Covid 19 Update Read More

We are open for business as usual (although there here is nothing usual about this situation) with our transport company (Brooks Transport) who are designated by the government as critical to the covid response. We are still delivering direct to door or site, (however collections or visits to the warehouse are not possible.) Our IT systems allow us to work from home so our staff are protected. Please Call or Email Us for samples or orders. Our factories are back to full capacity and the supply chain is operating effectively which can be seen here. As a trade supplier we have a minimum requirement of 50m2 for any samples and supplies. Please call 01666 504015 if you require less. For Government advice please click here. Even with these steps we have made, we must pull together, support one another, and get through this as a group, a family, and feel proud to say to our wider community we are critical to the Covid-19 response, and we will support it for as long as we are able. Stay safe, stay well, look after yourself, and each other.

The Building Centre will be open fully with the café back and exhibitions in place from Monday 12th April 2021. In the meantime, you can book visits in advance by contacting The Building Centre directly on 020 7692 4000. Please note that we do not have any representatives based at this showroom, but you can call us during your visit to talk through the options on display on 01666 504 015.

The Tetbury showroom is strictly by appointment only, maximum of two people with social distancing and face coverings required. Please call 01666 504 015 to book an appointment.

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Creating Bespoke Wood Flooring

We can create any surface effect and variations of colour in our engineered wood oak flooring as well as our strand woven bamboo flooring special treatments like our special heat processes and carbonising help to harden and strengthen the oak.

We also use ferrous oxides to create a unique finish (Iron(II) oxide is used as a pigment It is FDA approved for use in cosmetics and it is used in some tattoo inks).

We also use natural plant active stains to remove the tannins from the wood which is what makes oak go yellow over time, with the latest stains from timberex we can create any colour that can then be easily repaired should it ever get damaged or have excessive wear.

We can easily repair parts of a floor that are damaged or worn away without sanding and re finishing the complete floor unlike lacquered floors. You can see pictures of some treatments below and also some examples of different coloured samples.

Bespoke designed engineered wood flooring

manhattan parquet block flooring

There are many aspects to this and a list of what can be done to Oak flooring and also Bamboo flooring is below. American Black Walnut flooring has such a unique grain and natural colour that to do anything else to it would destroy the ambiance and natural beauty of the floor. Prime Walnut where there are no knots and burr grain (where a branch has grown from the trunk without leaving a knot)  is very boring and expensive. This is normally used in veneers for furniture and kitchens but in our opinion should never be used for floors.

Canadian Hard Maple is the same, it has a beautiful natural ambiance when it is prime and we only sell prime Maple. The reason for this is that a mixed grade maple will have black streaks and other marking detrimental to its look when fitted as a floor. The reason for these black streaks and other marking is where the tree has absorbed different minerals from the soil during its growth which leaves the traces of oxides and iron etc, which creates these unsightly markings. If you buy cheap Maple this will be the reason.

Other Exotic wood floors such as Wenge, Teak, marabou etc should not be tampered with either as they have their own natural ambiance.

Oak is the best hardwood flooring material to create bespoke designs from as it is hard and has a natural beauty that can be enhanced depending on the grade.  

Oak grading takes many forms but our Russian oak is the cleanest grade with ABC having little knots or grain variation. We select out any larger knots from the C grade (as AB grade is clean with little colour variation) and use these in our darker oak range. All our unfinished ABC boards have hardly any colour variation so that we can create a perfect white oiled board or any other colour that you desire.

We then have CDEF grades where the F grade has very large knots, splits and shakes with colour variation. Colour variation is created during the lifetime of the tree before felling which is influenced by the local soil and also the climate changes during its lifetime.

Minerals are taken up from the roots of the tree to feed it during its growth and it is these that create the natural beauty of engineered wood flooring with its individual markings. Each tree can have different colour variations as can each floor board cut form the same tree depending on how warm or cold the year was as well as how dry or wet.

Different treatments to create Bespoke Wood Flooring

  • Brushing the surface to various depths
  • Hand scraping the surface using the natural contours and grain of the wood to create an antique wood floor
  • Carbonising the board were it is heated in an oven to extreme temperatures without burning it to harden the surface and create the colour of the carbonising right through the board in there case of engineered wood flooring
  • Fuming the board where a special ammonia treatment is applied before heating the board
  • Smoked Oak which is where the boards are stacked in ask enclosed space and left for 7 or more days with Oak saw dust and offcuts used as the smoking medium (just like smoked salmon)
  • Treating the boards with oxides which are perfectly safe and have no VOC's
  • Oiling the boards to any colour you like with the latest natural plant coloured oils
  • Treating the boards with natural plant stains and then oiling to protect the surface from dirt and stains
  • Chipping the edges opt boards to make them look old which means you can use a modern engineered oak floor board in a listed building

 

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