Wood You Like F.A.Q. & News

Introduction offer: Triplank Mammoet Oak Smoked & Aged

Our most popular wood-engineered floor - The Basic Oak Rustic with 4mm solid Oak top layer, brushed & oiled - has been joined with its 'Great-Uncle' as we like to call this new addition to the Triplank family:

Basic (Triplank) Mammoet Oak Smoked & Aged wood-engineered 1-strip floorboards - finished with a natural oil and with micro-bevels on the long sides.

This floor has normal (high quality) T&G construction for easy installation, can be installed floating or glued-down and is suitable for underfloor heating.

Measurements: 15 x 189 x 1860mm, 2.81 sq m per pack.

Our introduction price: £ 49.97 ex VAT per sq m.

Add natural age and beauty to your home in a simple but value adding way, wooden features do add on average 5 - 10% value to your home (or buy-to-let property), is easy to clean, anti-allergic and becomes more beautiful the longer it's down.

Buy it now through our webshop: see article 1WE-OAK-5 (3rd product on the page).

Advice on wooden flooring at hand (and appreciated)

Click on picture for enlargement.

If you are looking for quality products too and want to know - in your own area - what the signs of good quality products and quality companies are, download our "11 Key Questions Check-List when shopping for wooden flooring".
It might save you time and money too.

(If you live in the Kent area, just drop by in our showroom and be assured of quality in products and advice!)

Wood-Engineered Basic Range addition

In our Basic Range of natural wooden flooring we have welcomed a new addition: Wood-Engineered Oak Rustic small board pre-oiled.
(We are awaiting a picture showing you this floor in an interior design, like you are used from us to show the whole character of the floor, in the meantime we've selected an image that still gives you a good indication of how the floor will look in your home.)

The small board measures: 14.5 x 145 x 1820mm with T&G construction and has a solid Oak top layer of 3.6mm, micro-beveled and pre-oiled.
Like most of our wood-engineered boards it is suitable for all areas, including kitchens, utilities, conservatories and even on underfloor heating.

Our newest addition is packed per 1.583 sq m and is now available for £ 37.97 ex VAT per sq m (£ 60.11 ex VAT per pack)

Find out now how wooden flooring can add value to your home

Here’s proof - that wooden flooring can add value to your home - with almost immediate effect.  In a recent national survey (carried out by woodfloors.org) 90 % of real estate agents said that houses with wood flooring are more marketable, 58% agreed that homes with wooden floors sell for more money, and 46% agreed that homes with wooden floors  sell more quickly than those without.

Will this help you? Find out now........

(Redirects to our online questionnaire: answer 10 multiple choice questions and we will send you - with no obligations whatsoever - our free 5 - 6 pages report based on your specific answers).

FSC ID code for Wood You Like

This week FSC-UK.org has granted Wood You Like Ltd  an unique ID code: FSC-GBR-1019.

This unique ID-code guarantees you that the products we label FSC certified are genuine FSC certified and authorises Wood You Like to use the FSC-trademark. In order to receive this unique code any retailer selling to domestic clients has to prove their purchases really do come directly from a FSC-certified company/manufacturer.

You can be absolutely sure that when we promote one of our products as FSC-certified it definitely is. It ensures you it comes from well-managed forests, sustaining not only the environment but also its local population.

Always look for the FSC logo and unique ID code when retailers promote FSC products: it tells you that they are genuine authorised by FSC-UK.org to use the Trademark.

And of course, besides FSC certified products we supply PEFC certified products, like most of our Design Parquet blocks and patterns.

(This announcement is also the 100th's article on our FAQ & News site!)

Cast iron buffing block now with 100% guarantee

The most effective and eco-friendly way to maintain your natural wooden floor the easy way! 100% guaranteed!

Every wooden floor benefits from maintenance treatments. Modern polishes are easy to apply and our eco-friendly 7kg weighing cast-iron buffing block makes light work of it.

Read more.......

Aged & Distressed in a modern construction

Our Aged & Distressed (Destressed) Range - the Chapel and Hertogs original Oak 'parket' floors, are products that respect traditional wood flooring methods and are produced with care and attention. These floors combine a homely, aged appearance with modern convenience: they are resistant to lactic acid (which means they are suitable for kitchens and even bathrooms) and they are virtually maintenance free.

