Fumed Oak in Brentwood, CA
Posted on
8/9/2022
Fumed, or smoked oak is oak wood flooring which has been treated to change its shade. Fuming or smoking involves putting the oak into an enclosed environment in which ammonia is introduced into the atmosphere. This enclosed environment may 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 color of the wood is changed.
Fumed, or smoked oak is oak wood flooring which has been treated to change its shade. Fuming or smoking involves putting the oak into an enclosed environment in which ammonia is introduced into the atmosphere. This enclosed environment may 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 color of the wood is changed.
It is a common mistake that fuming or smoking oak involves the application of the ammonia to the oak, however this is not the case. The change in color comes about from the wood's response 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 gets. The results obtained from fuming or smoking will range from a rich brown color to nearly black.
Basically, the intensity of the color and the tone of the color will depend upon the duration of time the wood remains in contact with the ammonia fumes. Durations of as little as twelve hours will provide a gently fumed effect and 72 hours a darker end result. In addition, the higher the temperature in the chamber, as you would assume, the quicker color change results will appear, but not just that, the tone will be impacted. Hotter temperatures typically introduce red tones and cooler temperatures green tones allowing for versatility when it involves the fuming or smoking technique.
Like many things, it is thought that fuming was discovered by accident. Dating back to the turn of the twentieth century, it is believed that the first discovery was made in horse stables. At that time, it was noticed that the beams above the horses were notably darkened compared to the beams in other parts of the stable and this darkening process was linked to the ammonia in the horses' urine. Fuming or smoking as a wood treatment process became commonplace with arts and crafts furniture makers and to this day, is incredibly popular.
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