House with a sustainable difference

A HOUSE with a difference has been built in Scotland which uses grassed turf to insulate the roof, straw bales to insulate the walls and Scottish timber almost everywhere in between.

Part of a local regeneration project led by Fife Council, the new building is serving as an example of ‘low-carbon’ construction techniques that is also helping to train five young joinery apprentices in sustainable construction techniques.

The building, in Dunfermline, features a post-and-beam frame of oak and Douglas fir timber, Sitka spruce in the roof, walls and floor joists, and larch for the external wall cladding.

It is being built by the charity Community Self-Build Scotland (CSBS) and will house offices for CSBS itself and local community organisations or small businesses.

CSBS has calculated that by maximising the use of ‘carbon-neutral’ materials such as wood and straw the building will generate 25% less carbon-based greenhouse gas emissions than a similar-sized building made of traditional materials such as brick and concrete.

The work of the PEFC Council

HERE at Parquets Castagné one of the things we have safely filed away is our certification from PEFC France showing our commitment to forest management.

The PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an umbrella group that promotes managed forests through independent third party certification.

So for example, they will assess the certification process of the French body to provide an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood products from outside of France.

But because they are able to work with other organisation across the world, the current membership total is 31 independent national forest certification systems; they are able to promote mutual recognition between the different systems.

The PEFC website outlines its aims as:

- Definition of minimum requirements that produces a framework for development of national or sub-national forest certification schemes.

- Assessment and endorsement (mutual recognition) of national or sub-national forest certification schemes.

- Administration of PEFC Logo usage rights.

- Promotion of PEFC recognised forest certification, of sustainable forest management and of consumption of wood as a renewable, environmentally friendly raw material.

Welsh call for bio-fuel support

THE NFU in Wales is calling for more support to be made available to producers of bio-fuel crops to help ‘kick-start’ alternative methods of energy production.

Stephen James, chairman of NFU Cymru in Pembrokeshire, has written to the Welsh assembly to say that biofuels could provide a real alternative to farmers.

He said: "NFU Cymru believes biofuels offer an exciting opportunity for farmers to develop new land use and market opportunities post CAP reform.

"Biomass production for example provides Welsh agriculture with a chance to become involved in electricity and heat generation at the same time as helping to tackle climate change."

The UK Government sees biomass-derived energy as one of the ways that it can achieve its obligations to the Kyoto Climate Change Protocol of reducing gas emissions.

In England an Energy Crops Scheme is available that provides a planting and establishment grant of £920 per hectare for Miscanthus and £1,000 per hectare for planting Short Rotation Coppicing Willow.

"We ask that the Welsh Assembly Government consider making money available to allow a similar grant scheme to the one in England be set up in Wales," Stephen James said.

"This would give the industry the kick start that it needs and NFU Cymru sees this as a real opportunity to establish a vibrant new environmentally sustainable industry in Wales."

Converting files to Acrobat format

I HAVE just uploaded our price list so that people can quickly and easily see what we offer in a .pdf format, which will open in Adobe Acrobat; the link is in the left hand column.

But here’s a tip if you send quite a few documents via email, as you can’t be sure that everyone has Microsoft Word, for example, so they may not be able to open the file.

Adobe Acrobat is found on most computers so it is a good idea to send documents in this format, however the software that converts your original file into the Acrobat format is expensive.

But on the Neevia Technology website you can convert Word documents, and other types of files, into .pdf files that Acrobat can open, for free.

It is a very simple process, just upload your document, fill in your email address so that you can receive a link allowing you to download your document once the conversion is done and that’s it.

There are no extra words advertising the Neevia website added to your document, it comes out exactly as it went in.

So go on click on this link for our price list and see just how useful this could be for your own business.

Call to stop illegal felling

AN environmental group has highlighted the illegal trade in hardwood flooring that has seen the export of over 300,000 cubic metres of logs from Indonesia.

An investigation by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that hardwood flooring destined for the US market was being manufactured from illegally felled trees.

EIA has documented how 300,000 cubic meters of stolen merbau logs were exported from the Papua province of Indonesia each month.

Most of these logs went to feed China's massive timber processing industry whose factories export merbau flooring to North American distributors.

Allan Thornton, EIA president, said: "The US and Canadian timber industry need to stop turning a blind eye to the massive illegal timber and wood imports flooding into North American markets.