When you combine this traditional appearance with the modern construction of thick wood-engineered boards - a 6mm Solid Oak top-layer on 15mm water-resistant-plywood (like our Duoplank range) it opens up a whole new world: tradition with ultimate stability, durability with eco-friendliness.

Did you know that 5.5 cubic meter Oak trunks can produce 95 sq m of Solid Oak floorboards 20mm thick and that the same cubic meters will produce an amazing 450 sq m of Solid Oak top-layer of 6mm thick! Almost 5 times as much! If you then also know that the birch used to make the 11 layers of water-resistant-plywood comes from dedicated Birch plantations - meaning no devastating deforestation takes place, like any wood that pays it stays - the choice between solid or wood-engineered floorboards is an easy one.

Our Aged & Distressed (Destressed) Chapel and Hertog's range will now only contain wood-engineered floors:

The so-called load-bearing 'In-between' Floor with 6mm Solid top layer on water resistant birch plywood in 10 great colours (from natural to double smoked oiled white, from smoked natural to scraped black/red oiled)

Hand-scraped standard wood-engineered floors (4mm solid Oak top layer, total thickness 15mm) in 4 colours and the Hand-aged wood-engineered boadd in the same colour varieties and thickness.

Combining traditional appearance with modern construction equals an eco-friendly solution.

(calculation of sq m per cubic meter by MeisterWerke)

Books on Trees - facts, folklore and more

There are so many facts, folklore and tales about trees it is hard to capture every interesting aspect of it. Nature is too versatile, we all know that. But nonetheless, Wood You Like has managed to source a whole set of pocket books dedicated to trees:
"The Collector's series on Trees" by Sage Press.



Every pocket book tells you about the folklore connected to the tree, what it was/is used for, how it grows, where it grows and many more facts and even historical tales.

"Of all the trees that grow so fair
Old England to adorn
Greater are none beneath the sun
Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn"
(Kipling, A Tree Song)

To collect yourself, give as present or to read out from to your children or grand children and share your love of nature with.
The following 13 titles are available: Ash, Box, Cedar of Lebanon, Chequer, Fig, Hawthorn, Holly, Lime, Monkey Puzzle, Mulberry & Silk, Oak, Sitka Spruce and Yew.

Special offer for set of 12 (your choice of titles) wrapped in a leather slipcase:
Slipcase no longer available, so we're adding 4 titles to the set:
Topiary Shapes, Bestial Box, Topiary for Kids and Topiary for Everyone to the set.
An unique set of 17 titles for only £ 79.00 plus p&p (£3.00)

Wooden Flooring and Water - a case-study

New Wood Floor Guide published:

Wooden Flooring and Water - a case study

Wood likes water as long as it is a tree - once the tree is cut and turned into durable products, like natural wooden flooring or furniture it is a combination that can cause problems.

Accidents do happen of course. This guide is partly a case study, partly advice and tips from us as wood flooring specialists and from an insurance specialist on what to do to prevent more damage when such an accident should happen in your home.

Case-study:

Wood You Like received the following 'cry for advice' (*1) through the 'ask a question' webform:

"About 10 years ago we purchased a wooden floor for our kitchen and dining room from a company that no longer exists. The floor is oak (French oak?), tongue and groove.
We have had a leak from our water tank onto a section of the flooring. The area affected was about 2m x 2m and although the boards have dried out quite well in the last week, the floor has buckled and has a pronounced ridge where the water has penetrated. There are also some stains on the wood. We are in need of advice as to how to proceed and what kind of restoration work may be needed. Are you able to give us some help? We could email pictures if that would assist."

Read more....       

The plain truth about natural wooden flooring in your home

Wood Floor Fact Sheet - now available:

Do you know how to IMMEDIATELY increase

the value of your house and the comfort of your home? 

Adding new or restored natural wooden flooring will definitely increase the value and comfort to any house and home immediately. Yours included.

It's a known fact - even before the 'credit-crunch' effect on the housing market.

FACT:

According to WoodCare adding wooden features to your home will increase its value between 5 to 15%.

