March 2010

The shortest month is behind us, bring on Spring! (At least, that's what we are hoping for: longer evenings and warmer temperatures to replace the memories of snow, sleet and cold).

But enough about the weather, let's talk about the wonderful versatile world of wooden floors.

Any wooden floor benefits from regular maintenance to keep the wear and tear layer healthy, the wood protected against dirt and drips and when you have an oiled finish your floor will even become more beautiful over time.

In our maintenance leaflet you can read we advice to apply a maintenance product every 5 -6 months for this, but what to do in the meantime when you notice the floor has got some marks on it - due to spillages, prints from wet shoes or muddy paws? Applying a polish too often does result in a sticky layer, attracting more dust and dirt and doing the opposite of what it is supposed to do and that is to make your wood floor look good.

Any regular supermarket all-round cleaner could dissolve the protecting polish layer, making things worse. Always use a cleaning product that is specially made for wooden floors.
As with polishes you have to be aware of what type of finish your floor has, some cleaners are not suitable for all types.

In our secure webshop and in our Charing showroom we have two different special cleaners for you:

1. Lecol/Leha "Clean" (OH49), to be diluted in water for regular cleaning of both lacquered and oiled floors
2. Lecol/Leha "Wax and Clean" (OH32), again to be diluted in water for regular cleaning of oiled floors only. This product contains some polish too, so the floor will not easily dry up dull.

Never use too much water, always wring out the cloth well. Wood is a product of nature and does react by expanding when too much water is used or left on it.

Besides supplying you with quality wooden floorboards we also specialise in Design Parquet: from 5-finger mosaic floors, herringbone and basket weaves to elaborate design tiles in many patterns and then some.
Our Design Parquet manufacturer Lieverdink in The Netherlands has again added a new - and exciting - product to their bespoke range:

Tapis Pixels: "modern day" end-grain blocks.

Small wood blocks (30 x 30mm, 6.2mm thick) are glued onto transparent foil. The "end-grain" effect is created by turning each little block perpendicular to its neighbour. The gradual change in colour in the above example can be made by selecting lighter or darker pieces of wood per three or more rows.

Mixing different wood-species and colours are used to create a "mosaic" effect:

Just imagine what picuters you can "paint" with this new product!

See this special page - to be filled with more information shortly - for larger images of the Tapis Pixels and an example of "Art".

Call us on 01233 - 713725 for further details and prices, as you can imagine, these Pixels floors come with a lead time.

Book news: we're happy to inform you that the paperback version of the "Wooden Floor Installation Manual" is almost ready for its official launch! At the moment we are eagerly awaiting the proof of the book (ETA of proof end of this week) when we will also see if the additional font changes will make it 166 or 172 pages in total. Once the proof is approved by us it will take 5 - 6 days for the first batch of books to arrive in our showroom.

Which means you have until Sunday morning 14th March to pre-order the manual for only GBP 15.97 (includes the p&p), from then on the price will be set to its official price of GBP 17.97 (plus GBP 3.97 for p&p).

In the top left corner of this newsletter we tend to list the last, the best or the most "items" on our websites. This year the most popular wood floor so far seems to be the Triplank Oak Rustic Mix, "Siberia", oiled white-washed (prod 1WE-OAK-1F). We're not sure if this has had something to do with the "Arctic" weather pattens of late?
Thanks to the colour coordination between ranges "Siberia" is also available as "EcoPlank", "DuoPlank" and ProjectPlank. Request any of our Range leaflets to see interior design images of this popular finish.

Remember the "newsletter reader only" offer is now ongoing and valid every time you order 2 or more maintenance products, see the link on the left hand menu at the beginning of this newsletter.

The latest article on the FAQ & News site: "Do you like the taste of a bargain?"
The most popular guide in January: Paperback Pre-order Wooden Floor Installation Manual
Most frequently downloaded wood-manual article: "Solid Floors - what to note"
How to.... Use the promo-code with your order of maintenance products.

We will never divulge your details to others, we hate spam as much as you do!

Feel free to drop by, phone (01233 713725) or email us for any enquiry any day of the week, see below for our normal opening hours.

We are looking forward to welcome you and/or your customer in our showroom.
Our opening times are:
Tuesday - Saturday: 9.30am - 5pm
Sunday: By appointment only.
Monday: afternoon (times may vary)
Open on most Bank Holidays

Please try to avoid the notorious 'School-run' on School Road between 3.10 and 3.30pm

Kind Regards
Wood You Like Ltd
Karin Hermans / Ton Slooven
Brenchley Mews, School Road
Charing - Kent TN27 0JW