A New Reclaimed Wood Flooring Collection Made From Thai Fishing Boats
The Kudmai collection is a new line of engineered wood flooring that is made from vintage and decommissioned fishing boats in Thailand.
Manufactured by the new company The Sacred Crafts, the Kudmai Wood Flooring collection offers one-of-a-kind pieces in three main colorways, but the product can be customized to fit needs and lifestyles, the brand says.
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“We find stories, products and materials in order to help them become reborn,” says The Sacred Crafts founder Matthew Harkins. “In doing so, we are helping to correct the convenience culture that has taken over a big part of our lives. We invite the expiration date, the rust and the scratches to show themselves off in all their glory. Kudmai Wood products fit a niche for projects that call for a worn-in look with an elevated and sustainable finish. They deliver a look and feel that just begs to have its story told.”
Kudmai (pronounced kud’mei) means “reborn” in Thai language, which is where the company got its inspiration for the premium engineered wood floors. Processed from vintage and decommissioned fishing boats that have been retired from service throughout the coastal regions of Thailand, the floors feature the natural age and seasoning for which reclaimed lumber is known. But in this case, the company feels, the prior use of the wood and the environment that the wood was exposed to create “a truly one of a kind look across every Kudmai floor board.”
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Kudmai wood flooring plank measures 6 inches wide and can be packed in multiple lengths up to 60 inches. Every plank is made with a 15 millimeter Forest Stewardship Council-certified eucalyptus base layer and is topped with 4 millimeters of reclaimed wood and given a low-sheen polyurethane finish. “The E-Zero rated Kudmai collection was designed for easy tongue and groove construction, can be used with or without nails and can be installed above or below grade,” the company says.
The company says the collection can be used in a variety of ways—as indoor flooring, outdoor flooring (if treated properly), wall-paneling, wall cladding, ceiling paneling, and installation on surface tops, among other. Products come in three main colorways: nude, blonde, and carbonized.
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The carbonized version “uses a natural wood treatment process that adds heat and pressure to enrich the natural sugars and pigments in the wood,” the brand says. “Carbonized wood is not stained and will not change color over time.”
The Sacred Crafts says its decision to bring the flooring product to the market came from what the company perceives as a lack of storytelling within most building products on the market. “For as much time, energy and money we spend on building materials, there really isn’t a whole lot to talk about regarding the origin of the materials,” the company explains. “Noting the rise of the farm-to-table movement in the culinary industry, The Sacred Crafts decided it was time to apply this layer of interaction to modern building products.”
Harkins explained, “It feels great to know and share the story behind a product like Kudmai, because it’s made for all the right reasons. We are helping remove materials from sensitive coastal ecosystems so that everyone can enjoy them more. Our products are built with the highest standards for both VOC and sustainability to ensure they contribute positively to a project’s environmental standards. On the industry side, this also translates to significant LEED credits.”