From stripping down wooden banisters and exposing their natural character, re-instating real wood doors and especially installing real wooden floors in the main areas - it will all have an instant positive effect.

And it's not just that you can ask more for your house than your neighbour - estate agents and existing clients tell us again and again that homes with wooden floors sell quicker!

Read more....

Wood You Like, the wooden flooring specialist - Guardian Magazine

In March we reported we had received a request from the editor of the Guardian Magazine - Space Solves - to advice one of their readers on how to take care of a poor parquet floor and of course we did this to the best of our ability as we do with every request for advice.

We are happy to report that in the publication of our advice (Guardian Magazine - Saturday 3 May) we are labeled wooden flooring specialists:

Pity our poor parquet

Our 28-year-old parquet flooring is black where it has been trodden on heavily, while other parts are stained and faded. How can I lift the stains? I clean it with a damp, soapy mop.

'I'm afraid the black areas are a result of not treating the floor soon enough when the finish had worn off,' says Karin Hermans of wooden flooring specialist Wood You Like (01233 713725, woodyoulike).

Read more............

At your service, as always. And while we're on the subject of maintaining a valuable parquet floor properly - read our "3 Easy Steps to Clean and Maintain Your Parquet Floor" to make sure your own parquet floor doesn't need the 'drastic' steps of resanding - or worse, being covered up with carpet!

Testimonial on Eco-friendliness from a very young nature lover

Earlier this year we gifted, through the post, a little miracle of nature – a beautiful, locally handpicked, acorn to many of our contacts (perhaps even you).

We hope they all have given it a honourable spot in their garden and that they will undoubtedly get many years of pleasure from this most magnificent of trees as it matures over the next 40 years.

Now it’s time to share ‘the story’ behind our unusual gift.

In September last year we received an Oak sapling from one of our clients together with a mind-provoking letter:

The letter goes on to thank us for the installation, but of course we gratefully accepted Tom’s gift (see picture right) and have given it a good home.

All our wooden flooring, from Basic Oak to Bespoke, come from sustainable sources, be it FSC or PEFC certified. Thanks to sustainable forest management more trees are planted than are harvested.  In fact, European re-forestation grows by an area the size of Cyprus every year!

You can, just as our little nature-loving son of our client, rest assured that purchasing your wooden floor from Wood You Like will be an eco-friendly purchase – one with a delivery time of 4 weeks, not 40 years!

Ps: all our clients who buy a natural wooden floor during our 5th Anniversary Celebrating year will receive our very popular ‘Walking with Wood’ comfy clog-style slippers – 1 pair for free for every purchase of 10 sq m or more.

From little Acorns....

"From little Acorns mighty Oaks will grow"

How to ‘Grow your own floor’ - a special gift of natural wonder, from us to you.

On this special occasion of our 5th Anniversary we are gifting you a little ‘miracle of nature’, a beautiful acorn, hand collected from a natural forest locally, so you too can start growing your very own ‘genuine oak flooring’. (Request to have a little miracle of nature send to you by filling the form below, sorry, none left!)

Estimated delivery time for your oak floor - approx 40 years.

Meanwhile, the oak in your garden will provide you with many years of pleasure – and guaranteed, you will get so fond of it you won’t want to chop it down.  So, perhaps a quicker, more reliable way of getting your ‘genuine oak flooring’ is to give Wood You Like, the wood flooring specialists, a call on 01233 713725.

Revised delivery time for your oak flooring - within 4 weeks!

What you need to know about growing your own floor:

• The Oak is part of the Beech family - its Latin name is Quercus.
• Your Oak tree can easily live 200 years and more - the oldest known Oak tree in the UK is said to be about 1,000 years old.
• Only after about 25 years will your Oak start to produce its own acorns.
• It takes, on average, up to 35 years for an Oak tree to reach maturity (approx height of 25 – 30 metres).
• A mature Oak tree can draw up 190 litres of water a day from your garden.
• After felling your tree, it will need to go through various drying processes (lumber stacks, turning, dry-sheds, kiln drying, and more, taking up to 3 years) to reduce its moisture content, in a gentle and natural manner to prevent it splitting, before it can eventually be cut into timber or floor boards – and then dried further before you can lay them, with pride, in your home.
• From 1 cubic metre of tree you might get 20 sq metres of 21mm thick solid boards, or up to 90 sq metres of precision Wood-Engineered floorboards.

