How Woodpatch is revolutionising timber products with Rubio Monocoat. By Campbell McInnes
Above: One of the totem poles created and designed by Jenni.
Woodpatch House & Garden (Woodpatch) is an Australian family owned and run business located in Mulgrave, NSW, on the Northwestern outskirts of Sydney metropolitan. Derek and Jenni Grul with their three children Chris, Nick, and Rachel. Derek advised, “we are very fortunate to have a business that all our family can and importantly want to work in. Wife Jenni looks after production and scheduling, eldest son Chris is the Operations Manager, youngest son Nick is a Carpenter and looks after most of the builds and works in production, daughter Rachel looks after the marketing, particularly the online social media, and I am hands-on with specialty items, like the restorations of an old horse wagon, sawmilling, and logistics. Even though we all have our own tasks to perform, we all help with customer service and pitch in where required.” In addition to the direct family, there are several employees, like Andrew, who are also part of our Woodpatch family.” Derek added, “I love to see the Grandkids here on some Saturday mornings, and without asking, they will pick up a broom and start to sweep up sawdust and shavings, so hopefully they will one day want to work in the business too.”
Above: An old Hargen saw, like the one Derek’s Uncle owned.
THE EARLY YEARS
Derek explained, “I have always loved working with timber, which started when I was just 12 years old. I used to travel down the South Coast with my uncle in his old Bedford truck, which back then took 8 hours each way. He had built his own sawmill running off the PTO of a tractor. To breakdown logs he used a Hagen sawmill, which had a big open blade and handlebars not unlike bicycles handlebars to push the blade through logs and timber to break them down.” The old Hagen saws were not very safe compared to today’s standards, and a lot of milling at this time was quite dangerous. Derek recalls “my uncle had lost his thumbs, to saw milling accidents, and they sewed a toe onto one of his hands, so that he would still be able to grasp items.” Derek used to tail-end for his uncle, which was heavy and hard work for a 12-year-old, particularly when they were cutting railway sleepers. Derek advised, “I believe the main species we cut were Stringybark, with some Blackbutt, sassafras and other local species.” Derek added “I was quite impressed with my uncle’s selective logging practices and the way he used the Japanese technique of Daisugi, to ensure sustainability. The re-growth of these trees was used mainly for mine poles around 5 to 6 years of the regrowth.”
From school Derek went on to work in advertising and promotional material and was involved in producing Tazos which went to supermarkets all over the world. While Derek enjoyed working in advertising, which they still do today, albeit on a smaller scale, he still had the urge to work with timber. In 1993, Derek learnt of a company in Victoria that was grooming pine trees for Christmas. This sounded very interesting, so Derek met with Laurel and Craig McLaren who were the first people to introduce groomed Christmas trees to Australia, to learn about the process involved. As the grooming of Christmas trees started in the United States of America, Derek flew to the US to learn more about the process and visited quite a few Christmas tree farms to learn how to groom the trees. While there Derek purchased the required tools and equipment to make this venture a reality. From their property on the Central Coast of NSW, Derek and Jen were the first people in NSW to establish groomed Christmas trees and ran a successful Christmas tree farm for many years, before passing the business onto a volunteer, not- for-profit organisation. Derek recently took over an existing Christmas tree farm in the Northwest of Sydney, with some pine trees that had been somewhat let go, and has started shaping these trees for Christmas, as a bit of a hobby, he said “I love the smell of freshly cut pine.”
Through the advertising business, there was a growing number of companies wanting timber and other items manufactured quickly on a just-in-time basis, which led to the opportunity to revive Woodpatch. Obtaining logs, milling, drying and then producing a variety of timber products makes Woodpatch a vertically integrated and sustainable woodworking company. Today, Woodpatch and its timber products are the main part of the family business.
Above: (From L to R), Family image – Nick, Rachel, Derek, Jenni and Chris Grul, with Kiri and Indie at their feet.
COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLE TIMBER SOURCING
Woodpatch has a small parcel of land and works with other small landowners and arborists to source logs they require for the business. They will only work with people who selective log and manage their farms in a sustainable way. Derek explained, “we also work with a small bush mill up the North Coast, which is where we source most of our Ironbark, Tallowwood, Blackbutt, Spotted gum and Camphor laurel from. The logs that Woodpatch purchase, or harvest are then milled with their Peterson sawmill. Derek said, “we can cut up to 500mm wide and 250mm deep with our saw. We also have a GT34 bandsaw, which is used mainly for slabbing softwoods. Derek added, “having these saws and being small, gives us the flexibility to produce a wide range of individually tailored products.” Woodpatch air dries all their timber in a Southerly-facing location for several months prior to kiln drying. Derek explained “we work closely with a contract kiln drier, to ensure that all our timber is dried slowly and accurately, this prevents internal checking and collapsing of the cells.”
Above: A Blackbutt cookie coffee table top, finished with DuroGrit Grassland Beige.
THE UNIQUE RANGE
Childcare landscaping with feature logs, up to six meters long and stompers, which kids use for gross-motor skills, has become a big part of the Woodpatch range. Derek explained, “the general public are more cautious these days about children interacting with plastics and are looking for more natural alternatives. This is where our natural log products are an ideal fit. We also turn logs into carvings as well and recently produced a large crocodile, wombats and three totem poles for a client in Canberra. Last year Woodpatch produced 297 ton of logs for this segment alone, and they are on track to duplicate again in 2025.
Above: The river table built for a local company.
