Welcome

Ironwood's Rozelle showroom

Here's to a great new year and our 3rd newsletter publication. We have just enjoyed the mad year end rush and are settling down to grind out a few good months trading.

Message for architects, designers and renovators

Hardwood floors do not generally need to be re-sanded and only the surface finishes are going to age.

There is a misconception about the durability of hardwood floors and their ability to withstand wear and tear.

Here in Sydney, dating back to the turn of the century, most homes with timber floors usually had Baltic Pine and Kauri flooring installed. The public's view of timber floors was therefore fostered on the perception that all timber floors perform the same way and were unable to withstand wear and tear.

The durability of our Australian hardwood floors is such that the floors do not generally need to be re-sanded and only the surface finishes are going to age. We are after all talking about Australian hardwood!

Our customers are in admiration of the range of hardwood flooring colours, its durability and warmth, and the fact that you can see the character of the tree in the wideboards. There is a whole lot of romance going on with our Australian flooring.

Keith Mackenzie
Managing Director

July special!

• Magnificent 'Tambo' Ash 200 x 22mm (T&G)
  $80.00 per s.m.

Feature stories

Blackbutt

When it comes to timber flooring, Blackbutt is by far the most popular.

Despite its name, blackbutt is often referred to as 'cream' coloured.

Exposure through the media has heightened the awareness of this beautiful, clean looking, even grained timber flooring. It is now available in various widths and grades and has become the flavour of the month. As wideboard flooring it looks fantastic and gives the impression of making rooms look larger.

Blackbutt is not to be confused with Blackwood, which is a dark timber. The origin of the name refers to the colour or the bark that appears blackened by fire.

We classify timber into 3 broad colour classes. Blackbutt is often referred to as 'cream' coloured.

There are two distinct species available here in NSW. Coastal Blackbutt (Bega to Southern Queensland) and New England Blackbutt. Both are characterised by gum-veins and pin-hole features that will always appear to some degree, depending on the grade of timber chosen. The New England Blackbutt tends to have more gum vein and is slightly 'pink' in colour. The heartwood is also less durable.

Whilst Blackbutt makes a beautiful indoor product it is not suitable outdoors as it unfortunately leaches colour from the gum-vein areas.

Timber rates in durability ranging from (Dry) SDI such as Grey Ironbark to SD 8/9 for many of the soft timbers. Blackbutt is highly durable and rates SD2 (Coastal) - SD3 (New England). These figures are relative as both are classified as structural timber.

Whilst the structural rating is SD2 and SD3, its hardness rating or impact rating is also relatively high - 9.2 for Coastal and 8.9 for New England. When we look at hardness it should be remembered that Blackbutt is an extremely hardwearing floor when compared to NZ Kauri (3.5) and Baltic Pine (2.5) which is found in the vast majority of older homes here in Sydney.

Blackbutt takes stain well. Being pale in colour and even grained, the very nature of the timber allows the stain to key to the surface.

Reclaimed Ironwood Timbers

The rushing sound of waters and loud cracking of timber announced that the flood was in the next bend. It rushed in to our sight, glittering in the moonbeams, a moving cataract, tossing before it ancient trees, and snapping them against its banks.

Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, Surveyor-General, 1846.

The character of Australian hardwood timber and the fact that we have lightning strikes and drought is a part of the Australian environment.

Unprocessed, reclaimed logs have more character and definition than new timbers.

Realising that our Australian timbers are precious and valuable, Ironwood now pays for the recovery of these dead trees. Our sources scour the New South Wales and Queensland hinterlands and forests selecting trees they want to reclaim, all the time being mindful that they must not remove old logs that provide a habitat for local flora and fauna.

By sourcing our famous Australian hardwoods in this manner we are able to use very old and interesting timbers for floors, which have more character and definition than one would otherwise find with new timbers. These timbers are also very well seasoned and therefore provide really stable flooring sections.

Harvesting our dead trees this way ensures that we are not wasting our natural resources.

Ironwood also has another valuable and treasured range of timber flooring options.

Species	Colour	Hardness Rating	Durability Rating	Strength Group
Alpine Ash #	Light straw	5	4	SD4
Mountain Ash #	Light straw	4.9	4	SD3
Blackbutt	Pale yellowish brown	9.2	2	SD2
Box - Grey	Dark browns & reds	13.1	1	SD1
Brush Box	Pinkish grey / reds / browns	9.1	3	SD3
Ironbark - Grey	Dark browns & reds	16.3	1	SD1
Ironbark - Red	Dark reds	14.0	1	SD3
Kauri - N.Z.	Pale pink / reddish brown	3.3	4	SD8
Karri -W.A.	Pink / dark reddish brown	9.0	3	SD2
Mahogany - Red	Dark red	12.0	1	SD3
Messmate	Yellowish to greyish brown	7.1	3	SD3
Pines - Baltic	White / pale yellow	2.5	4	SD8
Pines - Cypress	Pale/dark yellow	6.6	4	SD6
Spotted Gum	Pale to dark browns	11.0	2	SD2
Sydney Blue Gum	Dark pink to red brown	9.0	3	SD3
Tallowwood	Yellowish brown / olive tinge	8.6	1	SD2
Turpentine	Dark pink to reddish brown	12.0	1	SD3
#1 these Ash varieties are collectively and commonly referred to as either Victorian Ash or Tasmanian Oak. #2 some of the above ratings are subjective as there are considerable discrepancies depending on which text is used to source the above data. N.B:- When it comes to structural beams and posts strength, toughness, elasticity, shrinkage, weight, stability, lyctid borer susceptibility, edge splintering, plus a few other industry measurements details can be accessed via the internet. With Ironwood's feature beams and posts they have usually been modified by their previous fitting and age - we therefore do not attempt to rate these beams ourselves as they are sold primarily for aesthetic purposes.

Our warehouse and display rooms are conveniently located in Rozelle (near the ANZAC Bridge). Come in and visit us, we are open Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m