Hjælmø End Grain Flooring

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Overview

Product: Untreated end grain bricks
Country of production:: Denmark
Application: Flooring
Wood species: FSC certified pine
Source: Discarded product from window production
Treatment: Planed
Length: 100-120 mm
Width: 50-60 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Tolerances: +/- 1 mm, in each dimension
Weight: 11 kg. pr. m² at 22 mm thickness
Installation: Glued
EPD: Coming soon
Origin: Northern Europe
Delivery: 6-8 week from order confirmation
Collaborator: Norto

Origin

Hjælmø end grain floor is upcycled from offcuts and cut-outs accumulated during the production of pine glulam boards and window frames. Today, the sorting criteria are so rigorous that excessive amounts of good-quality wood are wasted. The wood is sorted out due to knots, which do not matter in terms of durability and strength when used as a brick floor. Furthermore, offcuts from ordinary production can be further cut down and also used as end-grain flooring. If this waste source had not been saved, the wood would have been ground up and burned for heating, despite the high value of the wood. In the past, hard-wearing end-grain floors have been used for industrious indoor environments, such as workshops. Our end grain floor made from offcuts and cut-outs is a finalist at Danish Design Awards 2022 in the Save Resources category. The jury states: "This is an outstanding example of a solution that reuses and recycles resources from another supply chain. Using the right resources in the right places and transforming wood, this design solution shows how to best use what would otherwise be considered waste. It’s fascinating to witness how the wood materials can be recrafted beautifully and, most importantly, the product contributes to starting relevant conversations about recycling and upcycling materials". Hjælme is a sturdy and incredibly hard-wearing type of grass, often found at Vesterhavet, along Denmark's western coastline. Similarly, Hjælmø is a sturdy, hard-wearing floor also from the danish west coast.

Patterns

The bricks can be laid in a myriad of ways. Here we have showcased three versions. You are more than welcome to contact us with questions and for input on which type of pattern might suit your needs best.

Wood finishes

Depending on the surface treatment, annual rings, and knots will emerge more or less clearly. Shown are two different surface treatments, that result in starkly different appearances.

White pigmented oil

Linseed oil

Material characteristics

As the bricks are made of discarded wood, the floor will appear with many visible knots.

Spaces between the bricks will occur over time and the size will vary throughout the year. This is the case for all wooden floors, as this is an organic product.

We do NOT recommend that the gaps be filled with putty or glue.

Knot

Cross-sawn finger joint

Application

New Aarch, Aarhus

Novo Nordisk Innovation Lab, Hillerød

Technical specifications

Delivery
6-8 weeks delivery time from confirmed order. We stock 500m2.

Storage
The bricks are delivered on pallets or in pallet boxes.
Please remember: Immediately after delivery or receiving, and always before the “Goods” are used, processed, or installed, to review the delivered “Goods” to ensure that these are defect-free, including that color and shade differences are within acceptable limits. The bricks must not be exposed to direct water. If kept in a moisture-absorbing packaging material, such as cardboard, do not place this directly on a concrete floor or similar to avoid condensation.

Before mounting, place the bricks in unopened packaging for a minimum of 8 days in a dry and closed room, where the bricks will be installed. This is to acclimatize the material and to avoid cracks, fissures, or unintended extensions of the wood.

Upon storage, the temperature must be 18-24 degrees, and the relative humidity 40-60% RH.

Before assembly, we recommend making moisture measurements in different places in the room, where the bricks are to be installed. The wooden bricks must remain in the packaging until use so that the bricks are always stored under the right temperature and humidity conditions. The above temperature and humidity conditions apply both before, during, and after the laying of the end grain bricks. It is important that all work that adds moisture to the room – e.g. masonry and painting work – is carried out before the laying of the wooden bricks.

Disposal
At disposal, the wood is handed in at a recycling station or second-hand dealer. If the bricks have been treated with soap after laying, the bricks can be sorted as a clean tree. If they are treated with oil or varnish, they should be sorted as painted wood.

Maintenance
The floor must be washed regularly. Always remove dirt with a vacuum cleaner before starting up floor washing. The end-grain wood bricks must not come into direct contact with water during cleaning. Use a wrung-out floor cloth or similar to clean the wooden bricks.
Maintenance and cleaning must also be done according to the instructions of the supplier of the product used for surface treatment.
Since end-grain wood bricks are of an organic natural material, they will eventually change color, hue, and glow. Over time, minor cracks might appear in the bricks as it is a natural part of the wood’s development process.

Installation guide

Before laying
Handling:
The bricks must not be exposed to direct water or moisture. Place the bricks in unopened packaging for a minimum of 8 days in the room of application.
All work that adds moisture to the room must be concluded.
The end grain bricks must remain in the packaging until use, to ensure that the bricks
are always the right temperature and humidity conditions.
Subfloor
The subfloor must be constructed so that moisture cannot enter the construction
Tolerance is +/- 2 mm over a 2-meter straight surface.
Make moisture measurements in the room and in the subfloor.
Make pull-off adhesion tests. We recommend a test result a of minimum 2,0 MPa.
Heating
The subfloor can be with or without underfloor heating.

Laying
Adhesive
Recommended MS Parquet glue 268.
Depending on the type of subfloor, it can be necessary with a moisture barrier. For questions or doubts about gluing or moisture barrier, always contact the adhesive supplier.

Direction and installing
The end grain bricks can be installed in both a latitude and longitude direction.
Mix the bricks from different packages to insure a harmonious expression.
Be sure not to glue the bricks together on the sides.

Tolerance and dilatation.
A minimum of 15 mm distance to edges and all fixed installations, furniture ect.
Dilatation is necessary when:
If there is dilatation or change in the subfloor.
Climatic difference both from under-floor heating or above.
When the floor is connected from room to room a dilatation in the floor is recommended under the door. Especially if there is temperature difference between the rooms.
Dilations should be filled using cork strips.

After laying
Surface treatment
Must be carried out at the earliest 48 hours after laying:
Start with 40 grit and finish with 80 grit.
Finish the sanding of the floor with a rotary sander, 100-120 grit.
Surface treatment should be performed immediately after sanding. We recommend a soap or an oil treatment.

Maintenance
Maintenance will differentiate according to the top-treatment. When using oil, the floor should not be washed before the oil is completely hardened. (Minimum 14 days after application. See the specification from the manufacturer)
The floor must be washed regularly. Always remove dirt with a vacuum cleaner before washing. Do not use excessive water when washing the floor. Use a wrung-out floor cloth or similar, to clean the floor.

Downloads

Design files Seamless Installation guide Maintenance guide