5th Anniversary Wood You Like

Happy New Year !

And what a new year it will be: a whole year with special offers to celebrate Wood You Like's 5th Anniversary.

We'll start with a very special gift to every client purchasing our quality natural wooden flooring:

Browse our website and online shop to select your own high quality natural wooden flooring and stay tuned for more special offers, attractions and celebrations.

Pre-view of Interior Design pictures of our flooring

Our policy on sending out small samples of wood is known - it will never show you the full character of the wood and/or grade of any wood type. In order to help you select the best suited floor for your taste or existing/new Interior Design we have created a whole file of 58 High Resolution Interior Design Pictures of the Duoplank an Solid Range.

For a very small fee - of which 75% will be donated by us to a local Nature and Educational Project called The Green Gang - you can download the file (also containing our Duoplank and Solid range leaflet) from our E-booklet and leaflet page.

For a pre-view of the pictures, start the 'video' below.
(If your browser doesn't show the video - try here - stand alone page)

                    

all 58 Pictures to help you choose your unique Natural Wooden Flooring from Wood You Like

This video content presented here requires JavaScript to be enabled and the  latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player. If you are you using a browser with JavaScript disabled please enable it now. Otherwise, please update your version of the free Flash Player by downloading here.

Lieverdink PGN Supplier of the Year

This month another of our trusted suppliers won an award: Lieverdink Parketfabriek (design – bespoke parquet).
Yearly the PGN (Parket Groep Nederland, 40 independent wood flooring retailers working together under the slogan “Our Craftsmanship is Your Guarantee”) selects three suppliers in wooden flooring and/or wooden flooring accessories who, according to all the PGN members deliver the best quality in products and service.
Jan Stigter, chairman of PGN, explained the reasoning behind awarding Lieverdink the first price this year:

“Perseverance in quality production, utmost believe and trust in their own products and the ability to pass on this message in a simple way to their clients made Lieverdink the worthy winner this year.”

A slightly surprised Gerben Lieverdink accepted the award during the annual End-of-Year reception of PGN in Baarn.
Lieverdink also won the price in 2001 and 2004.

(parquet flooring based on traditional craftsmanship)

News source Parketplein/PGN 27.11.07

Latin American Trade Award 2007: our Duoplank manufacturer

Inpa Parket bv has been awarded first price of The Latin American Trade Award 2007. This award is an initiative of the Dutch Department of Economical Affairs, ABN-Amro, The Netherlands-Latin America Business Council (NLABC) and KPMG.

A pre-selection placed four Dutch companies together in the race for this award and on Thursday 15 November Inpa was announced the winner. During the award ceremony - at the Head-Office of ABN-Amro - the award was handed over by Drs Chris Buijink, secretary-general of the Dutch Department of Economical Affairs, to Arthur Hoetelmans of Inpa Parket.

The ceremony followed after various presentations and talks on "changes and opportunities in trading with/in Latin America."

"Our ongoing involvement, in a sustainable and responsible way, in South America's forestry combined with assisting the local community with development and employment has contributed greatly to us winning the award."

(Renier Hoetelmans, Inpa)

Inpa Parket owns a FSC-certified forest in Bolivia and is involved in reforestation projects in Paraguay.

(News source: Inpa, Parketplein)

Chapel Parket Uk presents more Hertog

Chapel Parket UK has extended its Original Hertog Aged & Destressed Oak floorboard range. And of course, the place to see new samples of the various natural smoked and oiled natural or in popular colours (like White, Red, Grey and Gothic) is in our showroom in the lovely village of Charing, Kent.

The boards (Solid 160 - 180mm wide, thick engineered 180 - 260mm wide) are either aged or scraped (without damaging the Tongue and Groove construction, very important!) and are all pre-finished.