“Unique timber products are what Woodpatch like to specialise in,” Derek advised. We have been manufacturing resin tables for some years now. It took us some time to perfect this process and we used a variety of different resin suppliers before settling on Norglass, which is an Australian owned company who manufacture their product in Australia, which is a bonus, and it is the clearest epoxy I have ever seen.” Derek added, “we manufactured a very large resin table last year for a local mining company. They wanted something a little different and supplied us with some river stones they gathered from their site, we were able to inlay these into the middle of the table with the resin which made the table look like a river was running down the middle.” One of the things about resin tables is each one is unique. Woodpatch can produce a wide range of timber and resin tables from small coffee tables to large conference room tables, like the one produced for the local mining company.
It is important to Woodpatch that they utilise every piece of fibre that goes through the business. Small pieces of timber are often used to create resin chopping and grazing boards as well as coffee coasters. Camphor laurel is used for the boards, as it has natural antibacterial oil. Woodpatch run classes from time to time, teaching students on how to use resin with timber, which is another part of the Woodpatch range.
Above: Children’s play houses are popular and can be custom built to size and specification.
Timber signs have become quite popular, and Woodpatch can create up to four-meter- long signs using their CNC machine. Some clients like the signs to be left natural and others like the lettering to be filled in with resin.
Derek explained, “We also produce cubby houses and one-off pieces of furniture like tables, chairs, kitchen doors, gates, chest of draws, TV units and the like,”. He added, “having such flexibility and variety is great, as each week we can be working on a totally different type of project”.
Woodpatch produce a lot of 75mm thick slabs and boards. Derek advised, “stair treads predominantly in Blackbutt, from our 75mm thick boards (finishing at 68mm) have become quite popular recently. We can produce a range of widths, however 320mm wide green sawn (finishing around 300mm) is our standard stair tread size, and the solid timber treads are a good alternative to other composite products on the market.”
Above: Stompers, that can be used for stools as well.
The sawdust is also used, Derek explained, “we don’t waste anything, the sawdust is collected, and used under where we store the logs and dry out the timber. After some months, we collect the sawdust that has decomposed and use it for landscaping, including around some of the Christmas trees we own.”
One client who had some logs from their own property wanted some totem poles made. Woodpatch designed, carved, and painted the logs to create special one-off totem poles for this client, which were 3.6 to 4.2 meters long.
Derek advised, “we often have people come to us, who want a unique item created, and have not been able to find another company to carry out the work. We have a large range of products we do or have produced. I am not aware of anyone, especially in Sydney, who has the diversity of what we have and are able to produce. Having the flexibility and being able to think outside the square is all part of being able to find the solutions”.
MACHINERY
Woodpatch have a good range of machinery in their arsenal, the Peterson sawmill, GT34 bandsaw, two thicknessers, the Wood Wizz machine for leveling and flattening timber which can take a timber slab 1.4 meters wide by 4.0 meters long, CNC machine which is extremely versatile and used for cutting out shapes and manufacturing signs, etc, as well as a range of other smaller routers and power tools.
RUBIO – THE POWER OF ONE, THAT PROTECTS THEM ALL
Woodpatch has had an Australian distribution licence for two years and with the more recent introduction of the DuroGrit to the Rubio range, are now starting to gather momentum of this external product.
Rubio Monocoat has been on the market as a proven internal coating for many years. Woodpatch tried a range of different coating products for finishing on their furniture, and other interior timber items, before settling on the Rubio product. Derek advised “Rubio Monocoat is food safe and bonds with the cellular structure of the timber. It is ideal for all internal timber, including doors, floors, kitchens etc. and is a one coat, long lasting product. Compared to the other two pack type systems, that often need multiple coats and re-coating in twelve or so months, there is no comparison to the Rubio Monocoat, for interior coating.” Colouring and protecting is carried out with Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C. These oils are available in over 40 colours that enrich the natural look and feel of the timber.
The recent launch of the DuroGrit has got Derek and the Woodpatch team very excited. Derek explained, “DuroGrit is a game changer. It has all the benefits of Rubio Monocoat but is designed for use outside.
As an outside coating, this single coat product has a UV resistance up to three or more years. Compared to other oils and varnishes, they do not last the distance of this product and require constant re-coating and maintenance.” When comparing the price, Derek advised, “the outlay of the DuroGrit is higher than other oils or stains, however when you compare the one coat of DuroGrit, against the multiply coats of other products along with the re-applying in 6 to 12 months and include the labour prices, the DuroGrit wins hands down.” For finishing exterior walls, gates, and other outside timber, DuroGrit can protect the timber in various ways, depending on the desired result.
Derek explained, “with having a quality coating product like DuroGrit on the market, people who have concerns about how often outside timber, like decks, need to be re-coated. With the DuroGrit, you can coat the deck with one coat and not have to worry about re-coating for at least two years.”
Coverage of the Rubio DuroGrit is remarkable, with a coverage of 8-15 m2 per litre. Application is very simple and is applied with a brush applicator. Many of the other timber oils and stains on the market require two or more coats.
Woodpatch started using the Oil Plus 2C, quite a few years ago, and it was through understanding the quality and overall benefits of the product, seeing how good the product was in use and the fact that there was nothing else like this on the market, that Woodpatch asked to become an Australian distributor.
There is a great range of over 40 different colours available in the Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C and 14 colours in DuroGrit, which Woodpatch can ship to anywhere in Australia.
Because of the low maintenance, and high quality, Woodpatch use the Rubio products on all the products they produce where a coating is requested or required.
For further information on Rubio coatings or any of the Woodpatch products, please visit: rubio.woodpatch.com.au or phone the team on (02) 4509 9212.
Above: Rubio Monocoat and DuroGrit stocked by Woodpatch, available in a large range of colours.
