Welcome

Ironwood's Rozelle showroom

We've had some interesting introductions this last month and visitors who continue to walk into our showroom for the first time have been astounded by what they have found.

The visitors whom I am specifically referring to have been amazed that there are antique timbers to be found in the middle of the city. They have also been impressed by our flooring displays, the spacious and comfortable impact of wideboard floors, the range of flooring on display and the size of our premises. You will not see a comparable display of 200mm + wideboards on display anywhere else.

So, if you have not yet visited our showroom and warehouse you're missing out.

Message for architects, designers and renovators

Whilst new timber floors have doubled in price in the last 2 years, antique timber floors have performed even better.

In reading this, you are probably aware that timber floors are becoming increasingly fashionable. There are now more carpet outlets and hardware stores stocking real timber floors than ever before. The question is 'What are people responding to?'

The answer is surprisingly simple - timber. Timber is the warm and practical flooring alternative, and right now it is also a more cost-effective investment than other options.

Our antique wideboard floors are, however, more than just a smart choice. Even new timber floors have doubled in price in the last 2 years, while antique timber floors have performed even better than that because of their limited supply. So, as Australian hardwood timbers become more scarce and more sought after, both here and overseas, there is no reason why this momentum will not continue.

Keith Mackenzie
Managing Director

August special!

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

Feature story - The Process of Recycling Timber

At Ironwood our business was founded on recycling old timbers - from wharves, wool stores, flour mills, shearing sheds, factories, warehouses, bridges, mills and derelict buildings.

The problem in dealing only with recycled timber is that demand is now greater than supply. This is in part due to most of our heritage buildings having been knocked down in the 1970's and 80's. 21st century industrial plants have now also replaced most of the traditional old factories and mills that formerly provided a valuable source of recycled timbers. More importantly however, the scarcity is due to an increase in demand for these wonderful timbers which have character from a bygone era and have been chiselled by time and weather extremes.

It used to be that if you wanted to build a bridge or a warehouse you logged trees in the immediate vicinity and never had to wander too far afield to obtain all the timber you required. Timber could be found in all facets of the historical development of our nation.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to source buildings being demolished with large timber sections.

Story has it that our thundering eucalypts would take two burly axemen two days to fell, and a team of oxen a week to cart away. The trees that were logged were usually hundreds of years old, stood up to twenty stories high and were twenty feet wide. For generations, our hardwood timbers built our nation.

Such is the splendour, our history and our indebtedness to these magnificent towering eucalypts. How times have changed! We no longer have enough timber, even for 21st century construction requirements, and we are importing cheap substitutes that are unable to withstand the rigours of our climatic extremes.

Recovering recycled timbers is a lengthy, laborious and costly process. To illustrate this point, a building which can be demolished in 2 weeks can take up to 3 months to take apart if we are to ensure the safe retrieval of all the recyclable timber. As fewer timber buildings become available our supplies are dwindling and large timber sections are becoming increasingly scarce. It is also harder to find good quality product in economic quantities.

The whole cutting and drying process for recycled timbers can take up to 3 months.

Once retrieved, the process of converting a timber beam into wideboard flooring involves patience and precision. The old timbers are firstly transported to our processing plant at Kandos where they are manually scanned with a metal detector, de-nailed, sawn to size and strip-stacked to equalise the moisture content. This is a labour intensive and tedious process.

These timbers are already well seasoned by the time we find them. The moisture content from the centre to the outer edges of larger sections, however, varies quite considerably. When cut, each new surface needs to 'season' for up to 8 weeks - depending on the species and moisture range we bring in. As it is essential that the moisture equalising process takes places before the timber is remilled into tongue and groove flooring sections the whole cutting and drying process can take up to 3 months as we need to deliver a guaranteed, dependable and fully stabilised product.

The old recycled timbers clearly have more character and definition and having been seasoned over the years they are inherently more stable - hence they are now highly sought after. This is out of necessity reflected in the price, and is the reason why we maintain that antique timbers are a sound investment.

How's this for scuttlebutt and innuendo?

Rumour has it that as recently as the late 1980's, large timber sections from the demolition of our old historic buildings in Sydney were ferried out to sea on a barge and set ON FIRE. At that time there was no market for the timber and this solution was cheaper than disposing of it in a tip! It seems that it is only in the last 10 years that people been made aware of the inherent beauty of old timbers and the fact that it is recyclable.

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