Solid Aged 160 - 180mm natural oiled or oiled white
Wood-Engineered Aged 180mm natural oiled or oiled white

Solid Aged 160 - 180mm smoked natural or white, double smoked natural or white
Wood-Engineered Aged 180mm in same colours

Solid Scraped 160 - 180mm Red, Grey, Gothic or Red-Black oiled
Wood-Engineered 18mm same colours

Wider Wood-Engineered boards available at a surcharge.

Also available in matching colours are flat beading, skirting boards and stair-nosing to finish your whole room in the same style.

'Real Wood' Campaign gains more support

Dutch participation in ‘Real Wood’ Campaign

The following Dutch manufacturers have affiliated themselves with the ‘Real Wood’ Campaign of the European Federation of Parquet Industry:

• Albers Parket fabrieken
• Dekora Parket
• Inpa Parket
• M.J.D. Parket
• Parketfabriek Lieverdink
• Van Kesteren Parketfabriek
• Grönloh Parket
• and Beter Hout.

The participation of the eight Dutch parquet manufacturers is the result of talks between the FEP and Parket Alliance.

The list of participants on www.realwood.eu already mentions 40 manufacturers who fully support the campaign (and carry the ‘Real Wood’ logo).

(News source: Parketplein/BWD/FEP, 15.10.07)

Ranges: From Basic Oak to real Bespoke

Our Charing showroom is home to around 117 large samples of different wood flooring types, or as we like to say: From Basic Oak to Bespoke. Ample choice for you, from simple wood-engineered Oak Rustic 3-strip, flamy Tropical (FSC) Tarrara Amarillo Duoplank or Solid floorboard to Prime Oak Design Parquet in many patterns.

Our bespoke parquet design comes in at least 25 different 'standard' patterns - in many combinations of wood types - and even then our manufacturer (Lieverdink Parket) can make bespoke even more bespoke by altering the chosen pattern at the request of our clients (when possible of course).

Below is an 'adapted' Versailles panel (or adapted "Hackfort") - a whole block in the middle instead of the 'standard' two wood strips -  in Prime Oak and this is the story we received from our delighted client:

"Hi Karin,

Having trawled the timber suppliers in the UK and Europe, plus the so called timber floor experts in the South my wife and I were on the brink of giving up on finding a supplier who could help.
Having spoken to Karin on the phone we decided to drive down to Wood You Like's premises in the wilds of Kent. We decided if she couldn't help we would give up. Our aim was to find a supplier that knew what a Versailles panel was, at a reasonable price, and a short delivery.

Karin knew exactly what we wanted, spoke to her factory in Holland whilst we were there, in Dutch (of course). Stated that it would be no problem, gave us a very competitive price and confirmed delivery would be about 10 days.
At last, so within 10 minutes of meeting we placed our order. Had confirmation the next day, and hey presto a very large lorry showed up 10 days later with our beautiful Premium Oak panels, exactly as promised.

Many thanks Karin for your excellent service from start to finish. A real pleasure, the photographs do not do the floor justice."

Kind regards

Kevin Beasant
(Senior Manager The Wilton Carpet Factory Limited, Wilton Wiltshire)

Black = back! Wenge versus Thermo Treated Oak

Black is the new... black
Designers are looking for warm and dark colours, also in wooden flooring. Staining an Oak floor will just be that: Oak with a darker colour where the grains will stand-out darker than the surrounding wood. Tropical wood comes in many colours, from red-brown to pitch black (like Wenge or Panga Panga), but comes with a price.

Our Wenge Duoplank (6mm Solid Wenge top layer on 15mm water-resistant-plywood) is black, in natures own variations of black and comes with a price tag of £ 99.47 (ex VAT) per sq m, pre-oiled.

But there is an alternative: Duoplank Thermo Heated Oak - black without pronouncing only the grain. It's a through and through 'stain', nothing superficial about it. Placed next to our Wenge sample board you can see the similarity in colour:

Price wise, a complete difference: only £ 58.97 (ex VAT) per sq m pre-oiled.

Ask us for more details, availability and accessories for your own warm, dark, sustainable wooden floor. You can call us (01233 - 713725), email us, or visit our showroom in Charing, Kent.

Wicanders WicCork on DIY-SOS

BBC's DIY-SOS team will show - in two of their new programs - how Wicanders WicCork can help to create your dream room.
Not just once, but twice have they used this versatile and available in many colours, designs and textures to help out desperate DIY-ers. The first program will be aired on Wednesday 26 September from 8.00pm on BBC1.

