Distinctive timber flooring adds timeless style and elegance to contemporary as well as traditional homes. Create everlasting warmth and charm to your room whilst providing a durable, environmentally friendly floor covering.
Whatever your style, we can help you choose from a wide range of elegant timbers….
Well-suited to the Australian climate and lifestyle, Australian hardwood timbers are:
- Hardwearing
- Energy efficient: timber is a natural insulator, locking out the cold as well as the scorching heat of summer
- Environmentally responsible – renewable, sustainable
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Harbours no dust mites – perfect for families and allergy sufferers
Long lasting and durable….
Australian hardwood timbers provide superior hardness and are significantly more durable than imported varieties. The Janka Hardness Scale provides an international standard to compare the relative hardness of various species and their ability to withstand denting. The higher the value on this scale, the more resistant and durable the wood.
SPOTTED GUM
Botanical name: Corymbia Maculata, Corymbia Citriodora
Growing region Coastal NSW and south east QLD
Janka rating: 11
Spotted Gum is beautifully suited to classic homes with a rustic interior design as well as homes with a more minimalist theme. Its level of hardness makes it popular for commercial applications such as gymnasiums and basketball courts. The tree grows up to 50 metres high and ranges in colour from very pale brown through to dark brown with slightly orange or green tints and some lighter variations. The sapwood is distinctly paler than the truewood. Often interlocked, the grain appears wavy, featuring a distinctive ‘fiddleback’ figure and gum veins. Spotted Gum is very dense with excellent mechanical properties.
JARRAH
Botanical name is Eucalyptus marginate
Growing region: South West W.A.
Janka rating: 8.5
Jarrah is renowned for its density, resistance to insect attack and its beautiful rich red colour, which deepens over time into a soft burgundy. The colour and exceptional hardness are a perfect combination for commercial and residential floors. A large hardwood, Jarrah grows up to 40 metres high, with a trunk up to three metres in diameter. It has a rough, brown to black bark, which splits into fibrous strips, and fine, narrow leaves. Jarrah is an extremely deep-rooted species, and therefore drought resistant, as it is able to draw extensively for water during dry periods. The heartwood is durable and dark red in colour, often with a rich dark mahogany hue.
TASMANIAN OAK
Botanical name: Eucalyptus Delegatensis, Eucalyptus Regnans and Eucalyptus Oblique
Growing region: Tasmania
Janka rating: 5.5 (averaged across the three species)
The name Tasmanian Oak is used to describe a combination of three species of eucalypt commonly found in Tasmania – Alpine Ash, Mountain Ash and Messmate. Together they produce a blend of beautiful colouring from pale cream to pink and reddish-brown. The logs are quarter sawn to produce an extremely straight and even grain. This also gives excellent dimensional stability, making Tasmanian Oak a good choice for extreme climates or over radiant heat. A versatile timber, it is popular for all forms of construction including panelling and flooring and has excellent staining qualities. It is a sought-after furniture timber, and is also used for reconstituted board and the production of high quality paper.
BLACKBUTT
Botanical name: Eucalyptus Pilularis
Growing region: From Bega in New South Wales to Maryborough in Queensland
Janka rating: 9.1
A tall hardwood, with a long, straight cylindrical trunk, Blackbutt reaches heights of 40 to 60 metres, with a diameter of up to three metres. Blackbutt literally means “half bark.” It has rough fibrous bark on the lower trunk and a smoother whitish to yellow upper trunk and branches where bark has shed in strips. Blackbutt is a species that is well regarded by foresters for the high quality of timber and its quick growth. It reaches 64% of its mature timber density within four years and is 80-88% of its mature timber density within 11-17 years. Blackbutt is classed as Class 1 with a life expectancy over 40 years when used above ground and is considered naturally resistant to termites. Blackbutt is ideal for flooring but is also used in a variety of aesthetic and structural building applications including weatherboards, railway sleepers, bridge planks and boat building.
SYDNEY BLUE GUM
Botanical name Eucalyptus Saligna
Growing region: east coast of Australia from Batemans Bay in New South Wales to southern Queensland
Janka rating: 9
Sydney Blue Gum can grow to a height of 60 to 70 metres and two metres in diameter. It generally has a straight trunk with no branches for half to two-thirds of its height. The upper bark is smooth and bluey-grey in colour with a stocking of persistent brown or grey rough bark for one to two metres from ground level. Sydney Blue Gum is easy to work with both hand and power tools, is easy to sand and accepts finishes well. It is highly sought after because of its rich, dark colours and is popular in a variety of applications, including flooring, joinery, furniture, panelling and boat building. It is also effective and durable in outdoor landscaping applications and makes excellent firewood!
BRUSHBOX
Botanical name: Lophostemon Confertus, Tristania Conferta
Growing region: East coast of Australia, from Newcastle in New South Wales to Maryborough in Queensland
Janka rating: 9
Brushbox has a beautiful rich colour. The heartwood ranges from pink-brown to red-brown but is often variable between trees. The sapwood is usually a slightly paler, greyish brown colour. The grain is close and even textured, often with a curly interlocking habit. As well as flooring and decking, common uses for Brushbox include general house framing, lining, cladding, laminated beams and joinery, as well as plywood, turnery, laminated bench tops and parquetry.
ROSE GUM
Botanical name: Eucalyptus Grandis
Growing region: Newcastle in NSW to Bundaberg in Queensland
Janka rating: 7
A very tall forest tree, rose gum grows from 45 to 55 metres in height, and one to two metres in diameter. It is an extremely fast growing hardwood. The timber is an attractive pale pink to red brown colour, with a straight grain and moderately coarse and even texture. Rose Gum is easy to dry, and machines well to a smooth surface. The timber readily accepts paint, stain and polish and also glues well, making it suitable for use as a veneer. It is quite resistant to decay when fully exposed to the weather, and is therefore popular for decking. Other uses include solid and
engineered flooring, mouldings, fascias, furniture, carving, turnery, structural plywood and boat building, as well as oars and broom handles.
