The original oak panels in the 1800s home couldn't be salvaged.
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The original oak panels in the 1800s home couldn't be salvaged.
The oak panels that adorned a 560-square-foot room of a Victorian home in England had been glued directly to a pine subfloor, which had gradually split the panels after years of shifting and expansion.
The home also had nearly 4,000 square feet of pine that Kieren Collins of Hampshire, England-based Wood Floors of Hampshire was able to save, but that oak floor had to be replaced. The only question was where to find something that would match it.
“It actually slightly resembles the British Union Jack flag,” Collins says of the pattern on the panels, noting he had his doubts that something like it existed elsewhere. But in the spirit of the flag, Collins kept calm and carried on, working with Richard Coletta of Essex-based Wood Floors & Accessories to find pre-made engineered replica panels. When the flooring was finally delivered to the site, Collins breathed a sigh of relief.
“The best part was just receiving the panels,” he says. “They were perfect.”
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With the old floor removed and a new plywood subfloor installed over the fickle pine subfloor, Collins started the installation at the focal point of the room, an old fireplace, to ensure the flooring would be square with it.
After three days of glue-down, Collins sanded the flooring with an 80-grit to remove any unevenness, then cleaned it up with a 120-grit. He matched the color of the original flooring by using a “Smoked Oak” oil finish, buffing on two coats.
The resulting “Union Jack” flooring was completed in five days, and the space is earmarked to become a music room, Collins says. With a floor like that, the room will no doubt inspire a rendition of “God Save the Queen” or two in the future.
Suppliers:
Abrasives, Buffer: Lägler | Adhesive: Wakol | Flooring: Wood Floors & Accessories | Finish: Loba
