anyone dry end grain blocks for flooring

[low_48]

I've been thinking about cutting some urban logs for end grain block flooring. It seems to  me that if I cut the stock into 7"x7"s then slice those like bread into 3/4" thick tiles, I can dry it pretty quickly. Shouldn't the water leave really quickly? I wonder about making racks to slide the slabs into for air to get around it completely. Then I was thinking about setting two blades 6" apart on a purpose built machine to square the blocks back up. I then plan on rotating the blocks under an inflated drum sander to put a little crown on the block for more of a "cobble stone" look and feel. If I stay at least 2" away from the pith, and allow some checking for the primitive look, seems like it work. Any thoughts? Seems like the color variations, spalted lines, etc..... will make one great look.

[getoverit]

I have seen this done with 2x4 pieces, but never with anything bigger. I assume the reason is because of the heavy checking that may/would occur if green wood was used. I also wonder about how you would hold it to the floor? Glue?

[low_48]

I saw this on an really old This Old House. I think they used a latex adhesive trowelled on with a deep notch trowel to hold it to the floor. They mixed sawdust with shellac as a grout and filler. Much like rough terracota tile.

[scsmith42]

About ten years ago I did some work in the Chicago Merchandise Mart.  This huge old building in downtown Chicago dates back to the early 1900's.

The floor in the basement of the building was made from end grain blocks - very thick ones!  It appears that they squared a timber, then cut it into blocks 8 - 10" long, and laid them like bricks with the end grains down.  Near as I can recall the blocks were 10" - 12" square.

It was pretty cool looking, and had withstood almost a hundred years of use. 

[HARLEYRIDER]

 I saw a floor like this in an old brass factory. They used wood because if a brass gear or part fell to the floor, it wouldn't be damaged. But the floor was removed in the late 80's due to fire code changes. Apparently, an oil soaked wood floor is a fire hazzard .

You can slice them into a uniform size, and use a moisture curing adhesive like Bostik's Best available at a floor sanding supplier

check out the floor of the year winners here for ideas NWFA
and other articles HERE

FYI Hardwood Floors Magazine is free...just fill out the reguest HERE

[Den Socling]

We have dried cross cut wood for flooring in 8" squares about an inch thick for a company in Hollywood, CA.  Cherry is fairly easy but white oak is tough and then some. With tangential shrinkage greater than radial, most pieces open at least one crack along the rays.

[kilndry]

I have an end grain hemlock floor in my house that I put in when  http://www.kennebecwood.com/ was developing their products. Tiles are about 3/4" thick and were air dried after cutting, then sanded. Glued down with tile adhesive, grouted with a mixture of white glue and ground cork.

Looks great, wears well, and is a great conversation piece. They have several other patterns besides the 11 1/2" squares we used.

I have talked to them since about drying the wood in a kiln, but handling is a problem and under semi-controlled conditions they air dry well. On the smaller sizes, you could dry the squares first, then slice them up, but on the big hemlock that wouldn't make sense.

[Den Socling]

Bob,

This is one of  the times that handling with the vacuum kiln is much easier than stickering. You just slap the tiles onto the plates (and they're held flat to boot).

I bet a WO floor could last for a long, long time.

Den

[footer]

This is an interesting topic as I have been thinking of trying this for a few years but didn't know if anyone has done it, and the issues with drying and checking. 
Den,   couldn't you dry the cants in the vac kiln then saw to length? Then you wouldn't have to handle all the little pieces.

[Den Socling]

yes but the cants take time. The cherry tiles dried in a day.

[footer]

yes but the cants take time. The cherry tiles dried in a day.

Good point, especially if you kilns ar buisy.

[low_48]

The tiles dry in a day!!!!!!      Darn it Den, those kilns of yours, well, should I mention the word lust? Do you have one that has a bathroom and room for a kitchen? Cause if I bought one of those I wouldn't be living in this house anymore. Two reasons; I would either be divorced, or I would have to make it look like a 3 bedroom ranch    . Couldn't you please, pretty please, come up with one in the $15,000 range? Hey, how about a group buy? I live in Central IL, you know, middle of the country. We could keep it at my place and everyone on the forum could schedule some time. You know, time share kiln! Oh yeah, anyone interested in coming to Central IL for a weekend getaway to understand the great privilages with time share kilns! Better yet Den, maybe your company would be interested in selling shares in this great and wonderful "opportunity"! I'm really sure that there is a great money making idea here!!!!
Thanks for the input guys!

