Wide board flooring for a unheated cabin cottage/ retirement house.

[bandmiller2]

Wood will be wood,its got some bad habbits like most of us,. just put it down and enjoy its beauty. Frank C.

[backwoods sawyer]

Try a floating floor.

I laid a cherry floor with out nails by putting down waxed paper, gluing all the joints and using 2” thick baseboards. I left 3/4” all the way around the room for expansion. I did nail the centerboard down to keep the floor from shifting. For the doorway, I cut a board on the bandsaw from corner to corner glued one half to the new flooring and nailed the other half solid. This allows the floor to shift with out being noticeable.

The boards were all milled 1¼” X 4¼” X 3’ 3" long. I sent them out to a dehumidification kiln, and ran them thru a four-sided molder. The bottom of each board had three rounded groves to help relieve the stress. The finished size was 7/8” X 3” X 3' I had the ends tong and grooved as well.

This floor has been in my office 2 years now with no visible cracks.

[WDH]

Backwoods, a picture would be most appreciated.

[nas]

I have laid several 8" wide pine floors.  I ran a bead of construction adhesive(PL premium) down the center of each board and nailed it with a flooring nailer.  The glue keeps each board in its place so if there is any shrinkage it will be even gaps between each board.  If you don't use the glue the boards seem to shift together so you will have large gaps every few boards.  As for long lengths, they will not all be straight but can be forced in with a block screwed to the floor and wedges or pry bars and then well nailed.  Make sure you start with straight planks fo the first few rows.
Nick

[TexasTimbers]

Straightline ripping. Don and others, a little trick that saves a whole step (that equates to alot of work and time saving with many boards like abnorm is talking about) that I came up with one night is this.

Instead of using a circular saw to get a semi-straight line that you have to flop over and resaw anyway, just insert a flat head wood screw about two inches from each end of the board, and leave them protruding just enough to allow the outermost part of the edge stay off the fence.

Now rip the opposite edge, remove screws, flip, run that edge. You're done. 33.3% more efficient, if not more because inserting and removing two screws is much easier and faster compared to running a circular saw the length of the board.

[srt]

Hay TT,  I've been reading and re-reading your method of getting a board straight, and can't firure out what you're trying to tell me to do.  Does it work with real long boards and a table saw fence that's about 4 feet long?   Still can't get it???

[abnorm]

Im back for a week, now, less than that, then back to Tn for some more felling and ripping and stripping.

Cut a few nice red oaks close to the mill so easy work.  I use a woodmaster planner, gang ripper molding maker,sander, with a grizzly 76" 8 " jointer and a 3 hp shapper.

Was planning on using the shapper for the t&G but see that Woodmaster has a attachment for doing both grooves and one side of the flooring at the same time , looks like this is the way to go as the power feed on the woodmaster will save manual feed on the shapper and should give a good consistent board. will save my pennies and purchase the attacments and use my own routers to make the flooring looks like if I gang ripp just prior to using the woodmaster should be able to get around the straight not straight problem,

Still looking for more ideas on the wide board flooring long lenghts

One idea brought about was similar to a floating floor if i get the jest of it  where all the grooves were glued.  Wonder how this would stand up to large areas 18 x 12 with some sort of expansion att the doorways

I was ar Lowes or home depo where they are selling  manufactored flooring that is glueds down 3/4 i believe but must be more stable than  home made flooring.

I like the finish all sides  seems to me that increased stability is what we are all looking for

Yes house will eventully be heated and cooled