Sustainable Architectural Doors

Finishes and Themes

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 19:22:31 -0800

Industrial/ Rustic

Great way to bring character and warmth into your home

Weathered timbers, brushed to remove splinters leave the original saw and wear marks. Colouring will be impacted by exposure to sunlight, dirt and in some cases smoke. Grey weathered timbers are most sought after and consequently rare plus require more handwork to preserve the rustic aesthetic.

We use a handful of finishing techniques for our Rustic style:

Washed and Brushed - where timbers are washed and brushed with either wire, nylon or sisal brushes to smooth rough grain and remove splinters.
Oiled - Externally we use a preservative oil that will require re coating anywhere from 3 months to 3 years depending on your tolerance for timber bleaching. Internally we use a hardwax oil, which darkens the natural timber colour but gives a gorgeous silky smooth feel and is very easy to resend and re-coat.
Stain/ Clear Water Acrylic provides a longer service life than oils so ideal for well protected areas or low maintenance preferred applications.

Hampton

Clean Lines, simple, elegant with understated practical features. Preferably hand panted to provide subtle texture to this traditional and classic style. Commonly seen in high end residential doors and on traditional cabinets.

Hampton style is very clean substantial look with painted surfaces contrasting with feature natural finishes like stone, iron or timber. Paint finishes can be rubbed back to show subtle colour changes of different layers of paint or aged with coloured waxes to give the timeless, comfortable classic look.

Timbers sanded and lightly brushed to ensure subtle grain emphasising genuine solid timber used
Oil or Acrylic paints in Satin, Matte or special finishes as needed
Strong colours can provide a wonderful contrast with natural materials.

Scandinavian

Clean and minimal, making the...Read More

Freestanding furniture

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 15:12:40 -0800

Freestanding Furniture is anything that has the ability to be moved around the room without unbolting or pulling apart. The main and most common from of free standing furniture is the range of tables, consoles and even book shelves. If it has feet, it can be moved!

Tables are such a big part of our life, its where the family share a meal, or even business deals are made. For something we don't think about all that often, it has a big part in our lives. The size, finish, shape and even the colour are important factors in creating the perfect table for any situation. With the help of our experienced team we are able to ensure that every table, console or book shelf is unique and efficiently meets your needs.

With all our furniture being custom made, no job is to small and no job to big. Just let us know what you are thinking, and together we can build your dream furniture

Here is a few past jobs we have done

Features

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 19:46:40 -0700

We use the term 'Features' to categorise stand alone products that are designed and made to set a tone or context apart from the rest of the finishes. The effectiveness of the feature is set through design, context and finish. Below are some examples fo feature pieces that we have competed.

The image below is of a bedhead that we competed in random rustic timbers that tied the existing sand stock bricks to the strong wall colours providing an organic take on a traditional bedroom.

Features don't need to dominate a room, but should be at least inspire a nod to the values that matter to you, as demonstrated in the image below of a complex staircase and Wine Cellar that we completed for an Architect who on this job painted a highly technical modern masterpiece with a Pallet of Natural Materials.

The image below shows an American walnut staircase we built or the client including 2 storey tall screen with black mirror and smoked glass integrating a mechanically cooled wine cellar underneath.

Sometimes changing the shape from the norm provides enough feature without needing dominating or demanding finish

The image below shows a series of boxes as an alternative to floating shelves or a traditional cabinets. Framing the artworks and memorabilia rather than merely displaying.

Common Features

Cladding

Feature walls which we would normally make CLT panels 15mm thick and up to 1200wide x 3300long in the factory for installing on French Cleats (Split Battens)
Can be varying thickness and lengths for 3D effect
Can be multiple species and finishes or single species
Can be supplied or installed as individual components
Posts and Beams can be clad similar to wall panelling but with Finger Jointed mitred corners, internal will be 15mm thick cladding, External 30mm...Read More

Screens

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 23:04:32 -0800

Custom Screens

Screens or room dividers are able to be fabricated in any configuration. All screens can be designed by our design team to your needs. A 3D drawing will be sent to you with the interpreted design on it so you know what you will be purchasing.

