Restoration of Furniture Damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle - February 2023

Oak Sideboard - Survived Cyclone Gabrielle

Ron says: I had worked on flood-damaged furniture before — water from a leaky roof, a faulty water heater, a laundry sink overflow, or a window left open. Distressing for the homeowner, but rarely serious in the wider scheme of things. Cyclone Gabrielle was different by several orders of magnitude. People died, some swept out to sea. Homes floated down valleys, stock was lost, and horticulturalists watched their trellises and vines rolled up like so much knitting.

In the past we were usually dealing with inches, or perhaps a foot of water. With Cyclone Gabrielle, furniture was found upside-down in a swirling mass of water thick with soil and mudstone.

The first job was to clean off the thick silt that stuck to the furniture like glue. This took plenty of water, soap and brushes. Once cleaned and rinsed, the pieces had to dry out thoroughly. Depending on size and construction, this could take a month or more — even with the workshop doors open, four fans circulating the air, and a wood-burning cast-iron fire providing heat and reducing moisture.

In many cases, older furniture held together with animal hide glue had some or all of that glue washed out. The silt also stained the wood an unattractive grey that had to be bleached away.

Once the wood was dry, sanded and oiled, another challenge appeared: a shortage of clean, dry storage in the district. Inventive solutions had to be found.

The oak sideboard shown above stood in one of the worst-hit areas of Hawke’s Bay, with the floodwater reaching 1.5 metres above the floor.