Rich

[iain]

There is a company here that sells Oak end grain tiles
i cant find any pics on the web but i have seen a floor and it looks superb
I've got a catalogue some place they use the heart wood to great effect

the company is called Ted Tod  part of Edwards Cheshire

there's also and end grain road way under the Guild Hall in Derby its been there over 80 years now the blocks are mixed size upto12 x 4 set at 3/4" apart and grouted with bitumen



Iain

[Den Socling]

Rich,

I'm phasing out of sales and manufacturing. In the future, my main responsibility will be R&D. I've always wanted to design a small, affordable vac kiln that works as well as the expensive systems. Maybe someday.

Den

[getoverit]

Den,

The vacuum chamber sounds interesting to me, but the costs are prohibitive right now.

If you are serious about a smaller, more affordable one, think about something that would use a vacuum pump like the ones used for refrigeration, or for that matter an old refrigerator compressor (lots of those used for vacuum pumps).

I can envision three 55 gallon barrels (perhaps the heavy-duty kind with thicker walls) welded end to end for the chamber, with a lid (complete with gasket and some sort of lid dogs) on a hinge for the door of the kiln. Several other thoughts come to mind also such as using an old propane tank for the body of the kiln.

The only part of your setup I dont have and couldnt make would be the plates that go between each layer of wood. Being completely ignorant on the vacuum kiln in the first place, I would wonder if using some expanded metal (stainless one perhaps?) or some aluminum perforated decking of some sort may not do just as well as the heated plates.  For heating the unit, I would think that a $30 quartz radiant heater from wally world would be plenty of heat to heat that small of space too.

whadda ya think?

[Den Socling]

It can't be done that way. Starting with the chamber, it has to be very strong. If it is only 4' x 4' x 8' long, it still has to withstand 290,304 pounds (approximately) of force trying to crush it when a vac is pulled. That is the combined force on top, bottom, sides and ends. Then it has to be corrosion resistant. It has to be safe when it leaves here and it must stay safe for years to come. And it must be perfectly sealed. Leaks ruin control.

The term 'vac pump' is as vague as 'vehicle'. A vehicle might be a bicycle, an automobile or a bus. Each very different.

Vacuum kilns can't work without effective, uniform heating. That is very difficult to achieve in a vacuum.

So a $15,000 vac kiln will never be and even a $50,000 vac kiln is tough to design.

[serg]

Hello friends!
The big distance not a handicap in construction of houses and vacuum drying kilns!
This house will be constructed from a bar of a pine, the size of a bar 220 х 350 х 6000 mm. The project of a house of USA. A vacuum dryer - Russia . It made from the railway tank. Manufacture in Ukraine!
Good team!
 All work is carried out with the help of the Internet. The price of the project as in a fairy tale « a field of miracles ».
Sergey.

[Tom]

Serg poste pictures.   Yippeee  !

Way to go Serg!

This project cuts the miles from you to use to nothing. 

[serg]

Den, hi!
At you a new beautiful site! I congratulate you.
The best regards.
Sergey.

[bitternut]

Don't know how they made them but the Harrison Radiator Div. GMC ( now Delphi ) plants in Lockport NY had floors made of those wood blocks. The factory part had blocks that were black and about 4" x 4" x 8". They were laid down on a concrete floor into a bed of tar I think. Saw them put down many times but never gave it much thought as to how it was done. The development shop in the Engineering building had the same blocks with a clear urathane type finish with wires. All I know is every time we had a water leak some place the blocks would swell up and we would have a big hump in the floor. Happened a lot. Sometimes it would lift up a couple of feet in the air, raise equipment and tip over cabinets.

I guess the logic was that they were easier on peoples feet and legs than the concrete. We used to start a lot of fires also when cutting or welding out in the plant but that is why you always had a fire watch and had to get a permit to weld or use torches. Don't think I would want one of those floors in my house.