Hevea Hardwood

postsnthing

Hi All

I am trying to source some Hevea (rubber tree) timber for kitchen worktop and to manufacture an island unit.

I have rang around an number of irish timber suppliers and they have either not heard of it don't stock it and don't know who would stock it ! So just wanted to check if anyone here knew where I could source some at a good price.

Also if anyone happened to know where i could get Hevea flooring that would be great.

Thanks

recipio

Its used for low end 'parquet' flooring - I had it once.
I have to say its a pretty bland featureless wood. I don't think its available outside of industrial products. Iroko is the most commonly wood used for countertops due to its water resistance and you can get that almost anywhere.

jack of all

When I was involved in kitchen design/ retail in the past we used sell a lot of hevea counter tops as opposed to any other wood (iroko, walnut, oak etc). As recipio says it is a very bland wood and the counter top suppliers would generally stain it to "simulate" another species, but I didn't find it convincing as the grain is so plain and it could look "cheap" as a result. All that said it is (comparatively) inexpensive, durable and very much a sustainable species. I've also seen laminated bamboo used for countertops (very heavy, dense and hard wearing) and this is also available as a flooring material, it can look good with the right type of kitchen, especially if you like the small laminations (I do).

postsnthing

Thanks guys, managed to track down some worktops in one "centre" if there were any other options please let me know.

I would be planning to stain it as unfortunately any other hardwood appears to be out of budget, the bamboo sounds interesting where would i look for this Jack ?

Cheers

jack of all

It was a Louth or Meath based supplier from memory, can't be sure as I'm a long time out of that industry. I'll try and see if I can dig up the name......

jack of all

The company I was think of is "Piu Alto" in County Louth, the owner, Brian Lenehan is very knoweldeable on all counter materials and very helpful in my experience.

http://www.piualto.com/surfaces.html

postsnthing

great thanks jack will check them out cheers

recipio

postsnthing wrote: »

Thanks guys, managed to track down some worktops in one "centre" if there were any other options please let me know.

I would be planning to stain it as unfortunately any other hardwood appears to be out of budget, the bamboo sounds interesting where would i look for this Jack ?

Cheers

Staining is a bit of a black art. Some woods can become very 'blotchy' with stain and I've had so called' mahogany' stains look like beetroot juice.
Kitchen worktops are a focal point in a kitchen so should be a pleasure to look at. Have you thought of getting a quote directly from kitchen/joinery works.?

jack of all

recipio wrote: »

Staining is a bit of a black art. Some woods can become very 'blotchy' with stain and I've had so called' mahogany' stains look like beetroot juice.
Kitchen worktops are a focal point in a kitchen so should be a pleasure to look at. Have you thought of getting a quote directly from kitchen/joinery works.?

I'd definitely aggree with this, there's a lot of competition amongst the counter suppliers (there's some good deals to be had in granite and solid surface materials if you shop around and aren't looking for white or cream!).

postsnthing

thanks for the advice re staining if anyone has suggestions of companies kitchen/joinery I should try get pricing from that would be great from those I have looked at oak is at least x3 the price of hevea.

Or if anyone has good advise on staining that would be great

cheers

recipio

postsnthing wrote: »

thanks for the advice re staining if anyone has suggestions of companies kitchen/joinery I should try get pricing from that would be great from those I have looked at oak is at least x3 the price of hevea.

Or if anyone has good advise on staining that would be great

cheers

Well, you can't get a bespoke product for a budget price.
I would stay away from DIY finishing - worktops need a tough lacquer finish and I'm going to guess you don't have a spray booth.
Your worktops should give you the 'wow' factor, its the first thing your eyes will settle on when you enter the kitchen.
Have you looked at www.ikea.ie ? They have oak and walnut tops at great prices and will even allow you to order to size - but it will take 4-6 weeks.