Vertical Louvres

Vertical louvres can be operable (as shown here) or fixed depending on needs. If we are unable to source sufficiently wide blades we will laminate timber together to make up required blade width.

We offer traditional louvres in a variety of styles to suit your taste and design specifications. Flexible and versatile in design, our louvres are manufactured to allow the frames and the blades to give privacy and still allow airflow and sunlight in

Plantation Shutters

Hardwood or softwood, we have the ability to make any shutter needed. Plantation Shutters are delightful for window furnishings, for they have generous amount of uses and ability other window furnishing can not provide.

Shutters (depending on how open the blade is) provides excellent natural lighting to a room while maintaining privacy. As the shutters are also made from timber they are a fantastic insulator. For any room they are in the shutters will help maintain the cooler temperature in summer and keep the heat in, in winter.

In our Australian Hardwood range, we are able to get the frames for the shutters down to allow more light and air flow within each panel. As well as the ability to make and design the shutters, we like to consider the level of security needed, which reflex's how they are manufactured and installed. That way you would need to just relay on the strength of the timber to protect your home.

Doors & Jambs

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 14:28:12 -0700

One of a kind

As the materials we use for our doors are unique, so will the doors be. Below are listed the standard types of doors, basically separated by installation types.

When specifying any door consideration needs to be given to:

Exposure to weather or use, what will the door have to put up with?
How well sealed does the door need to be for temperature, sound, dust and bugs?
How secure does the door need to be, who needs access and how?
How big does the door need to be? And how best to hang it?
What sort of impression are you going for?
Do you need natural light and ventilation at the doorway?

Typically our doors vary in thickness depending on the application and hardware required. Our barn doors are typically 32mm thick, open frame doors 42 mm thick and Flush panel doors that are hinged are 50mm thick, Pivoted 60mm and extra large pivot doors can be 80mm thick + as needed.

Door Types

Listed Below are the typical types of doors that we make and how we describe them. We have yet to find an opening we can't fit a spectacular door too, so if you have something a bit special in mind, don't hesitate to ask.

Barn Doors

Barn Doors are typically thought of as doors that run on simple bar tracking with exposed wheels as in the images below. The doors used on that track vary from the simple Traditional Ledged Braced door, as in the first image and gets increasingly sophisticated as you add bracing, perimeter frame or cladding as required. These Ledge and Braced doors can be used for lots of applications including shutters, gates, bathroom doors, room dividers and even doors for Barns..... These are solid timber and can be made as rustic or pristine as the situation demands.

Typical Finishes/...Read More

Study in Red

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 20:06:03 -0700

Chris and Vanessa get a new study in recycled Ironbark

Prior to starting Bib'n Brace Chris asked us to review a design and quote for a painted MDF study. Collectively we decided that rather than the cluttered design needed to support the MDF shelves we would use recycled Ironbark that matched the floors and would span huge distances without a need for vertical supports, keeping the shelving clean and open.

Solid recycled timber components of sufficient size to make the study would be prohibitively expensive and very, very heavy, so we manufactured the components out of cross laminated board that we fabricate (in this case from some floor joists) giving a high perceived value and the ability to conceal cabling and drawers within the timber components as shown here.

Another feature that works well, are the carved bits, scalloped out where the timber had a natural split that would otherwise catch on cleaning cloths, giving a sensuous look and feel to the components.

Having hollow components allows for almost invisible fixings and fittings with an LED strip incorporated into the bottom shelf as the ideal reading light plus drawers integrated into the desktop that do not distract from the wonderful story told in the natural grain, nail holes and patches.

In spite of the efficient use of the recovered timber we still managed to save nearly 300kg of hardwood from going to waste in this study alone, which should see the timber being enjoyed for another 80- 100 years.

knick Knack Nook

Following the renovation, Chris and Vanessa where left with a window opening in the new living room. We made a Knick Knack nook out of a 100 year old Fascia board that had come in with a load of timber.