"We need to fast track commitments made by the US and Canada at last month's G8 meeting to stop imports of illegal timber and to do that we need the timber industry to stop selling timber and wood products stolen from Asian rainforests."

British wood prices heading up

IS the price of wood heading back up, is the question posed by a recent Times article.

The newspaper reports that those involved in woodland investment have seen the price of timber rise from the doldrums of recent years.

Although you may say, well they would say that, the article does go on to highlight how a turn around in both the UK and world economy is having an impact as well. A real change from the past.

A big determinant of British competitiveness is the exchange rate. Over much of the past decade, the price of European timber has been falling in sterling terms, forcing UK prices lower.

But also the increasing use of wood-burning power stations and recycling efforts may also be having a positive influence.

The development of wood-burning power stations in the UK has been particularly welcome for the timber industry; 21 projects are in the planning stage and three are up and running.

The article also highlights the tax benefits of investing in woodland as many use it to beat inheritance tax and capital gains tax.

But others are doing it to ensure that woodland is managed and can be enjoyed in the future.

Nature provides spark for new glue

MUSSELS and tofu provided a scientist with the inspiration for producing an adhesive that could revolutionise the wood products industry.

Kaichang Li, an Oregon State University assistant professor, wondered how mussels were able to stay attached to rocks despite a battering from ocean waves.

He discovered a protein produced by the mussel was the source for the incredible adhesive qualities the animal possessed.

And when he looked at a method of recreating the protein the answer came to him during lunch – when he was eating tofu.

"Soy beans, from which tofu are made, are a crop that's abundantly produced in the US and has a very high content of protein," Li said.

“Soy protein is inexpensive and renewable, but it lacks the unique amino acid that provides adhesive properties.”

Li's research group was able to add these amino acids to soy protein, and make it work like a mussel-protein adhesive.

Then they began to develop other strong and water-resistant wood adhesives from renewable natural materials using mussel protein as a model.

The first commercial application of the adhesive will be to make decorative hardwood plywood for high-quality interior uses. But the adhesive can also be used in making softwood plywood, particleboard and medium density fibreboard.

A gold medal in complaining

I SOMETIMES wonder if there should be a new sport in the Olympic Games – champion moaner and complainer.

The beauty and character of a wooden floor has come under the scrutiny of the ‘noise police’ who say people are suffering from so-called, impact noise.

The National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) say impact noise from poorly insulated hard flooring is causing increasing nuisance and disturbance for the UK's flat dwellers.

The NSCA are calling for a non-technical guide to be made available to people and that the industry, local authorities and landlords work together to ensure people aren’t disturbed.

Oh come on please!

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Whatever happened to a bit of common sense? Whatever happened to just having a chat with your neighbour?

Most of the apartments in the UK are built in towns and cities where the ebb and flow of life is constantly going on outside 24 hours a day.

I wonder what the NSCA will do about police sirens, maybe a tea-cosy style hood for when they pass apartment blocks?

And how about giving drunks large toffee apples when they leave the pub so that they don’t sing Knees Up Mother Brown at the top of their voices and disturb the city-dwellers?

A wooden floor is something that should be cherished, not demonised.

So if anyone has the phone number of Seb Coe just drop me a line, this new sport could clinch the 2012 Olympics for London.

Shot in the arm for NZ industry

THE New Zealand forestry industry is to receive an $18million (£6.8m) boost from government to promote the sector.

The country’s Forestry Minister Jim Anderson said the move was in recognition of the increasingly important role the forestry industry plays.

"Forestry is a very important industry for New Zealand. It has long been a major export earner, it is New Zealand's third largest in terms of the contribution to our merchandise exports and employer in the regions,” he said.

“It has the potential to become even more important economically and socially."

Interestingly some of the money is to be spent on research into construction design with the intention of increasing the amount of wood used in non-residential buildings.

The government will support the creation of two design posts at two New Zealand universities to try and increase awareness of timber use amongst engineering students.

Other areas within the industry that will benefit from government cash include marketing, bio-energy and skills and training.

Latvian timber makes ground

I WAS recently talking to a supplier who was telling me about the work he was doing in Latvia.

Only a couple of days beforehand I had read a piece on the Eubusiness website that was taking a look at the timber industry in the country.

The new European Union member state has seen its timber export market increase and play an increasingly important role within the country’s economy.

