Oak floor boards

[the village idiot]

Need some help again folks!

 

We are just starting out on a self build project and I am really keen to use Oak from the wood for certain features in the house. One of these features is flooring.

 

I have Oak trees and I have access to a Woodmizer. Beyond this I am totally clueless and would really appreciate some advice on all aspects of milling, drying, finishing and laying the boards.

 

Has anyone done this sort of thing before? I'm sure there are plenty of do's and do not's

 

Many thanks, TVI.:thumbup:

[SteveA]

In a similar situation here. But you have access to a woodmizer whereas we don't.

 

I've been thinking of dragging out some long oak sections and hiring in a mobile saw operator for a day to make loadsa oak boards and beams.

 

Apparently "oak can be a bit naughty when drying out".... so I've been told.

 

The chaps that helped with our barn said they do basic overlap on their floor boards. They take it on a trailer to Jewsons to machine the boards. Then fit them loosely until they dry out more before nailing down.

 

cheers, Steve

[openspaceman]

 

Apparently "oak can be a bit naughty when drying out".... so I've been told.

 

The chaps that helped with our barn said they do basic overlap on their floor boards. They take it on a trailer to Jewsons to machine the boards. Then fit them loosely until they dry out more before nailing down.

 

 

Unless they are quarter sawn, and mostly they aren't as you need the width, they will cup and shrink. The way round was to fit them and use folding wedges at the edge to keep tightening the boards together before final sanding if necessary.

[dirtybiker]

Chaps. Oak flooring needs to be very dry before you can use it (about 12%) or less. That's before final machining any t&g or rebates. Remember that the wider the board the higher risk of cupping when it's fixed.

I would buy the flooring in and save your home grown oak for structural beams and posts or ledges and braced doors etc.

If fixing over underfloor heating you'll need engineered boards or they will warp like crazy.

I used 200 & 220mm boards on my self build. Fixed down with hidden 'tonguetight' fixings.

[agg221]

I did my own boards in our previous house.

 

I milled at 32mm, through and through sawn but not from the outermost parts of the tree, air-dried as planks for a year and then cut out boards to width, using a hand held circular saw with a stringline for the first cut and a fence for the second. Widths were grouped, from memory, something like 6", 6.5" and 7" (if you cut to the same width it has to be the narrowest, which wastes a lot of wood but if you make too many widths you can never find pairs which fit together). For boards which were long enough to span the whole room I cut them to whatever width made sense.

 

The boards were then stacked in the room, behind the sofa, for about 4 months. I then had access to a jointer-thicknesser and edged them all, then planed down to 1", making sure one face was perfect, the other as good as possible.

 

I used a router to put a half lap in (I had allowed for this when I cut my widths, so as long as I was machining it out, I left the odd waney edge as long as it didn't go more than halfway through).

 

I fitted the boards with brass screws, two through each board onto each batten (mine was over concrete). I bought one of the all-in-one drill/counterbore/countersink drills, which proved a really good idea. I also found a long steel screw of the same diameter and pitch, ground the head down and had it in a second electric drill with good torque and quick reverse, so I could drill a set of holes, then run the steel screw down to cut the thread. The screw fixings were being left visible, so I used slot-head and screwed them in by hand, using a bit of grease. All the heads were lined up neatly. I then sanded and finished with Endeavour oil and white wax, which gave the look I was after. The colour is graded through the use of normal, mid-brown and very brown timber. I didn't have to re-apply anything in the next 5yrs we were there and when we sold I just ran a quick buff over it and it came up as new, even in the high traffic areas.

 

I was very pleased with the result and I had negligible shrinkage. Except in boards from the very edge of the tree you don't get enough cupping in a 6" width to be a problem for planing out and double-screwing held everything flat once it was in.

 

There is a photo here, on the second page. This isn't from when we sold it, it's the people after us so the dodgy red leather sofas which clash with the pale green woodwork and casein distempered walls and ceilings are nothing to do with us!

 

http://www.cheffins.co.uk/assets/property/file/14188_1.pdf

 

 

Alec

[SteveA]

Oh gawd - why does flooring seem so complicated and a faff?

Maybe we'll go with a thin cement screed and do cordwood circles.

Or just flatten some mud.

cheers, Steve

[agg221]

Oh gawd - why does flooring seem so complicated and a faff?

Or just flatten some mud.

cheers, Steve

 

I can bung you some rushes if you want to strew them over the top....

 

Alec

[agrimog]

unless you've got accses to a kiln, and a good wood machine shop, you'll be cheaper buying oak flooring, .....rough saw,(prefer quarter sawn) air dry for arond 12 months....20-30%, kiln dry to 8-10%, mill to rough size, plane and mould to finish size, (remember grain orientation, and relief grooves on the back,) fix down(stainless or brass fixings)or...... save yourself a lot of grief and cost, and see what kind of deal you can get from the big flooring warehouses ( bonus being the high quality urathane finishes available)

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

unless you've got accses to a kiln, and a good wood machine shop, you'll be cheaper buying oak flooring, .....rough saw,(prefer quarter sawn) air dry for arond 12 months....20-30%, kiln dry to 8-10%, mill to rough size, plane and mould to finish size, (remember grain orientation, and relief grooves on the back,) fix down(stainless or brass fixings)or...... save yourself a lot of grief and cost, and see what kind of deal you can get from the big flooring warehouses ( bonus being the high quality urathane finishes available)

 

It probably grates to have to buy it in but in some cases it really is the best option - and I think this is one of them.....

[devon TWiG]

Have you thought of doing "parquet " type of flooring ? it can be done to amazing effects using different patterns and a combination of different woods .