Recycled Matai – Wharewaka, Taranaki St Wharf, Wellington

Home/Recycled Matai – Wharewaka, Taranaki St Wharf, Wellington

Timber:
Recycled Matai, 83mm x 20mm

Details:
The builders of prominent Wellington building the Wharewaka wanted a wooden floor that would highlight their show building.Â

The recycled Matai was recovered from a Manawatu hospital that was being demolished after the heath reforms centralised hospital care.  We entered into a contract with the demolition contractor to buy all the flooring (and some other timber too).  We picked up a truck load every month for just over a year, and still have some in stock (as at January 2014).

The substrate is a heated concrete slab.  We gave the concrete a skim grind and applied Selleys’ Liquid Nails Vapour Barrier.  12mm plywood was glued to the concrete and the Matai flooring was laid over the top.

The floor was finished with three coats of moisture-cured polyurethane, top coat matt.

Unique Aspects:
The heated slab meant managing the moisture content of the timber was essential.