Engineered wood floors - authentic-looking surfaces that can take wood floors where they’ve never gone before. Distress oak plank, engineered ash - the chocies in wood flooring just keep growing.
There are lots of reasons to love wood floors. Not only is wood beautiful, but it’s also soft and warm underfoot, easy to clean, and hypoallergenic. No two pieces of hardwood are alike. Because of this, your particular item looks like no other in the world...
Wood is a living material and it brings life to the house. So preferred are wood floors, in fact, that just having them increases the value of a home.
Because the floor is a substantial feature, the type you choose will go a long way toward defining the space. And because it usually represents a significant investment, you will want to choose carefully.
If you want a narrow room to appear wider, choose narrow boards. For a large room, wide boards help provide balance. Choose wood with knots and color variations for a rustic feel.
GRADING
Vitula uses its skill and experience to grade the appearance and characteristics of all the wood flooring it produces. The Company will determine the grade under which each particular consignment of flooring fits best.
WOOD FLOOR FINISHES
Usually taking place as part of the manufacturing process, the surface of the wood flooring planks are roller brushed to remove some of the softer growth rings from the grain. Depending on the level of brushing, this gives a textured surface that gently highlights the natural grain structure.
Hand-Scraped
Floors Originally, before modern machinery has taken over, floors were hand scraped on-site to make sure they were flat and smooth. In practice although this method removed the rough grain, it left the floor feel somewhat wavy and uneven. Nowadays hand-scraped finishes are created with special machines and together with a process called distressing, can recreate the original look.
Distressed Floors
Distressing is typically achieved by hand or by tumbling the product in large tanks, giving a more natural and random appearance. The micro bevelled edges rarely splinter during the tumbling process. Another distressing method includes machines that scrape and punch the planks as they go through a conveyor belt system although this method is a less expensive way to achieve distressing, it will usually show a repeating pattern of distresses which may look unnatural.
Lacquer
Lacquer is a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation to produce a hard, durable, protective finish or film in any sheen level from matt to gloss and is primarily used in wood finishing.
Natural & Wax Oil
Natural Oil is a transparent surface penetrating substance based on vegetable oils and natural waxes. It treats and gives a natural finish to wood floors at the same time. It penetrates into the core of the wood for long-lasting protection, while preserving the wood's natural beauty and elasticity. In addition, UV oils also help protect the floor against the harmful UV rays from the sun. The final floor will need occasional maintenance and depending on traffic will require replenishing the oil every one or two years.
Unfinished
Unfinished is simply a floor that has been sanded on the surface ready to receive it protective coat. Unfinished floors provide a great way to customise different colour stains and oils to create a bespoke floor.