For  preview of the Wicanders WicCork see our "Colours and Design" page.

Personal and dedicated service, the proof is in the pudding

On this blog and on our websites (Supply and Install 'division' - "DIY with a Difference" division) our aim to supply quality products and service is frequently mentioned. And we pride ourselves that our clients frequently acknowledge this fact by sending us testimonials and feedback.

One of the promises "Why You Know Wood You Like Provides the Greatest Value in Wooden Flooring" is:

The personal and dedicated service you receive will continue for as long as you need us. Our growing band of delighted clients, with their glowing testimonials and feed back are your confirmation and assurance of the quality and service you will receive of Wood You Like, THE natural wooden flooring specialists in the UK.

Recently, after we installed a Duoplank Oak Rustic, brushed & oiled natural our client remarked that the doors (trimmed to the new height of the floor and wooden threshold) seem to be scraping over the threshold. Our job is only finished when our client is happy. The following (email) conversation is our 'proof in the pudding' of this week:

Dear Jay

As discussed with you yesterday I mentioned to Ton that the doors in your home touch the thresholds etc. Before he left he checked all of them, but he believes the doors (hardwood) are a bit too heavy for the little screws in the hinges. We have no problem whatsoever to come round again, but removing more material from the bottom of the doors, while the cause is the screws might not be the way forward (the door will 'drop' again and in the end you might end up with a gap between the top of the door and door post.)
Please advice. If needed Ton can come round later tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

Kind Regards
Wood You Like Ltd
Karin Hermans

Karin,

I will come back you on this. I may be able to get my father (who hung the doors) to replace the screws with longer ones if this is the case. I have a feeling that one of the doors may still need a trim but we'll try longer screws first - as we don't want them falling off in the long run.

Can I take this opportunity to thank you and Ton for a fantastic job. The floors look superb and Ton has finished the fitting to a very high standard. My Father commented that it was a very tidy job - and as a carpenter he is hard to please!!! We appreciate your patience with our fussiness too - we can be awkward clients I am aware.

Please feel free to use any of these comments on your customer comments section of your website etc if you wish.

Many thanks,

Jay & Lorraine

We are awaiting the news if replacing the short screws with longer ones has resolved the problem. If not, we're on our way - as promised.

'Old-fashion' wood mosaic available on-line

Renovating/restoring an old property and in need of renewing, replacing, adding on Old-Fashion wood mosaic tiles? The so-called 5-finger blocks of thin strips of wood in easy to install tiles?

We now have various wood-types available from our Charing Showroom and on-line for you to finally complete any project. The wood-types are the most 'commonly' used in the old days.

All wood-types are unfinished, so you can use your own matching colour or leave it natural with HardWaxOil, and come with mesh or felt-backing for easy installation with normal parquet adhesive (like Lecol5500 or F.Ball B92 - Stycobond)

Oak Natural £ 25.00 per sq m (ex VAT)

Genuine Teak £ 27.50 per sq m (ex VAT)

Rhodesian Teak £ 27.50 per sq m (ex VAT)

Merbau £ 27.50 per sq m (ex VAT)

All our products now available to buy on-line (securely)

Since today you are able to buy all of our products: natural wooden flooring either solid or engineered, fitting & finishing materials, underlayment and maintenance products on-line.
(Two categories are still in process for this: Design parquet patterns in various wood-types and thresholds/beading - we expect these to be available soon)

Buying on-line from Wood You Like's online shop is secure, we are using Secure Hosting, and simple.

(We did notice that some browsers don't show the freight costs at once, only after going to the check-out - no need to complete the whole process - and to click on the 'next' button. This will generate the appropriate 'cookie' and the freight costs will show from then on in cart total and check-out.)
The freight costs for delivery anywhere on mainland UK are between minimum £ 15.00 and maximum £ 175.00 - most orders will be shipped directly from our manufacturers (mainland Europe) to your doorstep. This to avoid damage by having to re-load your order constantly from one delivery truck to the other.

