Chris Head

I was wanting to call my first son Richard, I figgured he'd grow up tough, like the boy who was named Sue. Chris

I know the same saying Dave, but I'd drop the 'once an hour for a day bit', once a day for a week is my understanding of where the process starts! Also, don't mix the wood oil with the massage oil, after a half hour or so you find your hands sticking to your wifes back and the ensuing laughter tends to suppress any intended ardour! Chris

Zeb, you'll have to get Tung oil from the UK, as availability here is not good, and when it is found the prices are prohibitive (unless someone can come up with a bulk supplier here for around 60 euro/5 ltr ttc).  Even within the UK the price range can fluctuate somewhat, unless you have a good relationship with a supplier. It's important that folk reading in do understand that oil finishes are not the easy answer, but the results, in my opinion, outstrip any other product. Hendo...any comments on difference of quality of Tung oil between various producers and prices one could expect to pay? Happy oiling! Chris

Hello Di, I can't comment on pre-finished Oak flooring, I've little experience of it. A few options for finishing bare Oak boards. Hard wax oils are easily absorbed into the surface of the timber and easily applied but dry slowly, damage is more easily repaired and the appearance is more natural than a water based laquer finish, which dries quickly, is hardwearing and easy to clean and maintain, although damaged areas are not easy to repair. Oil finishes, Danish or Tung require building up to the desired finish, are resilient and easy to repair, oils leave the timber with the most natural appearance. The time factor may be a disincentive, although you only get out of Oak what you put into it. Good luck! Chris  

Never even seen a sign for one Brian! Ever thought of fishing? Chris

Excellent link, thanks Brian. Danish, Tung and finishing oils all reasonably priced. Chris

T'was me Dave, thanks for the link. I'm resigned to sourcing it from the UK now. The prices and availabilty are not tenable here, same goes for Tung oil. Chris

WJT, I don't understand why either, but I have seen capricorn beetles here on two seperate occasions when I was having timber sawn. On both occasions the beetle was at least 3 inches into the heartwood (Oak) and was immediately noticed by Dominic, my sawyer, who swore profusely and stamped on them. Old oak is very hard and I would be suprised if it was an environment that the Capricorn beetle would be happy with, but like I say, I don't know enough about the subject to be definitive enough for your needs. However, I do back up my previous statement, it's not at all good to have Capricorn in your timbers, they are entirely capababe of affecting the structural integrity of important timbers. I know of at least one person who is looking in here who has expert knowledge and who rarely posts, perhaps they could help? Cheers, Chris

The capricorn is a serious pest and has a vicious appetite, and yes it does very much enjoy munching the heartwood. I don't have enough in depth knowledge to offer very much more except to say that it needs to be taken very seriously and eradicated quickly and effectively. Chris

Following on from the cls scant posts below...... There must be alot of people moving to a rural environment and finding themselves in need of a chainsaw. The protective equipment is as important as the saw itself, head, eyes, ears, feet and legs need to be properly protected, take proper advice and buy the best money can buy. I'm a pro saw user and would never even entertain starting a chainsaw without being protected, to do so is seriously silly. Saws don't cut like knives, they rake flesh out at up to 25 metres per second (difficult to stitch) and smash bone. A fraction of a second and you've got an arterial bleed and then just a few moments..... As for the saws, the small Stihls are excellent, light and powerful and reliable (if serviced), the small Husqvarnas are not worth buying, heavier and the vibration levels are unnacceptable. Echo is up and coming, they have some excellent machines but in the top end of the range. Find someone who will show you how to go through basic maintenance and sharpening procedures, it wouldn't hurt to know basic crosscutting techniques either. Buy locally, it's alot easier to take a saw to your dealer here than it will be to return it to the UK, and you'll be helping local business. Oh....and leave the egos in the closet, testosterone and chainsaws don't mix too well! Any help I can give, please ask, or if you're anywhere near (Limousin, Creuse) then pop over. Salut, Chris

Dave, it would be an interesting exercise to compare the cost of a cubic metre of rough, mass produced, ecologically dubious softwood supplied by the diy outlets and the equivalent cost of local, traditionally sawn hardwood timber. I think you might be surprised, and imagine the fun you'll have and the contacts you'll make going to find out! Chris ps, a very bad week, 40th birthday and 10 year old son demands to know exactly where babies come from, jeeeeez.....

