"John Grossbohlin" wrote in message
m...


"CW" wrote in message
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"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
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John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
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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.

Then again... if it's run through the thickness planer without
jointing first, so that you end up with parallel (co-planer) faces
though not necessarily flat faces, that is about all that matters.
Why? Because you are nailing it down every 16 (or 24 inches) to a
flat sub-floor and the flooring can be forced straight and flat as
it's nailed. As such uniform thickness and maybe parallel edges are
the most important considerations. I'm not convinced parallel edges
matter all that much if the boards extend all the way across the room
without butt joints...
Look at floors in real old buildings and you will see edges aren't
always parallel and boards nailed to joists aren't the same thickness
as they are adjusted in thickness at the joists to compensate for
varying joist thickness and floor thickness.


Thanks again John. Your input is extreemly valuable as you have the eye
and
the appreciation for the old stuff. It really does take a different
perspective to think through this kind of question. So many of the things
that we might do in contemporary times just lose their validity when
talking
about period stuff. Of course, the effect my son is looking for is not
for
everyone, but I do appreciate the persective you bring.
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When I was a kid, I lived in a couple of houses that were built in the
1800s and been in lots more. All had fully planed smooth floors. Even the
old farmhouse we lived in, the attached barn had smooth hardwood floors.

That is reasonable for post industrial revolution construction where
water/steam driven machinary, including planers, were in use. The Victorian
era with all the factory made ginderbread, windows, doors, etc. was where
such fabrication became very noticeable. Visit say a Shaker site and see
that they had water driven saws, jointers and planers and took full
advantage of those tools by the mid to late 1800s.

Go back another hundred years plus to the 1700s and before when pit saws,
perhaps water driven reciprocating saws, and hand surfacing was the norm...
Visit say Williamsburg, VA, and look at the buildings they are building
using 18th century technology. I know recent work was done at the blacksmith
shop location but if the building they put up in their 1980s is still on
that site look at the way the boards were fit to the ceiling/floor joists
for the ceiling/upstairs. Note that the floors throughout town were not
finished.

Figuring out what is period-correct for a home is somewhat dependent upon
what technology was available at the time it was built and the transpiration
available to move finished or raw materials. I've been in 18th century
homes in which modern oak strip flooring had been installed... looked
completely wrong next to the hand made doors, windows and trim.... though
someone obviously thought it was an upgrade somewhere along the way.
================================================== =======================
So, the house that the floor is to be installed in was built in the 1700s ?