Do you accept small orders?

Yes, we accept any size of order, and take all projects seriously. We have available inventory which can be delivered anywhere in the Philippines. Please send details of your requirement to info@filtratimber.com, and we shall be happy to send you an offer.

Do you have brochure and pricelists?

Prices depend on how big, and how complex the area of installation is. We can send you updated price lists for our products, but installation costs require that we have a precise drawing, or visit the area in question to make an accurate estimate.
We do print some brochures for trade-shows, but the most updated information is available here on the website. If you need more reference pictures or technical information, we shall be happy to send it to you. Please contact us on info@filtratimber.com or via phone.

Do you deliver (and install) outside Manila area?

Yes, we can deliver to any area in the Philippines. Installations are also possible. We can send installation teams from Manila and/or we can train your local contractor to do the installation following our guidelines.

We have our warehouse/office in San Mateo, Rizal, and we have our showroom in Makati. Currently we do not have any showrooms or inventory outside Metro Manila.

Are your woods termite resistant?

The most important aspect of termite avoidance is to ensure that your building’s perimeter has a termite barrier. Some wood may be called termite resistant, but in reality this will very often only be a surface treatment, and will not avoid termites from entering your premises.

Filtra Timber has partnered up with Entom Pest control as the Philippines leading termite prevention company: http://www.entompestcontrol.com/ and we highly recommend their services.

Some wood species are naturally much more resistant to termites as well as fungus and other decay, than others. Solid wood flooring will always be better protected than engineered flooring, where the non-visible part will often be of an inferior wood species. The most termite resistant wood species are among our bestselling floors: Teak, Merbau, Rosewood, Okan, and more.

Which type of wood floor is right for me, solid or engineered?

Both solid and engineered wood floors are made using real wood, so both are environmentally friendly.

Solid wood flooring is exactly what the name implies: solid pieces of wood from top to bottom. The thickness of solid wood flooring can vary, but generally ranges from 15 to 35mm, and in widths from 70 to 290mm. One of the many benefits of solid wood flooring is that it can be sanded and refinished many times, and can last for generations. Solid wood floors are ideal in hotels, stores, family/living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens and powder rooms.

Engineered wood floors are manufactured using multiple layers of wood veneers. The layers that you can’t see will often be of an inferior species. If the grain of each layer runs in perpendicular directions it can makes it more dimensionally stable. This means that the wood will expand and contract less than solid wood flooring during fluctuations in humidity and temperature, but changes in humidity may also cause risk of de-lamination. Many of the cheaper brands available have a very thin top veneer, which can only be sanded once, or not at all, before you will need to change the floor. This makes it cheaper in the short term, but more expensive in the longer run.

Engineered floors can be nailed or stapled to a wood subfloor, or glued down to a wood or concrete subfloor.

Which wood species is right for me?

Choosing the right species of wood flooring for you is strictly a matter of your style, budget and personal preference. See the various species available here http://www.solidwood.ph/wood-choices/ . – Our bestselling wood species are Teak, Rosewood (Narra), Merbau, Oak, Walnut, Beech, and Ash.

Is a factory-finished floor or a site-finished floor better for me?

Each method has its own benefits and advantages, and choosing the right method will depend on the level of customization you want to achieve, and your personal preference.

Job-site Finished Floor
A job-site finish is one that applied on the job site, in the room where the flooring is being installed. With a job-site finished floor, you can choose the type of finish to be applied to your floor, which will impact maintenance, as well as the stain, if any, and sheen of the final product. In other words, a job-site finished wood floor offers you unlimited possibilities for customizing the final appearance of your floor.

However, because your floors will be sanded and finished in your home, you should expect noise, dust, and some disruption to your home. You also will need to allow time for the finish to dry on-site, during which time you will not be able to walk on your floor.

With factory-finished wood floors, the finish is applied at the factory, long before it reaches your home. While many options are available with factory finished floors, you will not be able to achieve the same level of customization as you can with job-site finished wood floors.

A major benefit of factory finished floors, however, is that there is minimal dust and noise during the installation process. You also will be able to walk on your floors immediately after they are installed.

Are your floors scratch proof?

All flooring options will show some wear over time, but wood flooring is the only flooring option that can repair that wear to make it look new again.

Most scratches in wood flooring will occur in the finish, not the wood itself. These can be repaired with a maintenance coat in which the finish on the flooring is lightly abraded and then a new coat of finish is applied. This process is much like refinishing a piece of furniture where the old furniture is lightly sanded to give the new paint something to adhere to.

For scratches that are deeper and in the wood, the flooring can be sanded and refinished. A wood flooring professional who is properly trained, and also has the proper equipment, will remove just a small amount of the flooring material to make these kinds of repairs. Then, after the scratches are removed, a new coat of finish will be applied, restoring the floor to its original luster.

Scratches on wood flooring can be prevented and minimized by placing throw rugs at all entryways from outside, putting felt pads on furniture legs, clipping pet nails, and avoiding walking on floors in athletic cleats or high heels in disrepair.

