Sushi with style. Antique timbers and modern Japanese cuisine. High gastronomy on a Sunday night. There are many reasons to check out a recent addition to the culinary map of the Hunter’s Hill Peninsula. Restaurant critics have already spotted this gem in Sydney’s suburbs. The very chic Woolwich is home to Koi, a must see Japanese Restaurant. Sydney Morning Herald food critic, Simon Thomsen, writes in the Good Living section about this “delightful Japanese treat” and notices the “slick Asian fit-out”:

A mix of temple and Edo styles unfold amid honey-coloured timbers. The doors open to reveal a beautiful array of 40 candles. The sushi bar is backlit red, the timber tables bare. There’s an internal stone nakaniwa (courtyard) with a water feature tucked away from the main dining room with its heavy, timber beams, shoji screens and hand-painted bamboo and cherry-blossom wallpaper.

The antique timbers were sourced from Ironwood Australia and they help make this place a delight for the eyes as well as for the palate.

Koi restaurant featured in the Qantas inflight magazine (October 2008 edition) and is destined to be a success. It is an ideal way to finish the weekend after taking a walk past some of the grand old sandstone mansions of Hunter’s Hill and peering across Sydney harbour from Kelly’s Bush or from any number of vantage points around Woolwich.

Rumour has it that as recently as the late 1980’s, large timber sections from the demolition of our old historic buildings were ferried out to sea on a barge and set on fire. At that time there was no market for the timber and this solution was cheaper than disposing of the timber in a tip! It seems therefore that it is only in the last 15-20 years that people been made aware of the inherent beauty of old timbers and the fact that it is recyclable.

Knowing that we can reuse and restore the surfaces of our magnificent enduring hardwoods means that these timbers are now highly sought after.

The older trees that were harvested by our forefathers were usually hundreds of years old when they were logged and stood over ten stories high. Story has it that the imposing old trees would take two experienced axemen two days to fell, and a team of oxen a week to cart away. They weighed a ton and were as hard as concrete!

Such is the legend of our magnificent towering Australian eucalypts. For generations, they built our nation. The old trees may now be lost, but never forgotten…..as we start recycling them and revealing their awesome beauty.

At Ironwood we recycle timber from wharves, wool stores, shearing sheds, factories, warehouses, bridges, mills and derelict buildings. It is a lengthy and laborious process. Under normal circumstances a building which can be demolished in 2 weeks can take up to 3 months to take apart if we are to ensure the safe retrieval of all the recyclable timber. (Under normal circumstances the Blackwattle Bay Studios would have taken less than 2 weeks to demolish. As 98% of the material was recyclable we worked with demolishers for over 3 months to ensure the safe retrieval of the timber).

As fewer large demolition sites become available our recovery of demolition timbers has a limited supply – particularly as only high quality timbers make it to our mill. The timber has to be large enough to turn into product and must not be overly damaged – generally only around one third of a total haul is recyclable. Of course the larger demolition jobs have larger quantities and generally bigger timbers, which we prefer as they provide better product consistency and can satisfy economic order quantities.

The process of converting a large timber beam into wideboard flooring involves patience and precision. Each beam has to be metal detected and de-nailed manually. This is a labour intensive and tedious process. Once free of metal bolts and nails, the timber needs to be dried. Once it is dried it is cut into planks or subjected to a surface skim, which exposes a new surface layer to the elements.

Even though this timber is already seasoned and dry, it still “pulls” a different way every time after being cut so needs to be air dried again.

The time frame for this process alone is dependent on the species and how exposed to the weather the timber may have been. It can take between 3 – 6 months before the entire drying process is completed.

Only then will we mill it into tongue and groove flooring sections.

The old timber clearly has more character and definition, and now having been seasoned over the years, and re-seasoned, the timber is inherently more stable.

The Colours of Recycled Timbers

The structures that we recycle were built from timbers found in the immediate vicinity, logged without regard to species.

In heavily wooded areas it is also not uncommon that we find trees that have cross pollinated – thus making it extremely difficult to distinguish similar species.

So now, when we recycle these timbers we usually find a range of creams, browns and reds of varying species.

We therefore market our recycled woods as either ‘creams’, ‘browns’ or ‘reds’ – the colours invariably being highly complimentary, as it is usually impossible to sort and sell the timbers by species alone.

You really need to go into a showroom. Ironwood Australia doesn’t do it any other way. They have on display over 70 different timber samples and their display rack boards are prepared out of stock that they currently have on-hand. Their range of wideboard, narrow board, recycled and regrowth (new) timbers is the largest on display anywhere in Sydney.

All you need to bring is a reliable estimate of the floor area (i.e. sqr mtrs) to be covered. Ironwood has some interesting advice:

“Did you know that you should never select a timber based purely in its species. We can show you display panels from the same specie that look entirely different. It is important that you receive the same coloured floor that you selected – therefore come in and see us and make sure of your selections.”

Once you have selected the timber you want call in a floor layer to visit you at your site and give you a quote.

Ironwood Australia has developed their own proprietary CHOICE timber selection system to ensure that our clients consider all the important and relevant selection criteria that may impact on their selections. Choosing timber is not just about Colour. There are other considerations – Hardness, Originality, Individuality, Climate and Environment.

Durability of our Australian hardwoods is without peer. We have some of the hardest timbers in the world – it is usually the finishes on the floors that are damaged, not the hardwearing timber itself, which can easily be re-sanded and polished.

• Ideally suited to high traffic areas.
• Unsuitable in high moisture areas such as bathrooms and laundries.
• Outside areas that get wet (decks, patios and verandas) better suited to decking timber rather than tongue and groove sections.

The benefits of owning timber floors are many:

The natural beauty of selected hardwoods, with their range of colours, features and tones, are guaranteed to enhance the floor of any home.

Timber floors are non-allergenic. Timber provides an easy to clean surface, which is ideal for asthmatics and hay fever sufferers.

When compared with alternative floor coverings, timber floors are very competitively priced and are a preferable investment option.

Timber floors are considered to have the lowest maintenance requirements.

Timber flooring is also considered to enhance the value of a home and is therefore a wise investment compared with other floor coverings.

Timber floors are however noisier than carpet. There are however a variety of systems that are effective in reducing timber acoustics in multi-storey dwellings to acceptable body corporate levels.

Speak to Ironwood Australia’s staff if you would like more information on this subject, as it is a study within itself.