We also have created the posibility for you to browse our online shop, download a quotation form and receive a specified no-obligations best price quote from us (these quotations will be written 'manually' on a one-to-one base and during our normal working hours, so please allow maximum 36 - 48 hours for this.

Of course, you always more than welcome to visit our showroom to see, touch, feel our over 100 different floors for yourself, send us an email with your requirements or give us a call.

After all, we here to provide you with the greatest value in natural wooden flooring and service!

Fitting & Finishing materials: BUY ON-LINE

Wood You Like is working hard to have all high quality products from the (online) showroom available for buying on-line.

The first range of products available are our Fitting and Finishing Materials (from HardWaxOil to Wood-Filler).

See our "on-line" showroom Fitting and Finishing page for more details.

More products from our ranges will be available to BUY ON-LINE as soon as possible.

More sustained success in Bolivia

Beginning this year our Duoplank Manufacturer Inpa Parket started a very special project in Bolivia: together with thirty Indian families the company owns and runs over 26.000 hectare of FSC-certified forest. In the just released newsletter "Good News!" from FSC-The Netherlands Inpa director Arthur Hoetelmans explains more about this unique joint-venture:

"We support the Indian community, named Cururu, of thirty families intensely. For instance, we teach them how to use machinery and felling of trees. Based on a sustainable method of course, in order for them to create an income from the forest without destroying it. The wood they sell from it is sub-tropical and can be used for furniture and flooring. The standard FSC-regulations are for this project adjusted on one point: the Indians are still allowed to hunt in the forest."

Inpa Parket joint FSC-The Netherlands in 1998 and has been active in Bolivia for longer.

"It has always been our desire to do something more for the local community. When we were offered a PSOM-subsidy for investments in developing countries we decided to start this project."

Inpa Parket now also works together with two other Indian communities and the certifying of the project will be ready end of 2008.

(news sources: Inpa, FSC-The Netherlands, Parketplein)

Download to Nature

In our April newsletter we explained our sample policy: Samples, why not. Because of the rich characteristics in natural wood we know that a tiny sample of any wood-type will never show you nature's variety in full.
This tiny sample (even larger than most companies do send out), is supposed to be a sample of Oak Smoked and Oiled natural. If you are able to see the whole spectrum of an Oak Smoked and Oiled natural floor you will see this (picture right):

A very wide variety in colours, from very dark (like the tiny sample) to lighter and very light. Some boards have many knots, some none at all, some boards might even have medullary rays ('flecks' or 'mirrors'). At Wood You Like we feel strongly that the best way to select the natural wooden floor most suited for your unique interior design is by looking at very large samples in our showroom or for us to present you with high resolution Interior Design Pictures to show off the rich characteristics of natural wooden flooring.

And that's what we have launched just now: a first batch of 58 high resolution Interior Design Pictures from our Duoplank and Solid Flooring range downloadable from our website. More ranges will follow very soon.

We use a secure server for the downloads and have to ask you a very small donation for this. In keeping with our sustainable sources policy we will however donate 75% of all revenue from the downloads to a local nature group: The Charing Alderbed and Wetland Meadow Conservation Group. (You can find more details about this nature project on our website.)

Special offer on Wicanders WiCCork series 100

Our cork range flooring comes in many colours and designs (not just 'boring' brown). And until the end of June 2007 all 4 'Collections' in the Series 100 are reduced in price to £ 27.50 per sq m (ex VAT)

Series 100: cork floorboards (10.5 x 295 x 900mm) with cork-lock, Extreme WRT (Wear-Resistant-Technology) finish and built-in thermal insulation and built-in acoustic insulation (the natural characteristics of cork).

In our showroom we have 12 of the 30 different colours and desing on show for you. (Please note, on small orders we might have to charge a little bit extra for freight-costs - maximum £ 40,00, but this depends on how quickly you would like your cork flooring delivered)

New Range: Antique Hand scraped and Hand destressed Oak

Wood You Like is happy to announce the addition of Hertog's Antique Handmade Oak wood-engineered range into their Charing showroom:

Hand scraped Oak Rustic and Hand destressed Oak Rustic, both pre-oiled in 4 colours:
Oiled Natural, Oiled White, Smoked and Smoked White oiled.

