Why 280 days of wood drying instead of the standard 30-60 days?

280 days of chamber drying isn't marketing—it's a technological necessity. In the first stage, timber sawn into 'frize' strips and air-stacked in piles with spacers is conditioned in ventilated workshops. That way we reduce moisture by 25–30% from the initial value as gently as possible. The second stage takes place in a vacuum-convective chamber with thermo-humidity treatment developed by our in-house engineering team. It is essentially the same natural process, scaled to an industrial workflow. Frize strips on trolleys with spacers enter the drying chamber. Hot air is the drying medium. Wood temperature is raised to +55 °C, then vacuum is applied with internal pressure reduced to 0.8 atm. Together, these conditions bring sap to a boil for 10–15 minutes per cycle. The cycle runs 48 times per day and continues until the wood reaches 9±1% moisture.

How do you work with clients and confidentiality?

100% of projects under NDA—this isn't optional, it's standard. We don't publish addresses, client names, or floor plan details without written permission. Photography only with client consent, often prohibited entirely. Our team signs personal non-disclosure agreements. For clients from public spheres (politics, business, culture), we can operate through structured legal entities without revealing the ultimate beneficiary. Payment possible via escrow accounts with bank guarantees from top-10 institutions.

Is the 25-year warranty real or just marketing?

Real, but conditional. The warranty covers structural integrity when the temperature-humidity regime (18-24°C, 40-60% humidity) and operating conditions are met.

What's the point of a comprehensive solution: floor + walls + furniture from the same wood?

First, aesthetics: unified grain pattern, tone, and transition from floor to panels, panels to kitchen facades creates a sense of cohesive space, as if the interior is 'carved' from a single block. Second, technology: using one timber batch, we guarantee identical reaction to humidity and temperature—floor and panels 'breathe' synchronously, no deformations at joints. Third, logistics: one supplier, one installation cycle, unified warranty. For clients: one call, design project with all technical nodes, one contract, one responsibility.

Can you restore 19th-century parquet in cultural heritage sites?

Yes, it's one of our core competencies. We've worked in the Kremlin (Red Square), Vaganova Ballet Academy, dozens of estates and mansions. Process: complete documentation (photos, measurements, species analysis, identification of historical installation techniques), then dismantling damaged areas while preserving 80-90% of the original, restoring lost planks by matching timber species, grain, and grade. Finishing layer restoration with application of protective coating (lacquer or oil) to extend service life.

Parquet installation: tech cards and geometry control

Premium parquet rarely fails because of the species — more often because of install without a protocol: moisture unchecked, gaps forgotten, finish laid on unstable geometry.

The real question is whether to glue “as usual” or run the job as an engineering discipline with acceptance gates.

Here is parquet installation without fairy tales: two method cards, checkpoints before start, acclimatisation, expansion and handover with a site service card.

Parquet installation in a residence is not “glue-down from a classified ad” and not speed for a portfolio shot.

It is a tech card: method chosen at audit, substrate accepted by protocol, batch acclimatised, joints and finish aligned with doors and panels.

Without a signed previous stage, the next does not start. Otherwise within a season you pay for rework — not for the floor.

How is install different from “glue-down by the ad”?

Ads sell square metres and a move-in date. On site what matters is moisture, flatness, pull-off strength, the perimeter and adhesive compatibility with the floor build-up.

Cardinal Hall installs in-house production by the site card: from substrate survey to finish handover. The batch is reserved for the project — see one wood batch.

The substrate is a separate track. If the screed or joists are out of tolerance, first subfloor preparation, then adhesive and boards.

Plywood and PU, or silane on screed?

Traditional card: moisture-resistant plywood on polyurethane adhesive, sanding of each layer, boards laid with a perimeter damper. Holds complex and “live” substrates, heritage buildings and projects that need height compensation for uneven bases.

Modern card: direct bond on a prepared screed with silane adhesive. Lower build-up, faster calendar — but only with confirmed moisture and flatness in tolerance.

We choose the method at audit — not “by default” and not because it is faster. Changing the card after the batch arrives is already a planning failure.

Lock the method card before ordering material — not after.

Card	When it fits
Plywood + PU	complex / uneven base, heritage, height compensation
Silane on screed	screed in tolerance for moisture and flatness
Mixed build-up	risk zones only — by project
“As usual”	not a method: no protocol, no start

What acceptance gates before start?

Installation does not begin without documented substrate moisture, flatness deviation (guide: up to 2 mm per 2 m), pull-off strength, waterproofing in risk zones and batch acclimatisation in the target room climate.

Block geometry is controlled in production (±0.5 mm). On site we check junctions with openings, skirting and fitted furniture from the same batch.

No protocol for the previous stage — no next shift. “We’ll measure later” does not exist in the premium track.

Why acclimatise the batch?

Parquet is held in the target room climate (guide 40–60% RH, project temperature) for at least the tech-card and adhesive schedule.

Doors and panels from the same batch acclimatise in parallel so floor and joinery reach working moisture together.

Skip this step and you get gaps, crowning and “two tones” already at handover — especially on solid and wide formats.

Are expansion gaps just “pretty cracks”?

Wood moves. Perimeter, thresholds, junctions with stone, metal and glass are designed with compensation and profile — before laying, not “trim on site”.

A moisture barrier and perimeter damper are part of the engineering card, not an option. Without them the floor works against the wall and the door frame.

Joints align with a single batch: skirting, portal and kitchen front from the same material do not forgive improvised gaps.

When does finish go on after install?

After the adhesive has cured — multi-pass sanding, joint filling, dust extraction and oil or lacquer per schedule (including Saicos, Osmo and equivalents).

Coat count and finish system are aligned with doors and panels from the same batch — otherwise one room shows “two oaks”.

Finish on unstable geometry or before joints settle is a common cause of early wear and peel.

Can you start install without a substrate protocol?

In the same sense you “can” glue onto a wet screed: the adhesive will stick; within a season the floor may not.

In practice, without moisture, flatness and pull-off protocols you get play, wall gaps and board lift — then it is not “tighten the skirting” but open the field.

If the base is not ready — we stop and go to survey and preparation. An honest pause is cheaper than rework after furniture.

How does site handover run?

The calendar is in the contract: delivery, acclimatisation, laying, finish, acceptance. The next stage only after a signed previous one.

At handover you get a service card: climate, care products, seasonal check schedule. Full turnkey cycles usually run 8–16 weeks — area, pattern and scope.

Need a new floor or install of our production only — we read the site track, not an average per-metre rate.

In brief

Which method: plywood or silane?

By substrate audit. Plywood + polyurethane for complex and uneven bases; silane on screed only when moisture and flatness are in tolerance. Method before ordering the batch — not by crew habit.

What flatness tolerance before install?

Guide: up to 2 mm per 2 m, plus moisture and pull-off per the adhesive schedule. No protocol — no start.

Do you install third-party parquet?

Priority is Cardinal Hall products — geometry and finish compatible with doors and furniture. Third-party material after an audit of adhesive, moisture and thickness.

Is acclimatisation needed if the parquet is “already dry”?

Yes. Factory drying is not your flat’s climate. The batch and joinery from the same lot are held in the target microclimate per the tech card.

When do you apply oil or lacquer?

After laying, adhesive cure, sanding and dust extraction — with a system matched to doors and panels. Not “right after the dry lay”.

How are installation dates fixed?

After survey — a calendar with phases and checkpoints as a contract appendix. Changes only via an agreed protocol.

Need a site diagnosis — describe the floor or joinery.

Request a quote