Fumed
Our unique and beautiful chamber-fumed floors are in high demand. The process exposes the wood to ammonia fumes in a controlled and sealed chamber causing a reaction with the tannin in the wood to darken the color and permeate past the surface of the wood. The end product is simply stunning. Where one can stain a floor to get a desired color, fuming retains the varied tones that naturally occur in wood while enhancing the visual grain pattern. The result is less uniform but displays a consistent enhancement to the natural beauty of the wood. The longer the wood is exposed to the fumes, the darker the result. We typically chamber fume our products for 24 to 48 hours. There is no off-putting or dangerous smell or vapors that come with a fumed wood product. As with the kiln-drying process of wood, the wood needs to be properly fumed in a controlled, sealed environment with the process performed by a skilled expert. A fumed product can be lightly buffed on site before applying a clear finish to seal and protect the wood. This process works best on white oak due to the high tannin content, but it is available in other species although a less drastic outcome can be expected. Fumed white oak is often referred to as “smoked oak”. Our showroom floor is fumed, come by and check it out!
Textures
Handscraped, Foot Worn
In the industry, methods for achieving handscraped or footworn wood boards vary and the magnitude of the texture can be adjusted for a customized look. While handscraping can be done by a machine, we prefer to have actual hands do our handscraping, however, for a footworn look, it is not done by foot, but rather also by hand but with a slightly different approach and outcome. The process created depressions or “waves” in the surface of the board while keeping its smooth texture. This custom approach leads to a very natural appearance and gives the final product a beautiful, aged feeling. Variations will occur in the final product due to the nature of the process.
Microbevel
Our prefinished flooring products are microbeveled and other products can be microbeveled per request. This means that there is a slight contoured angle at the edge of the board that is added as the plank goes through the moulder. We use a very soft undulation on the edges rather than a very prominent one and it adds depth and accent to the finished product. It is important to have these edges on a prefinished product as the floor is not sanded to be perfectly level after installation as a site-finished floor would be. The slight bevels on the edges mute any minor inconsistencies in between the boards. It is a unique look that makes for a beautiful floor, especially with our longer length boards. Boards can be microbeveled on the lengths and additionally on the ends if desired. When refinishing or sanding a microbeveled floor, the microbevel will be less prominent and easily removed as you sand off the surface of the boards.
Square-Edge
Square-Edge is simply the opposite of beveled edge. The board face is flat to the edge with no angle at the edge where the board will meet another board. Typically, site finished floors are square edge on all four sides.
Wirebrushed
Wirebrushing adds a phenomenal accent and texture to our wood products. The process is typically done by a machine that uses a wire tool to scrape the soft wood out from the face of the board in the direction of the grain (lengthwise). The level of wirebrushing can be determined from very light to more extreme depending on preference. Adding any texture to the face of a board, especially in flooring, has the added benefit of masking the day-to-day wear the occurs over time.
Original vs Resawn
Original Face, Re-Sawn
When working with reclaimed wood, you have a choice to use the original board face as it is or slice a layer off the face to reveal a still very much antique, reclaimed face, but almost perfectly straight and smooth. Many features of a reclaimed board permeate into the depth of the board, so the desirable rustic look of worm and nail holes, knots and aging will still exists, just to a lesser degree and without the rougher original texture. We provide reclaimed floors, paneling and beams (both solid and wrapped) for many custom projects. To learn more about our reclaimed products, click here.
To learn more about our reclaimed products, click here.