Frequently asked Questions

 

Is your timber sourced sustainably?

Absolutely. Oak is endemic to colder northern hemisphere latitudes and is sustainably plantation grown in both Europe and North America. We source American White Oak that is plantation grown in Pennsylvania. Currently around 40 million cubic metres of oak is available for harvest each year in the USA, of which only around 20 million cubic metres is actually milled. So sustainability is not an issue!

 

Are your Oak kitchens manufactured from 100% solid timber?

The majority of each cabinet is crafted from solid Oak, most importantly the frames. The rear panels are made from solid Oak tongue and groove jointed planks, and drawer panels, door frames and shelves are solid Oak. The thinner infill panels in the cupboard doors and the infill panels in the sides of the cabinets are made from hardwood marine plywood with a genuine oak veneer applied both sides to give a natural finish. Plywood is made by cross laminating thin layers of natural timber in opposing grain directions, so it is both stronger and more stable than a panel from a single piece of timber of the same thickness.  A thin single thickness panel of the required dimension would be unstable and would warp and split. Trees are simply not designed to be used that way! Importantly, we do not use any other timber in unseen areas.

 

What finishes do you offer?

Our cabinets are finished in our factory with a natural oil finish. This oil is a very durable tung oil blend which provides excellent scratch, water and chemical resistance. It is a natural product made of raw tung, soy and linseed oils which are all hard, drying oils that penetrate the surface of the wood to provide a highly effective sealant. This oil is exclusive to us in NZ, is totally foodsafe and is easily reapplied with a soft cloth iif required. The other benefit is that the oil product is an excellent sealer/undercoat/primer for a paint finish, enabling us to provide the cabinets with a paint finish in the colour of your choice if preferred. We only paint the external surfaces of the cabinets, other than doors which are fully painted, as we dont want to cover the beautiful tones and grains of the oak completely!

 

What type of drawer runner systems do you use?

While we value traditional systems, our one concession to modernity is the inclusion of high-end soft-close drawer mechanisms.  We use full extension Movento under mounted runners from industry leaders Blum of Austria as standard in all our cabinets. We can add a push-to-open option on request.

 

You use standard butt hinges for your cabinet doors rather than the more common concealed versions rebated into the cabinet sides and doors – why is that?

Quite simply because we can! Conventional MDF & particleboard cabinet panels and doors can’t be used with butt hinges as the screws that mount the hinges would simply pull out of the material after the door had been opened and closed a few times. The screws holding our butt hinges screw into solid hardwood so will not pull out with use. Butt hinges are also more stable, allow doors to be openned a full 180 degrees, do not create a protrusion into your cabinet space and importantly can carry far more weight.  The weight factor is critical for our larder cabinets with storage racks on the inside of the doors.

 

Is there any assembly required with your cabinets?

All of our cabinets bar one are supplied fully built-up and packed in individual cartons. Our cabinets are built traditionally with dovetails, mortise and tenon and tongue & groove joints - not made up of panels held together with screws - so it would be impossible to flat pack them!  The exception is our cabinet for a standard floor standing dishwasher. This cabinet is constructed in panels which bolt together because the dishwasher needs to be able to be slid into place under the benchtop once the kitchen is built, meaning it cannot have a fully fixed front panel.