Fumed Joinery

A traditional finish 

A Traditional Finish That Darkens Wood

Ammonia Fuming is a finishing process through which wood is darkened. This is achieved by subjecting wood to an atmosphere of Ammonia Hydroxide which reacts with the tannins in timber.  We can fume any piece of joinery, from windows and doors to floorboards and furniture. Samples will be provided during the consultation process for you choose which shade of brown you would like your joinery to be. Once we have your preferred shade we can go ahead and fume your joinery in our custom built fuming tent.

The History

Fuming of timber became popular in the UK during the Arts and Crafts Era.  It describes a process whereby ammonia fumes react with the tannin in wood to turn the wood a darker colour.  Particularly rich browns can be achieved in  joinery and furniture made of Oak.

Applications

Fuming is mainly carried out on Oak because the colour change that can be achieved is most dramatic on this timber. However Fuming can be carried out on various other wood species. One of the benefits of Fuming over staining is that the colour of the timber can be altered without impacting on the grain.