Fumed, or smoked oak is oak wood flooring which has been treated to change its colour. Fuming or smoking involves putting the oak into an enclosed environment in which ammonia is introduced into the atmosphere. This enclosed environment might be a closed tank or a sealed tent or some form of container into which only a relatively small amount of ammonia is introduced. The effect of the ammonia in the air is that the colour of the wood is changed.
It is a common mistake that fuming or smoking oak involves the application of the ammonia to the oak, but this is not the case. The change in colour comes about from the wood’s reaction to the presence of ammonia in the atmosphere. Effectively what happens is that the ammonia causes the tannins in the wood to be brought to the surface. The closer the tannins are to the surface, the darker the wood will appear. The longer the wood is exposed to the ammonia, the darker it becomes. The results obtained from fuming or smoking will range from a rich brown colour to almost black.
Essentially, the intensity of the colour and the tone of the colour will depend upon the length of time the wood stays in contact with the ammonia fumes. Periods of as little as twelve hours will provide a lightly fumed effect and 72 hours a darker end result. Furthermore, the higher the temperature in the chamber, as you would imagine, the quicker colour change results will appear, but not only that, the tone will be affected. Hotter temperatures typically introduce red tones and cooler temperatures green tones allowing for creativity when it comes to the fuming or smoking process.
Like many things, it is reputed that fuming was discovered by accident. Dating back to the turn of the twentieth century, it is thought that the original discovery was made in horse stables. At that time, it was noticed that the beams above the horses were considerably darkened compared to the beams in other parts of the stable and this darkening process was connected to the ammonia in the horses’ urine. Fuming or smoking as a wood treatment process became common place with arts and crafts furniture makers and to this day, is extremely popular. Although not difficult, fuming oak flooring isn’t something which would normally be done on a DIY basis for floors, although it is commonly used on this basis for colouring small pieces of furniture.
This selection of oak floor boards have been fumed for a deeper colour tone throughout the timber. Sustainably sourced from certified forests these beautiful boards complement any environment and are suitable for both domestic and commercial use.
