber, laid as a whole. Historic Versailles panels were frames of oak jointed with mortises, tenons and pegs. Modern engineered panels are made as a top layer on a core with tongue and groove edges. In the old French sense, the panel itself was the parquet and a floor of boards was a plancher.

How big is a Versailles parquet panel?

Sources give about 97 to 130 cm square for the historic panels, quoting Roubo (1770), and sized to the room. The modern engineered panels we read about are 800 to 847.5 mm square and 13 to 20 mm thick; bespoke panels are made from 400 to 1,000 mm. Ask the partner for its own sizes.

What is the difference between Versailles and Chantilly?

One reference dictionary describes Versailles as a border with compartments set diagonally to it, and Chantilly as a border with compartments at right angles to it. Other sources describe Chantilly differently, so ask the partner for its panel drawing and put it on the layout.

Are parquet panels glued or nailed?

Historic panels were pegged together without glue and nailed to battens over joists. The modern guidance we read bonds panels with a flexible adhesive to a flat, dry subfloor. The partner states the adhesive and the subfloor it requires.

Can parquet panels go over underfloor heating?

One UK distributor's guidelines allow design flooring, including panels, over underfloor heating held to a maximum 27 degrees C surface temperature after commissioning and two weeks running. The partner must confirm for its panel; see the underfloor heating sheet.

Can one damaged panel be replaced?

The sources say little. A conservation contractor describes cutting new sections to a very tight tolerance to match, and the studio's Slide page says a damaged area can be worked on in isolation. Ask the partner whether spare panels are held and how a bonded panel is lifted.

What is a tapis parquet panel?

We found no source that defines the term, so we do not use it. If a maker offers one, ask for its size, construction and drawing in writing.