Raw Timber Flooring

The Laymans Guide to Raw Timber Floors

A raw timber floor is the rolls royce of wooden flooring. The timber comes in unfinished planks and is always direct-stuck to the sub surface either on plywood or straight on to the concrete pad.

Woodstock do not supply raw timber sourced from outside Australia. It is important to us to be certain of the origin (chain of custody) of all the raw timbers we stock to limit the damage to the environment. Woodstock is a green company.

It is always necessary to install a vapour barrier prior to glueing down the floor to protect it from moisture rising up from the pad. The timber needs to acclimatise in-situ for at least 7 - 10 days before installation. The installer will then apply a moisture barrier 24 hours before the timber goes down. The timber is then fixed to the floor with glue and it is also nailed after being wedged tightly into place, roughly every fourth row. The floor is then left to settle for a few days before sanding.

The sander will now fill any obvious holes or obtrusive gum-veins with filler and will then sand the floor and seal it. Depending on the type of product used, the floor will be sanded either once or twice more and receive another coating of either polyurethane or acrylic (water based) sealer. To avoid contamination, once the final coat is applied, the house is sealed and the floor cannot be walked on for 72 hours.

Depending on the size of the floor, the whole process takes roughly three weeks from start  to finish. This is a major construction process and although we use dustless machines, there will be some dust and if polyurethane is used, there will be fumes. For these reasons, we recommend that the premises are vacant while the installation is being undertaken.