Hand Grade

Oil penetrates deep into the wood and brings out the true beauty of both the colour and grain as well as providing protection for the product. In addition to providing a natural look, oiled products lend themselves to being spot repaired in the event of surface damage. Most oiled products require an additional coat of oil or Hardwax Oil, a mixture of sunflower, soybean and thistle oil, carnauba and candelilla wax after installation.

This can vary depending on the specification of your product and whether the product is being used in a residential or commercial setting. Typical residential warranties are between 10 and 20 years, however we offer up to 25 years and lifetime structural warranties. All warranty documents can be found in the downloads section of our website.

An engineered board is, quite simply, a timber board which consists of more than one layer. By placing each layer so that the grain runs perpendicularly it becomes virtually impossible for the timber to swell or shrink with changes in humidity and so it dramatically increases the stability. The top layer of an engineered board (the lamella) is solid wood and obviously the thicker the surface layer the more times it can be sanded and refinished to remove the ravages of wear; the thickest wear layers are equivalent to those on solid timber boards. The lamella is securely bonded to one or two further layers – this may be a multi-layered plywood or a sandwich with either a softwood or hardwood core. Engineered boards should not be confused with laminate or veneer. Laminate uses an image of wood on its surface whilst veneer uses only a very thin layer of wood over a core of some type of composite wood product, usually fibreboard.Engineered timber is now the most common type of wood flooring used globally and the technology has enabled the production of much wider boards as well as the application of an enormous variety of interesting finishes.

Wood is a natural material and each piece of each tree will vary in colour and grain structure. Colour variation is dictated by the age, location, exposure, soil pH and multiple other factors during the growth of the tree.

No matter how well seasoned, oiled, waxed or lacquered it may be, wood remains hydroscopic. This means that when the humidity is high it will absorb some of that moisture, swell and rise or ‘crown’ in the middle. If that same piece of timber is placed in a dry environment – as happens when using heating or air conditioning – it will release its moisture, dry out and shrink. Lay pieces of timber side by side in a confined space and those changes in humidity, over time, may well result in them bowing, warping, cupping or gapping – gaps between the planks. This is what can happen with a solid wood floor, wall or ceiling.

Engineered boards are like solid timber planks with lots of benefits:

• They are far more stable than solid wood planks so there is far less likelihood of eventual problems and much wider boards can be produced.
• Engineered boards are usually available pre-finished which means a reduced installation time, cost, and no surprises on site.
• Unlike the vast majority of solid timber planks, engineered boards can usually be fitted over underfloor heating.
• Engineered boards make far more efficient use of slow-growing, lamella layer timbers (oak, walnut, etc).
• Engineered boards offer alternative, easier methods of installation.