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Wide Plank Flooring

Started by Tennessee Pride, March 28, 2006, 07:12:23 PM

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Tennessee Pride

Hello Everyone,

Hope all is doing well and making lots of sawdust. I was wondering if anyone could give me any hints on the installation of wide plank flooring (flooring between 4" and 8"). I am building a small rustic cabin on a remote piece of property I own. I have many questions since I have only used big store flooring in the past that is around 2.125" wide. This flooring has been T&G. I would like to use much wider planks. Do I need to have the oak T&G for wide plank flooring, face nailed, both, impossible to do, etc? What I would like to do since this is a rustic place is plane the planks, edge the boards, and face nail the boards with some kind of nail that has a small head. Since I don't know if this would work I am asking the expert panel for any help.

Thanks,
Tennessee Pride
Just Trying To Learn What I Can!!

jrdwyer

I can give you a little advice on plank flooring since I recently installed some 3-8 inch wide oak in our home.

For 4 inches and wider with T&G flooring, you are supposed to either blind nail and glue or blind nail and face nail to give enough connection strength between the plank and the subfloor. Since this will be a more rustic setting, you could just skip the blind nailing altogether and just face nail at the appropiate spacing. There are several manufacturers of hardened steel cut nails made specifically for hardwood floors.  Some are very decorative. I believe these require a hammer and a set and would take a little longer than the air cleat nailer I used. Or you could use screws with contrasting wood plugs. This would be a different look than with nails though.

The advantage of T&G is a more solid floor with fewer squeeks. The edges are also cut a degree or two off of 90 degrees. End matching helps minimize squeeks on the ends. But for a cabin, T&G is probably overkill and not necessary.

A flat subfloor is the most important thing of all. If it is not flat it will have to be corrected to have a quiet and stable floor. NOFMA has a great website with lots of information. 

I guess it all depends on how much rustic flavor you want. Best of luck with the flooring project.

Tom

Here is an older post you might enjoy.

The Satilla Lodge post

This floor is still in excellant shape in 2006 and gets rave reviews from everyone who recognizes the novelty of wide pine floor boards.

Deadwood

My house (a log home...rsustic in other words) has wide plank flooring. I am not an expert on flooring by any means, but 10 years ago I sawed out some wide Ash boards and used them in my house. In fact my whole house has these wide planks for flooring. Only the Bathroom and Bedroom have Linoleoum and Carpet respectively.

If I could do it over again, I probably would screw and plug the floor with contrasting plugs. How I actually laid this floor was much more simpler. I used a pnuematic powered finish nailer to face nail the boards that way I did not have to bother with pre-drilling a lot of holes. In the end the nails sort of have a old-square headed nail look and surprisngly, the nails hold exceedingly well.

Because I did not have enough boards of any one width, I alternated them. I began by running a six inxh wide Ash board straight down the center of my room. Off each side of that I ran an 8 inch board. Then a 10 inch board. I kept doing that working my way from the center towards the walls with a six inch, 8 inch, 10 inch boards then had to rip the last board along the wall to whatever width it was.

Now the thing is, I do get some expansion and contraction. In the winter I get about a 1/4 inch gap between my boards. To me it kind of goes a long with the house, but I conceed that some Domestic Supervisor's (wives) might not like this look. In the summer they buttom up tight again.

In the end, this is what I have for a no-nonsense floor that was VERY inexpensive and not that big of a deal to lay down. For me in any case, it works. You can be the judge for yourself. Here is a picture of my floor after 10 years of life. It's not the best picture, but maybe you can get an idea if such a simple instalation would still be alright for your needs.


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Tennessee Pride

Deadwood,

Nice floor. I wouldn't mind the small gaps that develop. Was the wood kiln dried?
Just Trying To Learn What I Can!!

solodan

I have done both T+G, and square edge floors, I have blind nailed and face nailed and glued floors. My first choice for a tight solid sounding floor is square edge glued down. If the glue fails, in what would most likely be a low spot on the subfloor, go back and shoot a pin in the floor as Deadwood described. If you are finishing the floor in place, you will never see the finish nails, because they are countersunk just a bit and the sawdust and finish will fill in the hole. The only draw back with a glue down is the price of good glue such as Bostick. Wide planks need something to fasten the center of the board. T+G blind nailing only nails one side of each board and then the grove floats around the tongue on the other side. I have done floors this way and they always sound hollow and snap and crackle a bit.