My room is 40m2, but we’re being told to order 45m2 of flooring. Is this really necessary?

Yes. As a general rule, you should plan to order 10% more flooring than is needed for the installation. Much of the material will be cut to fit the exact space, and once the boards are cut, they likely cannot be used elsewhere in the room because the end tongue or groove will have been removed. Once that happens, that board can no longer adjoin with another board, so there is some waste involved. If there are any uncut boards left after installation, you may keep it for possible later repairs, or we may accept to take it back to the warehouse.

You may need to order slightly more or less depending on the room. For example, if you need to work around stairs, a bay window, a fireplace, and a closet, you may need to have more than 10%, but if the room is square with no interruptions, less than 10% may work. Your contractor is your best resource for helping you estimate the material that will be needed to complete the job.

How do I keep my floors looking new?

All hardwood floors should be cleaned regularly. To accomplish that, simply sweep, dust mop or vacuum the floors with the beater bar turned off to remove dirt and grit from between the floor boards. You may use a hard wrought cloth dipped in timid water with a slight dish-washer solution.

Avoid using a very wet mop or steam mop on hardwood floors as water and steam can dull the finish, or even damage the wood over long periods of time.

Place throw rugs at all entrances, avoiding those with rubber backs, which can discolor wood floors.

Scratches can be prevented by placing floor protector pads on the bottoms of the legs of any furniture that comes into direct contact with the floors.

When spills occur, be sure to clean them immediately with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Allowing spills to remain on the wood floors could damage the finish, and possibly the wood. Avoid walking on the floors with high heel shoes. These can scratch the finish, or even dent the floor.

Do you give any warranty?

Yes. Here is the wording of our warranty:

We guarantee that the material specified to be free from manufacturing defects. The wood is Natural hardwood and does not contain chemical treatment or any wood preservatives. We confirm that we shall replace defective material free of charge during the warranty period subject to the following terms and conditions:

  • This warranty does not cover any consequential damages, vandalism, damage due to force majeure and movement substrate.
  • This warranty is applicable only if installation is done by, or according to FILTRA’s installation instructions.
  • The structure owner shall, as reciprocal role, observe regular preventive maintenance and must report in writing within 3 days upon the discovery of the problem.
  • Outdoor wood exposed to sun/rain will automatically turn into a silvery grey color, ( slightly darker if oiled once or several times), and may develop few season checks, which are all considered natural defects, not covered by this warranty.
  • Should any extreme cases of warping (beyond 10% of the total area )and twisting occur, we shall replace such pieces.

Warranty Period: (1) year on installation, and ten (10) years of Timber product starting from the date project was accepted.

Is your wood legal and sustainable?

Yes, and in fact Filtra Timber is the first Philippine timber trader with both FSC and PEFC sustainability certifications.

Wood flooring is the most environmentally friendly flooring option available.

Through sustainable forest management, wood can be harvested with minimal impact on the environment because trees are a renewable natural resource. According to the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, for every cubic foot of hardwood harvested in the US, 1.66 cubic feet is planted in its place. This has resulted in a 90% increase in standing hardwood volume since 1953.

In addition, because wood floors can last hundreds of years, they use fewer raw materials, energy and natural resources.

The main cause of global warming is carbon dioxide, and wood flooring is a carbon neutral product.

During their growth life, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen. This process makes wood carbon neutral. In addition, wood flooring also stores carbon throughout its service life, maintaining its carbon neutral status even after the tree has been harvested.

A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison further indicates that wood flooring production has minimal emissions for carbon dioxide and no emissions for methane, nitrogen oxide and other particulates, all of which contribute to global warming.

Other replies to why solid wood flooring is a good investment :

Wood floors are in-expensive.

Wood floors initially may cost more than other flooring options, but over the long-term, wood flooring is actually one of the most cost-effective flooring options available.

When properly installed and maintained, wood floors can last for hundreds of years. Other flooring options will likely have a service life of 10-20 years, which means they will need to be replaced 5-10 times as often as wood floors.

There are numerous examples of wood floors in excess of 300 years old that are still in service today. Most wood floors can be sanded and refinished several times during their service lives to restore beauty and luster. In addition, wood floors can adapt to many décor and style changes over the years while other flooring options can look dated and require replacement based on new decorating trends.

This makes wood floors a great long-term investment, and one of the least expensive flooring options available when considering total service life.

Wood floors can add significant value to a home, potentially raising its sales price.

A survey of real estate agents in the US revealed that 99% believe homes with hardwood floors are easier to sell, 82% believe they sell faster, and 90% believe they sell for more money, up to 10% more. This means that if a home valued at $200,000 were to invest $10,000 in hardwood flooring, at an increased home sales value of 10%, the home potentially could sell for $220,000, doubling the homeowner’s initial wood flooring investment.

Wood floors actually can contribute to keeping an airconditioned room cool due to its insulating capacity.

Wood as a building material has excellent insulation properties. It has 10 times more insulating capacity than steel or aluminum, and five times more insulating capacity than concrete.