• STUNNING PRESENTATION
• BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS
• HIGHEST FUNCTIONALITY

We are proud to offer exotic hardwood flooring crafted from the hardest and most revered African woods the world over !

ParquetNoble based in Johannesburg South Africa, searches, selects and processes the most precious timber species, namely Ebony, Mopane and Palissandre.

Our initial focus was to serve the manufacturers of musical instruments world-wide. Since then, we have extended our activities to the production of elegant flooring made of the same exotic timbers.

Flooring made of these timbers has a very high resistance to abrasion, it will last a lifetime, even in high traffic areas. For sure, if need be, our flooring, 8 mm in thickness can be sanded many times over.

1. Ebony : called mpingo in East Africa and zebrawood in South Africa, botanical name dalbergia melanoxylon. This timber has a density of approximately 1.5 t/m3 when harvested, it will be reduced to about 1.35 t/m3 when dry, more than three time the density of pine and more than twice the density of teak. It is the hardest and heaviest timber in the world ! Ebony has an attractive dark brown colour with black streaks which usually predominate so that the general effect is nearly black. The sapwood is narrow, light yellow and clearly defined.
   Ebony is available in about 20 countries in Africa, in a triangle from the Sudan to Angola and down to the Eastern Cape in South Africa. In most places it grows as a bush. It only grows to large logs in certain parts of Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and the DRC. Large logs can reach a diameter of 600 mm, even a short log will weigh 800-1000 kg. These large logs are rare, indeed they take more than 200 years to reach such a size. This timber is the standard for the production of woodwind instruments.
   
   
2. Mopane-colophospermum :
   The heartwood is brown to reddish brown. The thin sapwood is yellow to light brown. This wood is hard and heavy, at 1.3 t/m3 when dry.
   This timber is known to most South African as the timber of the mopani worms ! A protein rich diet of the native Africans. It is endemic in the Northern Province of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Central Mozambique. Because of its density, about 95% the weight of the ebony, this timber is also used for woodwind instruments.
   
   
3. Dalbergia graveana :
   The heartwood is lilac to reddish brown. It has streaks from brown to black.
   It is commonly named king-palissandre. It comes from the North-Eastern part of the Island of Madagascar. This timber is scarce and difficult to find in large logs. It is used for backs and sides of guitars and for woodwind instruments as well.

All our timbers are purchased from approved Forestry Operators who must provide a certificate of origin for their timbers, a guarantee that the national regulations for the protection of flora and fauna are strictly abided by. Our approved suppliers in Mozambique and Madagascar have obtained Concessions from the local Governments, and annually apply and pay for cutting permits that will specify the species and volumes they may harvest. In so doing, we are guaranteed sustainability of our sources of supply.

Our company is based in Blue Hill, North of Johannesburg. Our factory is equipped with industrial wood working machines to process logs of the greatest hardness to quality musical parts and flooring blocks. The stages of production for flooring are :

• Slabbing
• Ripping
• Thicknessing / Planning
• Cross cutting
• Tiles’ composition
  
  

The process starts with the off-cuts from the processing of the musical parts. The recovery from musical parts is about 10% for ebony and 15% for mopane and palissandre, leaving a very substantial quantity of off-cuts that have to be re-processed. This timber is as hard as granite, and indeed to cut to small and exact dimensions is a labour intensive and time consuming process. An essential contribution to the permanent employment of our staff.

To guarantee a quick supply of finished products, we have constituted strategic stocks of the blocks that are cut and planed on a continuous basis, ready to be assembled in tiles according to the demand of our customers.
Depending on the motive selected and the surface of flooring on order, allow for 3-5 weeks for availability.

The fact that we cut small blocks, enables the perfect drying of the timbers. The CSIR (The South African Council for Science and Research) has measured our blocks to have humidity contents as low as 6% for the ebony and 9% for the palissandre and the mopani. A guarantee for the stability of our flooring.

There is always an uncertainty with tongue and groove flooring. Had the timber been correctly kiln dried ? If not, warping may occur ! By the way, drying of exotic timbers is a lengthy process which require specialists with knowledge and a long practical experience.

Remember :

• The availability of ebony, mopane, palissandre enables us to make unique colour combinations.
• The ready-made sections or tiles greatly simplify and speed up laying out.
• Glue absorbent fur pasted on tiles’ back makes the polyurethane glue penetrate and adhere perfectly.
• The thickness of 8 mm of real wood allows for several sending, if need be, making it a very long lasting floor. This is a totally different proposition from the laminated products, where the real wood has a thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm and thus requiring replacement after few years.

Gluing, Sanding and Sealing :

• We recommend a professional fitter to do the job. We have been in contact with several companies in South Africa. They are familiar with our products and are happy to install it. Their quotation for fitting, sending and sealing is subject to site inspection.
• Our factory tests have indicated that epoxy glues are perfectly suitable.
• Thanks to the high precision of the thicknessing and planning of our tiles, installation is quick, provided a good quality screed is available.
• Our flooring can be sealed with polyurethane or natural sealers

Pricing :

Ebony, palissandre and mopane are the precious timbers among the exotic timbers of Africa.

If we were not selling substantial quantities of musical grade parts, we could never afford the manufacturing of flooring from the same precious timbers. In our cost calculation the timber is actually for free, indeed the cost of timber is entirely born by the musical instruments.

Our selected timbers and flooring have a superior appearance, greatest durability and are great value form money. They will enhance the value of your house.

• Ever-lasting
• Beautiful looking
  
  

Indeed we use :

• The timbers of the highest density in the world, will easily endure the cutting of the sharpest kitchen knives and daily water exposure,
• Tungsten carbide precision cutting tools and wood-working machines, ensure perfect joining of wood and inlays,
• Water resistant glue completes the high level of craftsmanship.

The timber we use are precious woods, ebony, mopane and pink ivory.
They look very nice indeed, with or without in-lays. In traditional or modern kitchen their appearance is equal to none !

Our tea-trays, cutting boards, cheese boards, paper weight have the cosy appeal of natural wood. We selected pink ivory in-lays to enhance the colour of the black ebony, and the black ebony to enhance the colour of the brown boards and trays.

The precision industrial wood-working machines we use for processing sets of squares for the making of musical instruments, carry out fine and beauty inlays.

Our hand-made items have been successfully tested for daily water exposure. The density of the wood and the quality of the workmanship enable us to guarantee our kitchenware against any defect.