This was a blue stained ponderosa floor I did. Random length 3' - 16' Random width 3" - 12"
Glued down.


JP Sinclair

Solodan-

Beautiful flooring!.  I'm just getting into flooring (actually haven't put one down yet).  I've got about 600 ft of mixed hardwoods green cut at 5/4.  I'm in the process of building a kiln and re-saw shop to further process it to flooring.  I had assumed that T&G was the way to go but do you think I should try straight-edge and glued?.  My floor blanks are rock maple, white ash, white and yellow birch. 

I'm going to get my experience on my own house before I get brave enough to try someone else's. 

Thanks-JP

woodbowl

People ask me all types of questions at the mill that I am unqualified to answer. I would like a good answer to this one myself.

How do you get a good tight floor, with wide boards, that has no opening gaps, with wood that is not kiln dried and is square edge, not tounge & groove?  ::) .......................  :P
Full time custom sawing at the customers site since 1995.  WoodMizer LT40 Super Hyd.

timcosby

what about glueing wide 1/2" planks directly to a concrete slab??? would the slab need some kind of sealer??? would the uerethane gleu work on the concrete?  this thread seemed to only address joist with plywood subfloor.  help me   god knows i need help.

getoverit

I was in one of the box stores a while back looking at their wood flooring, and they had a product that looked like a sheet of black tar (maybe even rubber) that was coated with a thin clear plastic like seran wrap. They insisted that they would not guarantee their floors unless you put this down first and then nailed the floor over that.

Anybody ever used that stuff?
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

mike_van

woodbowl - I think the answer to your question would be a house where the humidity never changes - climate control, i guess.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

Ironwood

Nature will win if you must have tight floors. Wood will always expand and contract unless you have a completely year round climate and humidity control. We have a soft maple floor from #3 common, it is beautiful but does move seasonally usually in one spot to the tune of 1/4" it stays tight everywhere else. Not bad considering. IT is the nature of wood to move, if customers want REAL wood they should expect movement otherwise get Pergo or formica that looks like wood! Sorry, we are all so detatched from the natural world it kind of make me wonder where were headed. We think food is grown at a grocery store and that clothes can only be bought at the  MALL. I'll set off the soap box now ;D
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

jgoodhart

I made a Oak plank floor mostly out of 19/32 plywood and veniered Oak to it so I wouldn't have seasonal shrinking. Face width varied from 5 3/4 to 7 1/2 after I tongue and grooved it.


beenthere

jgoodhart
That looks great.
Can you give us some details as to how you made this product?  What was the thickness of the oak veneer?  And how did you join the edges of the oak veneer strips (they look like about 2" widths in the pic) and glue it onto the face of the wider plywood planks?  Was the veneer sliced, peeled, or sawn to thickness?  ???
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

jgoodhart

Beenthere
The picture above shows an area about 9' wide. The Oak boards I planed and rough straiten them and glued plywood on each side. I placed 3 or 4 sandwiches in ( I call it a press ) press and used wood clamps to apply pressure till the glue set up. Then just resawed the the plywood off with a 1/4 of oak attched.  Most boards made 3 pieces of flooring. planed the sawed surface, jointed the edges, cut them to width and tongue and grooved them with a shaper and power feeder.



Picture shows a cross section the plywood 19/32 thick and the oak is just a shade under 3/16" the width of the board is 7".

Cypress Man

I am in the process of installing 15" wide cypress flooring in my living room and office by gluing it directly to the slab.  I spoke with a reputable flooring installer which only recommended using "Bostik's Best" adhesive.  It has an acrilic base which serves as a moisture barrier.  I am finished laying the living room but it will require sanding with a orbital flooring sander to flatten out the edges were the boards meet.  I think it will look beautiful and will send pictures when finished. 
LT70 wide head electric, IC5 Power conveyor, transfer table, Stop and Load Log Deck, Catapiller 360B Telehandler, Cat tl642c Teleloader, Cat TH514 Telehandler, Woodmizer EG400 edger, Logosol PH360 moulder, Extrema 26" Planner, Grizzly 16" dual conveyor resaw, Prentice 285 log loader

MotorSeven

Cypress Man,
Are you milling old growth or "new" cypress?

RD
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

LOGDOG

Cypressman,

   Are you done laying that Cypress floor yet? I'd like to see some pictures of it if you are. :)

LOGDOG

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