I'm in the planning stages of a new home. We're building an 1800's
reproduction farmhouse and want as much as is reasonable to keep an old
look to it. So we're thinking about buying dried rough sawn hardwood -
probably hickory because we like the color variation, then planing one
side of each board (to get a uniform thickness) and cutting each to a
uniform (wide) width.

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks but eliminate splinters and then face nail it to
the sub floor with an antique square head nail or possibly use screws
and plugs for a pegged look(a gosh aweful lot of work I know - but at
least you could sand it later if desired). Then either a poly or tung
oil finish.

We even like the look of the gaps between boards and so are thinking we
might not even rabit or t & g the edges.

Are we nuts? Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Russell Terrell

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm in the planning stages of a new home. We're building an 1800's
reproduction farmhouse and want as much as is reasonable to keep an old
look to it. So we're thinking about buying dried rough sawn hardwood -
probably hickory because we like the color variation, then planing one
side of each board (to get a uniform thickness) and cutting each to a
uniform (wide) width.

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks but eliminate splinters and then face nail it to
the sub floor with an antique square head nail or possibly use screws
and plugs for a pegged look(a gosh aweful lot of work I know - but at
least you could sand it later if desired). Then either a poly or tung
oil finish.

We even like the look of the gaps between boards and so are thinking we
might not even rabit or t & g the edges.

Are we nuts? Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Russell Terrell


You are not nuts at all to want a rustic look. To make it more rustic don't
cut all of the boards to the same width. Only the boards in the same row
need to be the same width. Are you doing the work yourself? You might
interview some good flooring people in your area to get some more ideas.

I believe that there are many suppliers of hardwood flooring listed in the
back of Fine Homebuilding Magazine. You might want to contact them to get
some ideas and cost estimates.

Have you figured out how you're going to clean it later? I can imagine lots
of dirt getting into the saw marks, and no way to get it out. If that's the
look you're going for, that's cool, I guess.

Clint

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm in the planning stages of a new home. We're building an 1800's
reproduction farmhouse and want as much as is reasonable to keep an old
look to it. So we're thinking about buying dried rough sawn hardwood -
probably hickory because we like the color variation, then planing one
side of each board (to get a uniform thickness) and cutting each to a
uniform (wide) width.

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks but eliminate splinters and then face nail it to
the sub floor with an antique square head nail or possibly use screws
and plugs for a pegged look(a gosh aweful lot of work I know - but at
least you could sand it later if desired). Then either a poly or tung
oil finish.

We even like the look of the gaps between boards and so are thinking we
might not even rabit or t & g the edges.

Are we nuts? Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Russell Terrell

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks but eliminate splinters

I would use a random orbit sander.

Are we nuts?

probably :-)

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

I would be concerned that the rough-cut stock would not be flat enough. You
could pull twist or bow out of a board by screwing it down, but if the board
is cupped, and you plane the down bottom side, thew rough side is still
going to have a hump or a cove.

Just something to consider.

-Steve


--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Your plank flooring will come out great. Yes, rip your boards so there
will be different widths per run. Belt sanding with 100 grit will get
rid of the burrs and high spots, then 150 grit will remove any 100 grit
sand marks. 100 grit sanding marks will show, once clear-coated, but
150 grit will do you justice.

Don't worry about mill marks collecting dust or debris. Your boards
will likely be sawn with a bandsaw, and those marks are not deep enough
to worry about, especially after belt sanding, sealing and
clear-coating.

Allow your boards to acclimate to the room (with air conditioning)
before installing, to allow maximum shrinkage. Any cupped boards can
be ripped narrow and used on the perimeters or other
out-of-the-way/sight places. Any severely cupped boards can be
discarded from floor use. I suppose you want the boards, or planks, to
abutt snuggly against one another.

If you don't necessarily want the boards snugged tightly against one
another, then chink between them with jute rope. If after time, once
you have laid your floor, if anymore shrinkage occurs, chink more, but
try to avoid using several small strands to fill a larger gap. Even in
initial installation, always try to use an oversized rope and pack one
strand into the gap. You can pack multiple strands on top of one
another, deep into the gap, but not adjacent to one another, across the
gap. For repacking a gap, you don't usually have to pull out the
original chinking. Jute rope can be stained to match, or nearly match,
your floor color (before staining, run the rope through a flame to
removed loose "hair"). It can be clear-coated, as well. If no stain is
used, clear-coat a sample of rope to assess the color. "Clear-coated
only" will still give it a wet look. Jute rope will give and take with
any more (long term) expansion and contraction of the flooring. When
installing, you can chink with small rope, if you want the boards tight
against one another. If your planks are 8" or larger and tightly
abutted, then chinking during installation may be more adventageous,
but more difficult. Any chinking adjacent to a wall, if space is
available, leave a tag for removing later, if ever needed.

I recommend to never use foam backer rods to chink plank flooring.

Sonny

wrote in message

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks

Are we nuts?

Yes.
Even with a few coats of poly, you will have floors that are a bitch to
clean. Where is all the gunk and dust that falls between the boards going
to end up? Worse case, though, is you sand them down later.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message

Then the idea is to run a belt sander over the top surface very lightly
to leave the saw marks

Are we nuts?

Yes.
Even with a few coats of poly, you will have floors that are a bitch to
clean. Where is all the gunk and dust that falls between the boards going
to end up? Worse case, though, is you sand them down later.


I disagree. Don't sand lightly! Sand aggressively. If 80 or 100 grit
sanding marks will show up on a nicely finished furniture piece, after
clear coating, then sawmill marks will certainly still show up,
decoratively, even after aggressive sanding. I mill most of my lumber
and have left mill marks on many of my pieces. If you lightly sand
them, then yes, collected dust and debris will be more noticeable and
may be troublesome for cleaning. Sanding agressively to a degree, such
that the boards are good and smooth, yet retain the mill marks, will
accomodate what you want to achieve, as for as asthetics, and not pose
a problem for cleaning. I've even jointed board faces, instead of
sanding, to make them smooth, yet left the mill marks on them, for such
effect. Even a very slight mill mark will give the asthetic effect you
desire, and no one will know any difference as to what is/was/may have
been the appropriate depth for sanding (or jointing). The very
slightest mill mark will likely be highlighted by the different uptake
of finish coating, as compared to an adjacent smooth area, and this
affect is, usually, more pronounced when staining before clear-coating.
Test a few boards.

Another thing you can do (time consuming) is to allow your boards to
weather (discolor) a bit, then sand/plane/joint to nearly smooth, and
any stain or finish will highlight the weathered areas against adjacent
sanded/planed/jointed areas.

I'm hoping to attack a similar project with my Victorian later this
year. Keep me posted.

wrote:

Are we nuts? Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.


One word of caution.. This project is going to take a long time. I knew
a guy that had his own Woodmizer and kiln. He made his own hardware
flooring for one room.. I'm guessing it was approximately 200 sq ft.
Even though the wood was basically free, he said he'd never do it
again. Way too time consuming vs just buying flooring.

I think not doing tongue and grove is a mistake as well. As others
said, spills and dirt are going to get trapped in the gaps, and I don't
think it will look good.