Restoration of Furniture Damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle - February-2023

Oak Sideboard - Survived Cyclone Gabrielle

Ron says: I had worked on flood damaged furniture before, where the water came from a leaky roof, faulty water heater, laundry sink overflow, window left open; that sort of thing. Distressing for the homeowner, but rarely serious in the wider scheme of things. Cyclone Gabrielle was different, by several magnitude. People died, some swept out to sea. Homes floated down valleys, stock was lost, to say nothing of the horticulturalists who had trellises and vines, rolled up like so much knitting.

Whereas in the past we were dealing with inches, or perhaps a foot of water, Cyclone Gabrielle had furniture upside-down, in a swirling mass of water thick with soil and mud-stone.

The first thing that had to happen was to clean off the thick slit which stuck to the furniture like glue. Lots of water, soap, and brushes were needed. Once cleaned and rinsed, the furniture had to dry out. Depending on the size and configuration, this took up to a month or more, even with the workshop doors open (where possible), 4 fans circulating the air and a wood cast iron fire providing heat and moisture reduction.

In many cases, older furniture which had been held together by animal hide glue, had some, or all, of the glue washed out. And did I mention that the silt stained the wood in an unattractive grey, which had to be bleached out. 

Once the wood was dry, sanded and oiled, we struck another challenge; there was a distinct shortage of clean dry storage available in the district, and so inventive ways needed to be found to overcoming that challenge. 

The Oak sideboard (below) had the water 1.5 meters above the floor, in one of the worst hit areas of Hawkes Bay.