Sonny wrote:
Despite anyone's experience laying hardwood floor, laying thin boards
is a recipe for trouble, IMO.

You didn't say if the milled boards will be kiln dried. If they are
not, then the thin boards will be subject to even greater issues with
expansion and contraction or checking, than with thicker boards. If
they are not kiln dried, a resaw will release more tension, within the
boards, likely causing more distortion. Further dressing (planing)
would likely result in additional distortion. If they will be kiln
dried, then some of these issues may not be so pronounced.

Sorry - I thought I had included that in one of my responses. Yes - the
boards are kiln dried, after the purchase. They are stickered until the
time of purchase.


My rationale: For non-kilned lumber, if ripping a 1" board on the
tablesaw can release tension or show a moisture issue, by bowing as
you saw, then resawing and planing an 8" wide non-kilned board will
likely show similar and/or more distortion effects. There may end up
being more waste lumber, than with using thicker lumber.


Very good. This is exactly the kind of thought that I was hoping to
generate with this thread. Granted - it's wood and none of us can know for
sure how any piece of wood is going to act or react, but generating
different thoughts and considerations is very valuable. Some of the
thoughts might be "obvious", and some might be reflective of experiences,
but all are worthwhile when talking about something that is unconventional.

--

-Mike-