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Floors & Flooring

Athletic Floors and Granwax restore part of Jersey’s architectural history

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The spectacular townhouse that stands at 16 New Street in St Helier, Jersey, was constructed in the 1730s in typical early Georgian style, but fell into disrepair in the late twentieth century. For many years the house stood boarded up and neglected until it was acquired by the National Trust of Jersey in 2003 and begun restorative work. As a consequence of water ingress, pest infestation and neglect, the original floors were crumbling and in desperate need of repair. Surrey-based Ray Gilligan of Athletic Floors was tasked with the responsibility of refinishing the surface of the floors, subsequent to their repair by Trust craftsmen. “We provided the National Trust for Jersey with several samples of possible floor finishes that we thought would offer the required level of protection and would work with such a sensitive restoration. Due to the historic importance of the building, it was required that as much of the original floor as possible be salvaged and repaired, and that where new boards had to be used, every effort was made to blend them harmoniously with the old boards without compromising the integrity of the restoration.”

“After careful consideration, Granwax Nature was chosen to provide protection to the floors because of its hard wearing properties, its beautiful finish and strong eco-friendly credentials. The water-based finish is produced using a unique blend of linseed oil based resins, made from 85 percent renewable resources and offered protection as well as warmth, texture and colour enhancement to the original and new wood, making it the ideal choice,” Ray adds.

Two thirds of the original drawing-room floor boards had been replaced due to their dilapidated condition. The grand central staircase of the house had been attacked by death watch beetle and woodworm, so each tread and riser had to be treated with proprietary products, bleach and stain before Granwax Nature was applied.

Granwax Nature is available in Super Matt finish in a 5 litre recyclable bottle from selected hardware stores and distributors. For further information go to www.granwax.com or call the Granwax experts on 01773 541177, or Granwax Distributor Athletic Floors Ltd on 0700 349 6610