Opepe parquet laying - Part 2

So, here is part 2:
After cutting your straight edge - allowing 2 blocks wide for the border - and trimming back the overlapped pieces, you then glue the border blocks into position, either forming mitres into the corners, or running straight into the right angle.

First sanding of the blocks

Once laid, leave the glue to go off, preferably overnight, because the sander is a big beast and ideally the glue should be well-bonded by the time you run it over the floor! So you sand the floor, at least 3 times, once with a heavy duty 30 grit, to level out the floor, remove the surface and scratches, then a 60 grit, then a fine 120, to get a smooth, fine finish.

Applying first coat of polish

This then gives you the surface for filling the small gaps that are unavoidable in reclaimed parquet floor laying, and become imperceptible once filled and once again sanded. Finally, the polishing, two layers, not put on too thickly, so you get a better surface, and hey presto! four days of serious graft and you have a fabulous floor. Simples.

Finished opepe floor

More parquet fun, this time Opepe in Kent! Part 1

Starting the laying process

Opepe is a fabulous wood type; a Central African hardwood, principally commercially grown in West Africa. It is a strong timber with a pale yellow sapwood and golden brown heartwood with a slightly stripey figuring. It has exceptional strength but reasonable working qualities - according to our notes about wood types on our website!

This is a small job, about 14 m2 which we are time-lapsing for another little film on installation, to give a bit more detail on laying techniques for our customers. The blocks are cleaned in the grooves by hand, stacked ready for laying and then the fun begins. Having established the middle line, the central herringbone panel is laid, the special  bonding glue has to dry, then you lay the pattern out to the edges, keeping the fit as tight as possible. At this stage there is some cutting to do to create a straight edge for the border block.

This shows the blocks scraped clean on the sides and grooves

Watch this space, more details to come!

New in stock: Quality Teak, Sapele and Mahogany

We have just lifted some gorgeous teak fron the Crown Woods School, in the Eltham area of London. It is tongue and groove edged, and dates from the sixties, so the quality and condition of this vintage 50 year old block is good!

There is also some nice c 1950 sapele block available in large quantities, sourced from the Sedgefield Community College at Stockton-On-Tees.

And finally a beautiful and very clean, excellent quality mahogany block which has come from McKechnie Brass Social Club, based at Aldridge near Walsall. The mahogany is again from the 1950's - we have sold a lot already, there is only about 130m2 left!

 End product after lifting, bagging, transporting, sorting and palletising, the panel above shows how it will look as a floor. Stunning!