The Antique Hand destressed boards have a character of timelessness that fits with nearly every interior design style; the Antique Hand scraped boards add that rough texture you expect from floors centuries old.

Both types are 15mm thick with a 4mm Solid Oak top layer, bevelled on the long sides and are pre-finished oiled for quick and problem free installation in any room. The construction of the wood-engineered boards make this range also suitable to be installed in kitchens and conservatories.

Visit our showroom in Charing to see and feel the newest innovation from The Netherlands or see our online showroom for prices and other details.

Managing 60,000 football pitches

We recently reported on our (Dutch) Duoplank manufacturer's involvement with Forest Stewardship Council and reforestation in South America.

FSC and creating sustainable forests is on ongoing business. Life is 'give and take'. This rule applies more than ever in the 30,000 hectare FSC forest owned and managed by Inpa in Bolivia.

"Put everything back into the forest what you have taken out. Call upon the services of the local inhabitants, but give them their due. Show respect for all forms of life in and around the forest."

This is the philosophy which J. Roosenboom, founder of the Dutch company, believed in 20 years ago and implemented his philosophy with reforestation projects in Paraguay.

In 2001 the company bought its own forest in Bolivia, South America. Sustainable management of the forest by the company is also the key to long-term operational management - in and around the forest. A fully self-supporting micro-economy has been created: the forest has its own road infrastructure, its own water and energy suppliers, not only benefiting the company and the forest but also the local residents, who are closely involved in the project.

FSC in practice
Managing a forest of 30,000 hectare is no sinecure. The surface area is roughly the same amount as 60,000 football pitches. The management procedure in itself is impressive:

• The forest engineer and helpers search the depths of the forest for trees and gradually make a map of the whole area
• An (ongoing) inventory of the forest is drawn up
• The FSC has to grant permission for tree-felling, requested per 'block' of forest
• In each block trees are cut selectively - the block is then closed for at least a quarter of a century and is only accessible to scientist who carry out research.
• Every cut tree bears a permanent accompanying FSC label.

The 'harvested' trees are then processed in one of the 4 company's own sawmills in Bolivia. The equipment of these sawmills are the state of the art: a modern saw, a self-grinding machine for saw-blades and an adjustable 'intelligent' decision-maker, The Opticut, which decides how each plank must be sawn.
The wood is pre-dried in the drying-sheds before it's transported further to the company's parquet factory in Paraguay and from there finds its way to final destinations all over the world.

To our showroom in Charing for instance. Wood You Like has a whole range of Duoplanks on show, from the Oak range to - of course - most of the FSC wood species.

Wicanders WicCork colour palet

Wicanders "The Natural Choice for Environmental Floors"

On our website you can now find all colours and designs available in the following WicCork ranges:

• Originals
• Identity
• Personality
• Nuance

Chose Natural Cork flooring for any of the following benefits:

• Built-in thermal insulation
• Built-in acoustic insulation
• Comfortable to walk and stand on
• Extremely wear resistant
• Increased slide resistance
• Enhances natural features
• Easy maintenance
• Healthy and hygienic
• Environmental friendly
• Fast and easy installation

For more information on Natural Cork, visit our showroom (24 large samples) or our speciality page

Samples, why not

Wood is a wonderful product of nature, very versatile in species.

But nature also 'dictates' very versatile characteristics in every species, making everything individual (like human beings, we're all different in shape, looks, colour and character).

Wood is no different, every individual board has its own colour, look, character. One piece of Oak Rustic can have many knots, sapwood areas and even some medullary rays. Another piece of Oak Rustic (even cut from the same tree) can have a completely different appearance: tiny knots perhaps, slightly darker in colour than its 'neighbouring' board and no medullary rays at all.

That's what makes a wooden floor so natural, but also makes it hard to choose a floor from a tiny sample send out to you. It can never show you all its natural variety.
That's why Wood You Like has large sample boards in the showroom, containing at least three different pieces (single boards) in the sample to give you the correct best impression of how that type of flooring, that type of wood in that type of grade and colour can look like.
That's why Wood You Like websites and online showroom shows interior design pictures, not pictures of a piece of wood. We want to 'show-off' the richness of nature's varied character.