The benefit of using timber for this over MDF or other manufactured board was it allowed us to use thinner components, to minimise the impact the structure has visually allowing the Knick Knacks to feature.

Nib...Read More

The Recycled House

Sun, 14 Feb 2016 05:00:00 -0800

Like many people, I had always wanted to build with as small as environmental footprint as possible. Coming from a family of builders and engineers the mantra has always been, efficiency. Efficiency in labour ,materials and maintenance. A matrix that largely excludes recycling because of the inherent inefficiencies in recovering and re-tasking the materials at an economically viable scale.

Being the black sheep in the family, I thought to go the other way. I take the artisan approach to building, working collaboratively with the trades to make the most of the materials available.

This approach worked out wonderfully on my last project. The money I saved on the recovered materials more than made up for the increased labour and gave a stunning result with the award winning finished house that was featured on Chanel 7's Better Homes and Gardens.

Click the following link. https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv-and-video/video/watch/21197491/joh-griggs-recycled-house-walk-around-ep-1-31-01-14/

In this house we managed to use recycled Timber for the frames, flooring, posts, architraves and beams with recycled stone and steel making up the balance of the components. Using the recycled structural components took some design rework, but the end result was better than we had planned and stunning to live with.

Tony and Bec's Deck

Sat, 06 Feb 2016 05:00:00 -0800

Tony and Bec had a 30-year old hardwood deck that was becoming unsafe. In certain spots, the timber had rotted right through!

Rather than taking the timber to the Tip, they asked if we could use it. While I hadn't recovered decking timbers since making the family dining table as an apprentice, I was confident we could do it and said we would give it a go.

Tony and Bec where interested in what we could do for screening the ends of the deck and ultimately replace the handrails and balustrades.

We suggested a woven screen made from their old decking as it looks the same from both sides. They didn't believe the timber would be much good, but had seen other projects we had done, so were keen to see what we could do.

Once the timber had been de-nailed and dressed, they saw the beautiful patina of the timber with the surface checking and nail holes. They were so delighted with the result they gave us the go ahead to make one of the end screens.

Tony and Bec were thrilled with the end result, the price and the story that came with the screen. They are now looking forward to getting the rest of the handrail replaced once they have finished the Lenai overlooking the pool.

Stay tuned for the next update on Tony and Bec's renovation, which includes decking, a courtyard refurbishment, a table and an aquaponics fernery.

Trends at The Bay

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:23:38 -0800

Fashion Boutique fit out, Trends at the Bay

Trends at the Bay is a retailer of local designed and made womens fashion. Freya, the owner, wanted a recycled fit out, that was modern, cleanable and reflected the light, bright, "honest" labels that she supports.

We went with a lacquered Scandinavian style recycled timber fit-out as the building and clothes are modern, professional, timless and comfortable. the boutique is not so much a "fashion" boutique as a "classic" boutique.

The feature is the merchandise , not the fit out, but the "lived in" character of the recycled timber with its knots, nail holes and checkouts make for a more comfortable organic feel to the store than we would have been able to achieve with metal or laminates, plus is consistent with Freya's philosophy of sustainability.

One of the build challenges where 2 structural posts in the middle of the main showroom, which we clad in a slat screen that in turn we where able to cantilever shelves from making a virtue out of what had previously been a huge inconvenience

The racking took some time to design, as we where trying to keep the local and sustainable theme consistent across the whole store and all the clothes racks we looked at for inspiration would require an unnecessary amount of timber to do the job. We took the clothes hanger as our inspiration, as the most efficient way to hang clothes, and coupled with the tremendous strength where able to design very light and stable clothes racks that give Freya plenty of space for merchandising outfits and accessories.

We included floating shelves to minimise the vertical dividers, so shoppers can scan the whole store with no distractions for the eyes to move from gorgeousness to gorgeousness.

Mirrors play an important role in presenting the merchandise, so we facelit the mirrors with LED's to provide optimum lighting and minimise shadows in the reflection.

Our one indulgence (from a...Read More