aged oak flooring

When a local 19th century public house required a new wood floor for their public areas, they needed a product which would reflect the character of the traditional old building.

The Busfeild Arms at East Morton in Keighley was built as a school in the 19th Century and converted to a public house in 1880, originally called The Hare & Hounds. Our Tradition Aged Oak Flooring was specified for the bar area to complement the existing dark oak beams and bar. Our Tradition Oak Flooring is one of our most labour-intensive wood floors. Its aged beauty is achieved by several separate processes, each adding an extra dimension to the unique appearance of the floor.

Firstly, using a rustic grade of European oak timber, newly machined floorboards are passed through our custom-made distressing machine, imparting random indentations to the surface and edges. The boards are then wire brushed which raises the grain of the timber and adds texture to the surface. Lastly, the boards are fumed, a chemical process which darkens the timber, enhancing its aged appearance.

The floor was pre-finished with Osmo Hardwax Oil which further enhanced the rich tone of the wood. The Busfeild Arms' owners periodically re-apply additional coats of hardwax oil to maintain the finish. As part of the project, we also handcrafted several oak circular table tops, which were fumed and oiled to match the wood floor. The finished bar room looks truly in-keeping with this beautiful period property.

As a small ongoing project we also supply the Busfeild Arms with sanded European oak serving boards. We seal these with Osmo Wood Protector and Hardwax Oil, producing a completely food-safe finish.

If you find yourself passing through the village of East Morton, call in for a quick refreshment, we highly recommend their delicious menu, and the floor looks good too.

To view our full range of solid oak floors click here >>

Oak Flooring looks beautiful in its natural oiled state, it has a timeless appeal which complements both traditional and contemporary interiors. If you prefer to ring the changes a little, we offer a range of surface treatments which can enhance the appearance of your wood floor. Here is a quick guide to the oak flooring surface treatments we offer.

European Character Oak Flooring

Filling and sanding Just as it sounds, open knots and splits will be filled with a mixture of clear resin (Lecol 7500) mixed to a paste with oak sawdust. Once the filler has fully dried the whole board is sanded smooth. We try to make the filled knot look as natural as possible and usually use both dark and light oak dust to achieve a good colour match. Knottier grades of oak flooring, such as our Provincial, Character and Country Grade, take more time to fill than our Classic Grade.

Fuming A chemical process which naturally darkens the timber to a rich, deep colour as an alternative to staining. We place the newly manufactured floorboards into a sealed chamber and apply ammonia as a gas. The ammonia reacts with tannins present in the timber, creating a pleasing, natural variation of warm, dark tones. We can also fume oak skirtings boards, architraves and window sills to match a fumed or dark wood floor.

Wirebrushing Newly machined floorboards are put through our high-speed nylon brushes which removes any sharp edges and raises the grain of the wood to produce a textured surface. When oiled, wirebrushed floorboards tend to have a higher sheen due light reflecting on the raised grain.

Distressing Floorboards are put through our custom-made distresser several times, which imparts a completely random series of indentations on the surface and edges of the wood.

We can apply all of these surface treatments to both our engineered and solid European oak floors. Tradition Oak Flooring is a European oak floor which has been brushed, fumed and also distressed to give a very authentic-looking aged wood floor.

For further advice on fitting and finishing your wood flooring call us on 01535 637755 or follow the link to download our free Hardwood Floor Fitting and Maintenance Guide.