Interesting info Hendo, I use alot of Danish oil except on surfaces where food is to be prepared then I use Tung. It's not the fastest of processes but the finish is very much more natural than the varnish/acrylic type products that are readily available. Start with two or three coats of thinned oil, 50:50 to white spirit or turpentine, matted down in between with wire wool and then one or two coats of neat oil, the residue being wiped off. Tung oil has a different drying rate to Danish and requires more time between coats, You'll have to get Danish oil in any quantity outside of France, the cost here is prohibitive. Chris

[quote]Hello Chris Good to see another oak lover.. me too. Tell me; is your oak quarter sawn? what sort of mill do you have? Do you air dry, dehumidify or cook em? I think that the others we wanting Sap...[/quote] Hi Andrew, The love of Oak came from working on Oak trees for a number of years, then I started carving them and now I'm doing more traditional subjects, interior work mostly, but always the Oak comes first, not the machinery! I'm also very particular about the provenence of my Oak supplies, there's alot of red oak and cheap eastern european Oak being passed off as regional oak. I don't mill my own Oak, I use Dominic who has an extraordianary mobile setup and a lovely affinity with the tree also, his sawing tequniques are not truly quarter sawing but not far off, he understands the tensions and compressions going on in big section. Dehumid is my thing, minimum 6 months air dry for 30mm stock then into the chamber. Cheers, Chris

Bloody hell! What happened there? Chris Chris - I have deleted all the 'Hi' posts as requested Quillan

I remember years ago listening to a debate on talk radio UK, the subject was...'Is there such a thing as a job for life any more?', I think this followed a spate of redundancies in supposedly safe occupations, teachers, soldiers etc. Well, to cut it short, the panel which consisted of educationists, industrialists, civil servants etc concluded that a job for life no longer existed. Dr David Starkey was the chair and he summed up and included a phrase which has stuck with me and motivated me ever since...."Those who will be most successful in life will be those who are most able to invent themselves on society".....think on it. I hated school and still hate any sort of regime, and still do, I left just shy of 15 years old with nothing. I make my own luck, work hard and am honest and scrupulous and life is harder than I ever thought it would have been when I was growing! I never minded failing, what would bother me greatly would be to fail not having given 110%! I guess the moral is to just keep going, sure it gets tough sometimes, but just keep going...... Chris

I can help you out, although I'm sold out at the moment, the next batch should be ready mid-late summer. By the way I only supply Oak which is from the region and certificated, the two usual stock sizes are 30mm and 60mm and taken down to around 10-12%.  Cheers, Chris

Actually this post provokes me to share a system of replacing or creating interior walls combining natural materials, modern machinery and lateral thinking to come up with an interior look that cant be bought. To avoid a very long post, I'll try and put it quickly and simply..... green oak posts(chunky, say 4-6 inch square) morticed, tennoned and pegged into a frame, or into existing structural timbers, the inside faces of which are routed with two seperate channels to accept the lath, the lath having been ripped or split from a suitable timber (EITHER dried oak or sweet chestnut OR a green softwood, larch for instance), fix the lath into the two channels and insulate between then apply the lime render to the lath to whatever thickness is needed. Now the fun part! Shape and carve off the hard edges of the exposed faces of the uprights ( I have special tools to do this....trade secret!), sand and finish and you have a look that couldn't possibly be plasterboard! OK it's a slow and costly process, but the folk who built the old French houses and barns that we live in now went to the time and trouble so why shouldn't we, neither did they have Bricodepot down the road to load up plasterboard and 3x2 from, they used the materials that were available to them, the skills that had been passed down to them and they thought on their feet, and boy what results! Am I the only one here who moved to France to avoid filling up my home from B&Q and MFI? Salut, Chris

Excellent links Brian and Alan, thanks. Chris

Costs would depend on complexity of project, quality of material, finish required, joinery methods used and as Brian points out, the fitting. I'd be budgeting for 1000 to 1300 euros excluding fitting. Chris

We bought a Godin wood burner/cooker, it has about 20 kw output and have installed 4 radiators initially. Total cost so far is less than 4000 euro. Wood fired systems are hard work though, you have to plan to buy in firewood a couple of years in advance and rotate it, but there's nothing like the look of tons of firewood stacked up! Chris

Good question Fran, I'm planning to replace some internal studwork with large section oak and want to lath and plaster in between the oak,(plasterboard doesn't do it for me!) I'd love to find an authentic mix too, perhaps local masons might be a starting point? Chris

I asked a few weeks ago on the renovation page but no luck! I'm in need of 15 - 20 sq m of 16cm sq tommettes, we live in the Creuse near La Souterraine & Gueret and I can collect. Cheers,  

You never know what you're buying when you buy a product such as this, it's mass produced and the supplier doesn't really give a damn about it's moisture content or the relative humidity level of where it will end up. I'll bet the lambris will be produced from a country or region that has dubious forestry practices at best! Chris

Thanks for the input Val & Di, we're about to install and have been playing around with the various tangents available to us. I make things out of Oak and have the right to retail without having to pay insurance for a 10 year guarantee (although I'd guarantee my work for 110 years!), for instance I have a client who has asked me to timber frame the open end of a barn gable and to make them a kitchen, both of which I'll install for them, I have another client who I'm making several doors and a large oak floor for, I've assessed both risks as close to zero and will do the work. I've been totally honest with my clients and told them that I'm not interested in making masses of money nor do I want to pay masses of money out, that's not our reason for being here. HOWEVER...I won't trade here unless I'm totally legit, or as close to it as I can manage given the way I see life!!! In truth my wife oversees all the logistics of our business, I just don't understand all that crap and care even less about it, but I do tend to do as I'm told!! Chris (23)

Let us know how much your insurance quotation will be for the activities the c de met will register you for. Chris