KiltraTimber
Oak Flooring
Here are some pictures of Oak Flooring that was milled recently at Kiltra.
These boards are 6″ (152mm) wide and are provided in random lengths up to 12 ft (3.65m) and with T&G (tongue and groove) on all four sides. The boards have no bevel i.e. they have a straight edge.
The character, the length and the machining details explained all mean that this flooring is very different to what is available in imported boxes of flooring.
Our aim is to replicate traditional flooring that shows off the natural beauty of the wood..
When the boards are laid they fit closer together and the joins are less obvious than when a bevel is present as the bevel creates a darker shadow gap between the boards.
Solid oak flooring will react to environmental changes in temperature and humidity (please see our technical data page for more details) more than oak flooring that is made of layers of ply glued together with a surface layer of decorative oak. Where the environment dries out the solid oak boards may shrink and gaps may appear between the boards. This creates the very traditional appearance typical in heritage properties.
We source the Oak in America, this particular batch was grown by a mill in Tennessee. It was grown, harvested, graded, sawn and kiln dried by the one family. It arrives to us in 1″ planks kiln dried to 12%.
We then straighten the boards, plane them, add the T&G and remove any unusable parts. The finished board here is 18mm thick as these boards were quite wavy and needed to be planed twice.
We are often asked why we don’t use Irish oak. The answer lies in the volume. There just isn’t the repetitive volume in Ireland to allow for sufficient quantities of a single size or grade. If it were available to us we would be only too happy to use it.
Please enquire if you would like to use Kiltra Oak Flooring in your project. We are more than happy to discuss all aspects with you.
Reclaimed Baltic Redwood
Here is a bale of the timber flooring that went to Newbay House outside Wexford which has recently being revamped and reopened as a country hotel.
This Redwood is from reclaimed beams not as old as most of the reclaimed timber we handle but easily identified as being from the Baltic region as there was still evidence of stamps from the St Petersburgh mills on some of the timber. Some of the boards are Douglas Fir but collectively we refer to the bale as Baltic Redwood.
Being from the Baltics means this timber is stronger due its slower growth in a colder climate.
This flooring will add great character to a restoration project. The plan with this floor in Newbay was to stain it so we will update with some photos of the finished floors at a later stage.
The boards were mostly 12ft in length and finished with a square edge i.e. no bevel and tongue and grooved on four sides.
Reclaimed Redwood floor boards
Reclaimed Redwood / Douglas flooring
Pitch Pine for London – the specifications and the end result
Kiltra Timber supplied the flooring for the renovation of two Georgian townhouses on Broadwick Street in London. The specification from London Heritage and the architects was very detailed and included the grade of the timber, acceptable blemishes as well as the board length. The boards were T&G on all four sides and there were no bevels on any of the boards.
All boards were to be centred from the fireplaces in the rooms and all joins were to be in line.
The upper two floors were to have 6″ wide boards and the lower two floors 8″ wide boards.
Please look at the finished result in the auctioneers brochure of the properties.
Savilles Sales Brochure For Broadwick Street
Bathroom, Broadwick Street
Pitch Pine for London – sourcing the timber
Kiltra Timber were selected to supply the Reclaimed Pitch Pine flooring for two Georgian town houses in Soho, London.
The architects on this project, Ian McArdle & Associates liaised with London Heritage who stipulated that reclaimed Pitch Pine was to be the timber of choice for the building.
This reflects what would have been available during the original construction but also the location and prestige of these town houses where the best timber would have been selected.
And so it is again due to their location on Broadwick St in the centre of London this Pitch Pine had to be the highest grade and meet exacting standards.
This flooring was reclaimed from beams that came from the docklands in Liverpool where buildings are undergoing upgrades as part of a major regeneration program for the area.
Caines Brewery Liverpool
Most of these buildings were built during the industrial revolution, such as Caines brewery founded in 1858 by Irishman Robert Cain. This grade II listed building was not torn down but with the guidance of English Heritage it is part of a major redevelopment plan. More details can be found at www.breweryvillage.com
All the Pitch Pine beams salvaged from Caines brewery were sourced by Kiltra Timber who work closely with the demolition and salvage companies to ensure that these valuable Pitch Pine beams can be saved and re-purposed. These huge structural beams originated in America from trees that are now referred to as the virgin forests, which refers to the fact that they were growing when the first settlers arrived.
These were felled with basic equipment and the massive logs were moved primarily by the river network to the ports.
Why is this timber so prized?
It is due to the very high resin content in the heartwood that makes the timber naturally rot resistance and very strong.
Take a moment to think that this timber could have been growing in the 1600’s in America, felled and used in buildings in the 1800’s and then salvaged and re-milled today to hopefully still be in use in the floors of a Georgian townhouse in Soho for another 200 years.
Broadwick Street Georgian Townhouses