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Opinions needed: What should I cut an mill for flooring for my log house?

Started by MotorSeven, August 29, 2011, 08:02:39 PM

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MotorSeven

My walls are almost halfway up(6x6 ERC). I want a light colored flooring and after seeing the price of finished hardwood floor my wife and I said, "no way Jose to $5 a sq ft". I am not in a big hurry and have a hundered ac to choose from: hard maple, soft maple, beech, ash, white oak, poplar, hickory and a few others I can't remember right now. So what would y'all choose to cut and sticker in the house basement to let the soapstone stove "kiln dry" druing the upcomming winter? My neighbor has a big shaper and can either T&G it or Shiplap it.
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

MotorSeven

WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

WDH

Did you cut the cedar logs with your LT15?

Ash will have a much more bold grain than the beech or maple.  Hickory would be difficult to work with.  
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

KBforester

I vote beech if you have decent logs. I always like the idea of using stuff that isn't popular, but highly functional.
Trees are good.

Satamax

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millwright

I have used black ash for flooring and casing trim, and also for cabinets , it works very well.

Cedarman

We have the big room floored with quarter sawn ash.  A small section is from flat sawn.  I like the quarter sawn much better.  It also has some darker heart wood in it for contrast.  Walnut floor in hall way and some walnut wainscoating.  Looks nice also.  Our house is also 6x6 cedar.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

red oaks lumber

the only wood that can take the harsh rapid drying you are speaking of is ash. all other woods will self destruct without having a controled drying process. :)
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POSTON WIDEHEAD

I can put you on some KOOL-AID colored WHITE OAK......but ya need to hurry before the color goes away. :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

mikeb1079

do you have enough black cherry on your land?  if so that gets my vote. 
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MotorSeven

WDH, initially I wanted to use all my ERC. But, my terrain(steep) made this diffucult and dangerous, so I will end up with about 1/4th my own cedar. I bought the rest of the 6x6x8' ERC for $20 a stick from Grant Cedar Mill in Gordonsville TN(about 3 hrs from me & East of Nashville). This was not too much more than buying raw logs locally which proved to be an exercise in futility.

Mike, no, as far a I know I have no black cherry.

Guys, I think most of my Ash is Green Ash and it is abundant. It gets cut for firewood a lot and I see it is very light in color so I may go that route.

I also have quite a bit of Beech but I am not sure how it will warp/twist when drying. As far a Maple goes I don't know how to tell the difference between hard and soft maple. Can either be used for flooring? What about Poplar...too soft?

I guess I am looking for the easiest one to work with under my parameters that is light in color. Sorry for all the questions, but I really need to be edjumacated :D
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

cypresskayaksllc

LT40HDDR, JD950FEL, Weimaraner

WDH

Beech can be difficult to dry straight.  Oak is in the beech family, and I suspect that it requires, like oak, more gentle drying than most other species.

Yellow poplar has a specific gravity of about .48.  Cherry has a specific gravity of .50.  Soft (red) maple is about .54.  Black walnut is about .55.  Green ash is about .56.  Hard maple is about .62.  Red oak is about .62.  White oak is about .68.  Hickory is .70 or above.  That should give you some idea of the relative density of these species.  I think that green ash would be a fine choice.

As to hard maple versus soft (red) maple.  Both species have leaves with lobes.  Sugar maple (hard maple) has about 5 lobes (think the Canadian flag) while red maple has three.  Also, the leaf margin between the lobes in sugar maple are not toothed, but the leaf margins between the lobes of red maple are decidely toothed.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

MotorSeven

WDH, thanks. My neighbor worked at a local sawmill for 15 years and even he could not tell me how to find hard maple in the woods. I do have a few sugar maples, but green ash sounds like the winner.

Well......... I considered mixing, but the whole dang house is going to already be 'busy" so a consistant light floor is the way I want to go.

I won't get to cut and mill anything until the house is in the dry...I'll post up a update then.
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

sealark37

I vote for ash. I did most of my house in ash 25 years ago.  It is simply beautiful.  I had the mill make my door and window casing out of the ripped edges from making 4" flooring.  We get lots of positive comments.  Regards, Clark

jdtuttle

I just finished a mixed hardwood floor & it looks great. Ash, white oak, red oak, cherry & poplar.
jim
Have a great day

catskillpond

I would like to see what a mixed floor looks like thinking fo doing the same in the kitchen
Pond&Lake Specialist Norwood MX34 and a whole bunch of other Iron

petefrom bearswamp

1993 built our present house, (not me I was too busy with my career as a consulting forester).
Sugar maple from 2 to 8 wide all screwed up from underneath in the  kitchen and dining area. 
living room, hall and den Black cherry 3 to 9 wide screwed as previous.
Bedrooms (2) White pine 12 to 16 also screwed as previous.
Nothing showing upstairs.
18 years of kids, grand kids and a dog and it still looks great with of course the requisite wear and tear.
A few boards now creak, but this is to be expected.
I like to work with beech a bit difficult but worth it.
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57 acres of woodland

MotorSeven

I am dragging this post back up because the stove pipe is en-route and I will have the stove up and running in the basement within 2 weeks. I have not cut anything yet because I didn't have any place to put it. I was at a local mill the other day and they have 5 quarter x 6" wide poplar that has been sticker'd out in the weather for 6 or so months....a thousand bf is $450.

I have kinda backed myself in a corner and will be ready for flooring in about 2-3 months. 2 questions, will poplar hold up as well as SYP, and If I go this route, what is a realistic drying time in the heated basement with a fan on the stack?
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

Cypress Sam

hickory would look good if you want to have a light color.  But about twice as much as you think you are going to need to cull knots, warped boards and cracks.  I have ran alot of t and g flooring and every thing that has not been kiln dried down to 7% or less usually ends up with cracks between the boards.

   Sam
SAM

Bandmill Bandit

If you have access to quaking aspen, cut a couple hundred feet and lay it in the house to see how it looks. I think it would look great with the you ERC walls. JMHO.
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
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jeremiahdixon

#2 oak unfinished is running about 1.30 to 1.50 in Missouri, the #2 stuff still looks really good in my opinion, just has some character.

MotorSeven

CS, I don't think I have time to skid cut and stack hickory.
BB, no aspen here.
JD, we do have a flooring mfg in Morristown, so I might call them & see what a kiln dried stack would cost. I drove by there today and that have a lot of lumber sittting outside on stickers. Cracks and knots are fine, I want it "rustic" and may just butt 'em..no T&G or shiplap.
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

dlabrie

QuoteI just finished a mixed hardwood floor & it looks great. Ash, white oak, red oak, cherry & poplar.

Jim, Do you have any pictures?
David in NH

MotorSeven

Hmmmm, I just got off the phone with our local hardwood floor mfg. I can get 1,000 sq ft of Kiln dried 5 quarter rough cut Ash for $748. This does not sound like a bad deal at all...........
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

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