Château Napoléon
THE GOLD STANDARD
Château Napoléon
THE GOLD STANDARD
Château Napoléon
Château Napoléon hardwood flooring demonstrates the art of French oxidizing and oiling perfected by French master craftsman Michèle Alexandre. His unique process was developed over 40 years ago in order to restore damaged French Oak antiquities in museums and private collections to their original tone and patina from centuries before.
Robert, Creative Director
In 2015 Michèle agreed to share his exclusive techniques with us, and to make available to us his French oxidizers and oils. In the years since, we have applied his natural earth elements and processes to French Oak and Black Walnut here in the States, creating what is considered by many to be the world's most beautiful hardwood flooring, doors, and furniture.
Since Château Napoléon's inception, our French oxidizing and oiling techniques have captured the imagination of home owners and designers around the world and a loyal following has developed. Our French oxidized Oak flooring can be found in Mel Gibson's Malibu home (Chêne Fumé custom color), our French fumed and oxidized reclaimed flooring has been installed in the 25 million dollar Michael S. Smith designed home of hedge fund manager Howard Marks in Beverly Hills (Réclamation Naturel), and numerous large homes in the famed Yellowstone Club in Big Sky Montana (Cendré collection). Noyer Brulé was recently installed in the home of the owner of Valor Farms. Valor Farms is best known for breeding and training Kentucky Derby winner Alysheba, the highest earning thoroughbred in history. We also installed our Chêne Fumé Blanc in the 55 million dollar Beverly Hills home of the daughter of the former president of Uzbekistan.
The products that have arisen out of our collaboration with Michèle have captivated the design world. We know that you will find a work within our collections that will transform your indoor environment, making your home a more pleasing place to live, elevating your sense of satisfaction at simply living there!
Specifications
Specifications
SPECIFICATIONS
Standard Solid Plank Construction
3/4" x 8" x 2' to 10', tongue and groove, high speed texturized, French oxidized Walnut flooring, oil finished with our French Botanical Oil. Widths from six to eight inches are available.
Engineered Construction
Either 5/8" or 3/4" x 8" x 2' to 9' ft., tongue and groove, high speed texturized, French oxidized, oil finished with our French Botanical Oil. Widths from six to nine inches are available.
FSC
F.S.C. certification is available upon request
Acclimation
Acclimation
ACCLIMATION
Solid planks must be placed in the indoor environment where they are to be installed for a minimum period of two weeks prior to installation. Engineered planks require five days.
All doors must be on the home, with the indoor environment maintained at a consistent level, with home temperatures ranging from 60 to 75 degrees fahrenheit, for one week prior to placing the planks for acclimation, and for the duration thereafter.
Installation
Installation
INSTALLATION
Nail or staple through the tongue every 12 inches in a bed of premium adhesive applied with the recommended trowel size. Cendré can be simply glued with premium adhesives and weighted if necessary.
Towels should be wrapped around the installer's hard knee pads to avoid damaging the finish, or clean soft knee pads should be worn. Excess glue should be immediately cleaned with acetone applied to a clean rag or cloth.
Radiant Heating
Radiant Heating
RADIANT HEATING
Engineered plank construction must be used over radiant heating. The radiant heating system must be operational one week prior to the installation, and for the duration thereafter, with top temperature settings not to exceed 82 degrees fahrenheit.
Consistency of temperature is critical to the stability of the flooring planks. Turning the radiant heating system off, then on high for short periods, puts great stress on the planks to change shape as they rapidly dry out and rehydrate.
A consistent, moderate temperature setting maintained all of the time is the way to ensure stability and to prevent damage.
Floor Cleaning
Floor Cleaning
FLOOR CLEANING
Add a few drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid per gallon of warm water. Using a barely damp mop (not wet), clean the floor, and dry it immediately with a towel.
Floor Touch Ups
Floor Touch Ups
FLOOR TOUCH UPS
Touch up oil is sent with each order, and after shaking well, is applied with a brush or foam applicator with the grain along the length of the boards. After drying, the finish will automatically blend in with the surrounding areas.
It is important to keep the floor protected over the years with our finishing oil, making sure that the finish never wears through in extremely high traffic areas. This is highly unlikely due to our double coating technique, yet in tough areas over many years it is possible. It is extremely difficult to resand, texturize, oxidize, and oil a plank that has been already installed.
It is best to keep a substantial coating of our finishing oil as a protective layer at all times to ensure that this is never necessary. It is extremely easy to apply future additional coats of our finishing oil, either to isolated high traffic areas, or to the entire floor; a professional is not needed for the process.