Town and Country Floor Sanding, based in Toowoomba, Australia, specializes in custom designs for its wood flooring, but this was a new one. On this job, “The customer wanted something no one else had—the quirkier the better,” says Tony Bryers of Town and Country. “I instantly said ‘puzzle floor’ without any thinking—not sure where that thought came from.” After several months of thinking about the design and the layout, Bryers says, “I decided to just make a start and see where it took me. I ended up just letting the layout come to me on the day, which made the whole process so much more engaging and interesting.” To create the puzzle pieces, he routed the wood as close as possible to the desired shape, then adjusted the pieces with his riffler rasps for the final fit. While the Tasmanian blackwood used for the puzzle pieces was relatively easy to work with, the blackbutt of the field, which needed to be scribed to meet up with the puzzle pieces, was a challenge. A merbau border, meanwhile, ties into the staircase. After sanding to 150, the floor was coated with a matte hardwax oil. “It was so good to have complete design freedom to create whatever I wanted,” Bryers says. “I’m pretty happy with the outcome, but as always, as a professional you always see things others don’t.” The homeowner, on the other hand, is thrilled with everything about his floor. “The customer’s response is what we all strive for,” Bryers says. “He still calls me to say that after work he just sits and looks at his floor.”
SUPPLIERS: Abrasives: Sia | Adhesive: Bostik | Buffer: American Sanders Epoch | Dust containment, Palm sander, Vacuum: Festool | Edger: FG Taifun | Filler: Timbermate | Finish: Fiddes | Moisture meter: Wagner 940 | Nailer: Primatech | Router, Saws: Makita | Sander (big machine): Hummel | Sander (multi-disc): Hyper Grinder I-4 Wood
