Working with Nature

There are few materials that elicit a palpable response within us on sight, perfectly honed marble is one, solid timber is another. The visual warmth and tactility of the grain just makes you want to run your hands over its surface.

Not surprising then, that timber sits high on the list of materials people want to include in their homes, kitchens especially. However, one of the biggest considerations when it comes to kitchens is their durability—this hard-working space needs hard working materials and timber surfaces can be easily damaged through daily wear and tear.

However, Daryl Boakes, General Manager of The Woodsmiths says that with the right treatment, solid timber can be as durable a material as any other benchtop on the market.

“All of our solid timber kitchen benchtops are finished with either Hi-Build or GenerationIV resins, providing a protective coating that is highly heat, water and impact resistant and comes with a 10-year warranty.

“Also, being a resin means they retain an element of flexibility allowing them to move and flex with the timber, as it naturally expands and contracts, without cracking.”

Do it once, do it right

Daryl says The Woodsmiths worked directly with the manufacturer of the resin to ensure that they would provide the level of protection required for New Zealand conditions.

“These truly are a once in a lifetime product. I can literally count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to repair the resin coating on one of our benchtops in the last 25 years and generally these have been damaged through misuse. We give a 10-year warranty but even after 15 years-plus the benches still look great.

“In many cases they have outperformed some of the other popular surface materials for durability over the same period of time. For example, our resin-treated, solid timber benches won’t chip around the sinks like some stone finishes can.”

The resin finish is also low maintenance and all standard non-abrasive cleaners are safe to use on surfaces. Heavy grime buildup can be removed with methylated spirits and fine steel wool and the original sheen restored with an application of the wax supplied with the benchtop.

While The Woodsmiths recommend that all their benchtops be finished with either Hi-Build or GenerationIV resin, they do offer a two-pack lacquer or natural oil finish for items that are going to be installed in areas that are not subjected to high wear.

Going with the grain

The Woodsmiths offers more than 30 native, endemic and imported timbers including rimu, swamp kauri, matai, New Zealand beech, blackwood, American white oak and American walnut.

“Rimu is by far the most popular of the native timbers,” says Daryl. “While American white oak accounts for around 70 per cent of what we do. It is a very competitively priced timber and also takes stain very well, making it a highly specified product.

“All of our timbers, whether native or imported, are sustainably harvested and many are FSC-certified. Timber, unlike any other product acts as a carbon sink, which means trees sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”

The Woodsmiths also has a range of bamboo benchtops, which is available at a lower price point to the solid timber options and which, Daryl says, can be stained to any colour.

Benchtops of any size

The Woodsmiths’ cnc machine is capable of machining lengths of up to six metres and 1.8 metres wide and Daryl says they can scarf joint individual laminations together, which means they are able to manufacture benchtops of just about any size. Thicknesses of up to 150mm can also be achieved on individual laminations.

Along with kitchen benchtops, The Woodsmiths also produces bar tops, reception counters, boardroom tables and furniture and stair treads.

“We can also manufacture integrated benchtops and sinks, which look particularly effective as vanities,” says Daryl.

Find out more about solid timber benchtops.