Christopher Peile, 21, from Portadown has just returned from Salzburg in Austria having competed in the 2008 European Parquet floor fitting championships representing the U.K.
Quite an achievement for an apprentice who has only been working in the wooden flooring industry for 18 months, Christopher originally started his apprenticeship at CITB at Nutt's Corner working with vinyl and carpet floor coverings but it was only when he was taken under the wing and expert guidance of his employer Owen James from Gilford that the world of custom parquet flooring became apparent to him.
Owen has specialized in intricate parquetry designs for many years and easily passed this enthusiasm and craftsmanship on to Christopher with the result that his skills were at a high enough level to enter the competition.
Examples of Owen and Christopher's stunning work include refurbishment of floors in historic buildings such as Queens University, Royal Victoria Hospital, Dominican School in Portstewart, St. MacNissi's College in Carnlough and Parliament Buildings at Stormont to name but a few as well as handcrafting bespoke floors in many private homes throughout Ireland. Along with commercial projects such as Arizona Coffee shops in Belfast, Craigavon Marble Fireplaces in Lurgan and J.A.Lyttles home furnishing's in Banbridge, this background all proves to provide Christopher with a deeply ingrained love of high quality specialized floor fitting and design leading him to the 2008 championships in Austria.
The 3 day competition entailed initial preparation and layout of the surface on which the floor was to be laid, a highly important but often ignored first step, and then having to replicate the detailed design required piece by piece. Once formed the parquet was individually lifted and bonded, re-laid and the next day sanded until like glass and only when absolutely perfect were the top coats applied to finish the piece; all this within a very demanding time schedule where every move was closely monitored and scored by the nine judges, one from each country.
Christopher and Owen were accompanied by Mr. Sid Bourne, Technical Director of the British Wood Flooring Association and Mr. Roger Southee, Chairman of the British Wood Flooring Association who had this to say "Christopher was placed in a thoroughly credible halfway position of young and experienced floor laying contestants, most of whom had attended three year vocational college courses in wood floor installation and were winners in their respective national floor laying heats. Throughout the competition Christopher conducted himself in a calm and thoroughly professional manner and was only one of two contestants to be awarded the prestigious Olympian Spirit of Achievement. Chris, who is also a member of the B.W.F.A. (bwfa.co.uk) has demonstrated that he has a bright future in an industry that offers rewarding prospects to apprentices who have enthusiasm and ability to learn the craft"
His employer, Owen James added "Christopher is a great ambassador for N. Ireland and in an age of diminishing standards in many trades it's wonderful to see quality shining through. Christopher has another year and a half working with me, At the end of his apprenticeship, I will encourage him to take his talents abroad for a while to further hone his skills where I am certain he will do well. Maybe when he returns he might even train his own apprentice. It has been a pleasure to teach him my craft and I wish him every success in the future"
