Blackbutt Solid Timber Flooring

Blackbutt flooring: sizes, grades and prices

Prices are per square metre on our website on 14 October 2026. All three sizes are stocked in both grades.

Which thickness: 14 mm overlay or 19 mm structural

The 19 mm board is a structural floor: it spans joists or battens on its own, or goes over a plywood or particleboard subfloor. The 14 mm board is an overlay: it must be glued or nailed to a continuous subfloor, or direct-stuck to a concrete slab over a moisture barrier, and cannot span joists. Both are tongue-and-groove and end-matched, and both are sanded and coated after laying, so the finished floor looks the same; the 14 mm board is cheaper per square metre and sits lower at doorways.

What Blackbutt flooring is like

Blackbutt, Eucalyptus pilularis, comes from the NSW and southern Queensland coast and is the pale, straight-grained hardwood that suits most modern interiors: cream to pale honey brown, with a fine, even grain and far less colour swing from board to board than Spotted Gum. At about 900 kg/m³ seasoned, with a WoodSolutions hardness of 8.9 kN, it is a proper hard floor without being difficult to cut or sand.

It takes a water-based coat well and stays pale under it; an oil-based polyurethane warms it to honey. The same species is on the AS 3959 bushfire-resisting timber list, which matters for decks and cladding rather than an interior floor.

Grades for this timber

Select is the cleaner board, with few gum veins or knots and an even colour; Standard allows gum veins, small knots and more colour variation and costs about 20% less. Both are the same timber, kiln-dried and machined the same way. Grade names vary between suppliers, so ask what each one allows; our timber grades guide explains the system.

Laying and finishing

Boards are supplied kiln-dried at 10–12.5% moisture content. If that matches the house, lay them; if the house is noticeably wetter or drier, open the packs and stack them with airflow for a week first. Leave 10–12 mm expansion gaps at walls and fixed points, more across a wide room. Leave the laid floor about two weeks before sanding and coating so it settles (WoodSolutions). Allow 5–10% extra for cuts and the odd board you set aside. We stock the adhesives, vapour barrier and trims and the skirtings to finish the job.

The same timber for other jobs

• Blackbutt flooring, all types – solid, engineered, hybrid and laminate
• Blackbutt engineered flooring – for slabs and underfloor heating
• Blackbutt decking – the same timber outside, BAL-29
• Blackbutt cladding
• Solid timber flooring – all species

Questions we get asked

How much does Blackbutt flooring cost?

On our website on 14 October 2026, Standard grade runs from $104 per m² (83 × 14 mm) to $134 (130 × 19 mm); Select from $128 to $179.

Blackbutt or Spotted Gum flooring?

Blackbutt is paler and more even; Spotted Gum is harder (10.1 kN against 8.9) and more varied in colour. Both are hard enough for any home.

Which grade should I buy?

Select if the floor is the feature and you want it uniform; Standard if some gum vein and colour play is welcome, which it is in most houses, and the saving is about 20%.

Is the 14 mm board as good as 19 mm?

It wears the same because the wear layer is sanded from the same face; the difference is structural. 14 mm needs a continuous subfloor, 19 mm can span joists.

Pickup and delivery

Stocked at our flooring showroom at 170 Settlement Road, Thomastown, Mon–Fri 7 am–4:30 pm and Sat 9 am–1 pm, with delivery across Melbourne and regional Victoria quoted with the order. Bring your room sizes in and we will work out the packs, or call (03) 9465 9875.