Original 19th century oak and mahogany flooring at the British Museum’s Kings Library has been refurbished for a new permanent exhibition.
London-based contractor Floorcraft used a number of BonaKemi wooden floor products to rejuvenate the flooring, which at 300x41ft is London’s largest neo-classical interior. The building, originally designed to house George III’s book collection, features prime English oak, inlaid with mahogany to form diamond shaped patterns.
The floor, which had been heavily worn with much grain exposed, was repaired and sanded using BonaKemi’s range of abrasives. Following staining, the surface was primed using BonaKemi Prime, a one-component waterborne acrylic formulation, before coating with BonaKemi’s waterborne polyurethane Traffic.
Plywood was then laid on top while other library refurbishment work was completed. Floorcraft then applied two further coats of Traffic to provide a high wear resistance.
The building has now reopened as the “Enlightenment” exhibition, featuring nearly 5,000 objects from mid-18th to early 19th century Britain.
