On 31 Oct, 10:00, Jonathan wrote:

We are in the process of doing up an equivalent age building and my
builder is talking about wax.

Why? What does wax have to offer here that he thinks is so preferable
to oil? Or is he just claiming this because he's seen floor waxes
offered for sale and knows where to buy them.

For real "period" work, it would be left bare. However we want a
little more finish than that, so oil is now popular. Wax though is a
finish for furniture, not carpentry. The intention of wax is to
provide a layer that can be polished - that's hardly appropriate.

Wax is also hard to apply to rougher surfaces, such as oak beams. You
probably wouild need to apply it as a liquid, rather than a paste.
Water-based emulsions would be easy, but they're hard to get a
reliably good finish with. Many other wax solvents have a really
serious fire hazard if used in this quantity.