"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 14:07:47 +0100, "RichardS" noaccess@invalid
wrote:

snip

Thanks, Andy. Inline comments.....



However, there are a couple of questions about this...

- is 9mm ply thick enough to nail into, and is it enough to provide
strength
for any joins that occur between joists (they're 14" centres)

I think from the strength point of view, 9mm should be OK, but I do
wonder about whether it is going to give adequate holding to the
nails. I have concrete floors and the boarding was fitted onto
18mm pressure treated softwood battens. The boards were then secret
nailed through the tongues into those.



Nails holding is kind of my primary concern. If I can manage to get away
with 12mm instead it may be better.


- which ply to use? Champion stock Far Eastern WBP, Shuttering Ply WBP,
BBA
Approved Construction Ply WBP, Marine WBP, at widely varying cost


- when secret nailing, is it necessary to pre-drill? I'm concerned about
nails splitting the tongue. Or will a (hired) nailer prevent this?

You shouldn't need to as long as you use the correct nailer and nails.


ta, that's reassuring.


If 9mm isn't up to it, then I could just about accomodate 12mm, but 18mm
would be way too thick & I'd have to rethink (again).

I would talk to the supplier - they may have some ideas. Some
movement is important for oak boards anyway to allow for changes in
moisture content. However, you don't want too much......


Can't quite get my head around this.

I'm quite familiar with dimensional change when it comes to moisture change,
and if it were being installed as a floating floor I'd install it as I would
a laminate and leave an expansion gap around the edge.

However, it isn't - each plank will be nailed to the subfloor, which being
ply will be relatively dimensionally stable.

If the floor were to expand then the centre might stay put, and each board
away from the centre would move laterally by a linearly increasing amount.
Therefore the edge boards may move by anything up to 1cm perhaps. This
obviously can't happen without them ripping the nails out.

Am I missing something, or are you saying that the boards just shouldn't be
cramped up too tightly together? The question appeared a week or so ago
about leaving an expansion gap, and I questioned that then, and also when I
asked a related question a long while ago it was suggested thatif anything
the boards might shrink, opening up gaps between them slightly (though being
T&G it won't matter too much).

I certainly need to understand this particular aspect of the board's
behaviour before I install if I am to avoid a costly mistake!


Oh, whilst I think about it, I'll want a finish to darken the floor.
Wax?
Oil? Any suggestions welcomed...


I used an oak oil which is a blend of boiled linseed oil, turpentine
and beeswax. Three coats of that - one each day and wiping off the
last two coats after 30 mins.

For maintenance I use beeswax (just a small amount) with a floor
polisher.

The effect is more or less satin in appearance and a honey colour.
If you send me an email I'll send you some photos to illustrate.


I'll take you up on the offer, thanks. I may be after something a little
darker though - more akin to the colour of church pews (a lot of church
woodwork was made out of oak, wasn't it? it's been a long time...)

One other useful point is that if the boards are random lengths and
widths (and probably shades and knots as well) try to keep them that
way and avoid grouping. One floor that I saw once had all of the
boards with knots down one side and it looked really weird.


Ah, already clocked that one from looking at the pile! Yes, laying the
boards out loose on top before installing seems to be quite a wise move!


.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl


many thanks
Richard

ps. was there much response to the suggestion of a meet in London?


--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk