Needing advice on timber flooring choices. Spotted gum or Blackbut?
khiara
5 years ago
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Comments (12)
annb1997
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Timber floors
Comments (11)Anyone who has the luxury of an old 1900s timber floorboards is, in my view a very fortunate Houzzer and would have a very difficult time trying to get anything today that remotely resembled those boards. I have a Queenslander from that era. All Queenslanders has tongue and groove Hoop PIne floors and they were nearly always covered in newspapers with "lino" ( made in England) over the top...so were well preserved. The advice I received about these untouched floorboards that had been seasoned naturally for many years prior to use was to initially "feed them" with a mix of kerosene and pale boiled linseed oil and then stain them if I wanted then give them a couple of sealant coats that would still allow them to breathe. I opted for just a kero and pale boiled linseed oil sprayover whenever they looked "thirsty" and I've used thick rugs to protect them from wear and tear. I've had them like this for 30 yrs or so and am very, very happy with my floors...and they are soft wood. Every couple of years I douse the floors with turpentine as this penetrates the timber and prevents termites, then continue on with the stain, kero and linseed oil mix...then get them buffed. That's just my story that may be or not a little helpful, I was born in Victoria so am familiar with the balck Japan satin that was used down the boards exposed each side of the hall runners....and the boards were the wider ones. Its a pity that multiple sandings compromise the tongue and groove..sometimes such floors need reinforcing from underneath. After acertaining that, maybe a light.soft timber "overfloor"rather than a hardwood would be the go although quite a bit of maintrnance for the first few years. You could stain it any colour you wanted. by getting a light to mid brown or teak stain and give it several coats allowing drying in between until you were satisfied with the colour. Its a good thing to keep in mind that timber flooring from that era was very well and naturally seasoned for years prior to being sold for use...the idea was to seel people timber that would last. I have put on a couple of decks here and am rather disappointed to see that the newer timbers are showing signs of wear and deterioration whilst the original timbers are still as unblemished and solid as the day they were used to build my old home. I think that was a very good lesson for me. All timbers today are kiln dried for expediency so, since they were not permitted to "age gracefully": and gently they are not naturally strong. If ever I do any more timber renos to this place I will be sourcing old timbers form places being demolished. These often cost more...but there's method in that madness! I'd say to anyone wanting their floors to stand the test of time...Buy old timber and treat it as it would have been treated of old. Should have some photos of these floors somewhere. I'll post them if I can...See MoreAdvice from timber protection
Comments (2)just put over a km of spotted gum decking into our new house near the beach. Architect and builder recommended and used Cutek oil. The oil seeps deep into the timber without putting a coat on the surface with will peel or fail. Would definitely not use any product that puts coat on the top of the timber. I have used other finishes on our decking at our main house (Cabots, inter grain etc) and all ended up looking terrible after being punished by the harsh Queensland sun. My advise is research your choice thoroughly, as undoing a mistake is very time-consuming and costly. I guess only time will tell if I got it right this time?? Photos below....See MoreAdvice Needed - Overwhelmed !
Comments (7)Hi Rachel, the staff at Studio M should all be trained colour and design consultants. Take your ideas to them (all your pictures) they should be able to put together a scheme that works with the ideas you have in your pictures. If possible please ask them for samples of the products you have chosen. Don't let them pressure you into making the final choice on the spot - tell them you would like to think about your final choice before you sign off on anything. Take the design plan away and look at it again after a day or so. Your wood floors do not have to match the wood in your kitchen, but it needs to be the same tone/hue (eg light or dark) - what wont work is if you have a grey timber floor then use a brown timber in the kitchen. Classic styles never date when choosing tiles, and choosing one colour. I'm not into matchy matchy, so your bathrooms and kitchen do not need to match, you can bring one element into all rooms to form a connection eg, timber, subway tile. I find that clients who have pictures of what they want make it easier for a designer to help them choose finishes. Good luck...See Moretimber floor showrooms - confusing. help please?
Comments (9)So is this just for the stair or for the actual flooring? Blackbutt will be more consistent and lighter. Spotted gum has more variation in colour. It's all natural product so it's next to impossible to see exactly/perfectly what it will look like, and the particular finish can make a difference too. But these two are quite different. Blackbutt is a lighter option closer to a Tasmanian Oak or Vic Ash in tone but much harder/denser, with a bit more character in it and much better for stairs than the softer hardwoods. This is Blackbutt: Spotted gum is much different has quite a distinctive/australian look to it as per below: Significant difference. Depending upon what adjacent flooring and also the stair design one or the other could work. It's about choosing the right one for your particular context. If you want an interesting/varied feature spotted gum could be the go, if it needs to be more understated and toned down then blackbutt could be the better option - good luck :) PD...See Moresiriuskey
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