Solid Timber Worktops

Staves:

The individual boards that make up the worktop. Stave width can vary, but we try and source timber giving individual stave widths of between 100mm to 240mm. Generally 4 or 5 stave widths for a standard 600 worktop. Being that every worktop is bespoke, we can however give you any stave width you want – dependant on the timber available at the time.

An example of a random stave beech top.

Joints:

Generally tongue and grooved joints, giving a joint that runs the full length of the timber. We can also biscuit joint, so no joints can be seen at the ends of the worktops.

Worktop joints.

Worktop Ends and Edges:

Our worktops ends will finish with the stave widths and joints clearly visible. We can fit end caps if requested.

End caps can be fitted as an extra.

Worktop edges can come square edge or rounded. We can produce shaped tops at an extra cost, but will need a template to go from.

Detail of rounded worktop edge – Ash top

Knots:

All our worktop timber is sourced very carefully, and the best timber is chosen for the job in hand, but please do expect a few knots (in fact we prefer there to be a few small ones). We can supply completely clean boards with no knots, but please do specify when ordering, your chosen preference.

 

Example of knots in one of our bespoke worktops

Useful Links:

Worktop Oils - http://www.osmouk.com/osmopolyx.cfm?chapter=29

Biscuit Jointing- http://www.howtohq.co.uk/how-to-improve-your-biscuit-joinery

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us at South Farm - 

http://www.paintsandinteriors.co.uk/?p=contact

Spraying & Hand-painting Kitchens

Despite the last two weeks being the coldest of the winter so far, we were busy, thermals on and heaters turned up, in the workshop painting some bespoke kitchen door and drawer fronts for a customer.

We often get asked to make up  tulip wood doors and drawers to go onto shop bought carcass units or as replacements for tired old ones, which we then hand finish in the workshop, to give the look of a hand-painted bespoke kitchen, without the price tag.

In this case the customer could not find a colour she liked, so we created a bespoke colour for her (scanned from the colour on our business card no less!), which we then mixed up in Eico Alterior Eggshell - an interior and exterior Eggshell which is incredibly hard wearing, flexible and durable.

The door and drawer fronts made of solid tulip wood for the rails and stiles, with a MR MDF panel (another option for the panel is a veneered Oak, or Ash MDF which shows the grain through the paint for a slightly different overall finish), for a traditional Shaker design.

A simple Shaker design was requested by the customer

Detail of Mortise and tenon joints

Two coats of a tinted i-can Grepp V Acrylic Alkyd primer undercoat were sprayed onto the fronts, sanded in between each coat with a medium grit sponge sanding pad. This high performance primer is similar to a Zinseer 123, and covers beautifully, giving the timber the best protection possible.

The workshop with the primed kitchen drying on racking.

A sprayed coat of the Eico 100% acrylic Alterior Eggshell in the bespoke colour was then applied, to which we added approx 10% to volume of paint Owatrol Floetrol, and a small amount of water. Floetrol is a paint conditioner for acrylic or latex based paints, which when added makes the paint behave more like an oil paint. It increases the open time, meaning less visible brush and spray patterns, helps with coverage (especially in colours with poor hiding power such as yellows and reds), and helps look after your spray equipment, with less blocked nozzles!

A single hand-painted finish coat on the backs of the doors and 2 hand painted coats on the fronts was then applied to give the desired finish (again sanded between each coat). 

By painting the units this way, you build up the base layers with 3 smooth sprayed coats, with the final hand painted coats giving a slight brushed finish.

The end result!

The end result is a bespoke hand finished door!

If you would like kitchen doors, drawers, end panels or any other item of furniture or joinery (such as windows, doors and worktops) hand finished, then please contact me at South Farm and i can discuss prices and availability.

Links & address book:

i can primers: http://www.raymunn.co.uk/online/shop/primers/ican/ican-grepp-v-750ml-detail

Eico Paints:http://eico.co.uk/

Floetrol:http://www.owatrol.com/index.php?langue=en&page=produits-floetrol

Stockists:

East of England - http://www.paintsandinteriors.co.uk/

Central London - http://www.raymunn.co.uk/