And it is interesting to note that 80% of its export market is to other EU members, and its most popular trading partner is the UK.

Tree power may be the future

COULD wood manufacturers soon become electricity producers? That is the question being asked by a recent study.

Texas A&M University has studied the practices of Scandinavian manufacturers, who gather up what is left after trees are felled to use as a bio-fuel.

Although using the waste produced from within the factory to power other parts of the plant is common, gathering the wood that is left behind is not often undertaken.

Dr. Darwin Foster, a US forestry specialist, said: “In Sweden, they're already bundling up what we're leaving in the forest after a timber harvest and using it as bio-fuel.

"Bio-fuel is an all-inclusive term that includes any renewable resource used to generate energy. As with ethanol distilled from small grains by-products and methane from animal-waste, wood refuse is another renewable energy source.

“The key word is ‘renewable’ because compared to fossil fuels that takes hundreds of millennia to create and is not renewable.”

But the use of forest bio-fuel is not limited to energy production in forest industry plants.

With prices of natural gas, crude oil and other non-renewable sources rising, scientists are looking at using bio-fuels for residential consumption, Dr. Foster said.

Parquets Castagné newsletter

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Our parquet products

Three different varnished finishes, Parquets Castagne.

WE produce a range of parquet hardwood flooring and panelling within our factory.

Our varnished products come in three different finishes and two different widths of 70 and 90 mm.

The first has a natural, clear finish whilst our fume varnish is darker in colour.

We also produce a varnish finish with a contemporary feel called opaline, which is perfect for today's modern home and loft apartments.

Our customary range of flooring, called Les Traditionnels, can be varnished, treated with oil or waxed.

There are two different qualities within the range, which are dependent upon the number of knots in the wood.

Our top of the range Prime Parquet will have very few knots within the wood, if any are present they will be small.

Our Select Parquet will have a slightly higher number of knots in the wood.

Both these come in lengths between 30 cm and one metre, with a width of 100 mm.

Skirting boards and cornices are also available to match the wood chosen.

Our wall and ceiling panelling is available untreated or varnished and comes in widths of 50, 60 or 70 mm.

Finishing and caring for your flooring

Finishing the parquet
THE natural resistance of chestnut means there is no need to treat the floor with insecticide or fungicide once laid.

If natural flooring is laid down then a light sanding with 120grit sandpaper should be done and then the desired finish applied.

Before varnishing a sealing treatment should be applied; if a wax finish is desired again a sealing treatment should be used first; or two coats of light oil can be applied.

Using a clear finish of any of the treatments will accentuate any knots, or features in the wood, giving an authentic rustic look.

Ongoing care
On no account should ammonia based products, silicone or abrasive treatments be used.

The simple passing of a vacuum cleaner and damp mop is the best method.

Periodic re-treatment can be used, for example, a polish can be applied to varnished floors to restore any lost sparkle.

For waxed floors an occasional re-application of wax and polish will suffice, for oiled floors a top-up coat and polish will bring back a shine.

Renovation
After a number of years’ use it is possible to sand back to the underlying wood should a change in finish be desired.

Using an industrial sander, often available to hire, the top surface can be removed allowing the application of a new finish, or the re-application of the existing style.

Other woods and sawmill products

WE are able to source a wide range of different woods for most uses.

As well as chestnut and oak, other hardwoods can be supplied.

For example, beech, which is suitable for use in internal joinery and furniture but also poplar, which can be used for mouldings and framework.

Softwoods can also be sourced including maritime pine, for furniture, and Douglas fir for carpentry and exterior joinery.

Our on-site sawmill is able to manufacture many different types of items.

We can supply dried, steamed, planed and finger-jointed products to a very standard.

Our experience also extends to larger projects, for example, we recently supplied a wide range of wood in the construction of a gymnasium.

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From the UK to Bergerac

BERGERAC is the closest airport to Parquets Castagné, at around an hour’s drive away along country roads and through bastide towns.

The airport is becoming increasingly busy as it caters for many of the Brits who either live in this region of France or are visiting friends.

Just this week low cost airline flybe started a new service from Birmingham, which joins their existing Bristol and Southampton routes.

And the popular cut-price airline Ryanair also flies each day into Bergerac from London Stansted.

It is clear that the airlines see this route as a very popular connection and both companies will look to offer more flights during the summer season.