Wide board flooring

[mtngun]

No tongue and grove, just planks. Each of the holes will have a wooden plug fitted, glued and sanded.

Backwoods, did you put relief cuts on the back of the planks ?

I can't be sure from the picture, but the board edges look to be perfectly square ? Some people like to put a light bevel on the top edges to hide the cracks when there is no T&G.

I'm not finding fault, to the contrary, your floor looks great, I'm just trying to learn the various techniques in preparation for the day when I do my own DIY floor.

 

[Brmorgan]

Boards will definitely expand/contract, but I fail to see how glue will constrain a board any more or less than nails ?

But -- I haven't tried the glue down method, just heard about another guying doing it on the West Coast, and was wondering if anyone else had experience gluing down doug fir.

Let's see if I can find his site and hopefully I don't get in trouble for posting the link since he is not a sponser. gluing doug fir flooring

Here's what he said on another forum (that AS does not allow us to link to), talking about doug fir flooring: Note he does T&G in addition to the glue.

I have nothing at all against nailed tongue and groove but I don't have the machinery to do tongue and groove, at least not do it well. I could perhaps set up a small router table to do the T&G but it wouldn't be super precise tolerances. I see my DIY choices as between screwing & plugging, as Backwoods did, or glue down.

I'm leaning your way too - I was under the impression that a good wood glue is designed to expand and contract with the wood, whereas epoxies and plastic-based glues set hard and are not as flexible.

FWIW it isn't that hard to do T&G with just a tablesaw and a dado set or even just a couple regular blades that you can stack. It can take a while to dial in precisely but once that's done it can go rather quickly.

 

[mtngun]

FWIW it isn't that hard to do T&G with just a tablesaw and a dado set or even just a couple regular blades that you can stack. It can take a while to dial in precisely but once that's done it can go rather quickly.

With a good table saw and support for the boards, which I'm lacking at the moment.

Being as dry Doug Fir splits so easily, I'd prefer a radiused T&G like on store-bought flooring. But, one makes do with the tools at hand.

I do have a humble HF jointer so thats why I was thinking to merely joint the edges and glue 'em down, using a few brads to hold it while it's gluing. Just an wild idea and I've got a year to think about it and perhaps acquire a few more tools along the way.

Brmorgan, if you do your doug fir floor before I do mine, let us know how yours turns out so I can learn from your mistakes. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Backwoods]

The look that we are looking for is to replicate an old word, wine cellar. We took into account that the wide boards were a living breathing thing and they will move after being laid down. Glue was not even considered as an option because they wanted a squeaky old floor in this kitchen. The old floor needed more attention then what it had been given and is a just a single layer of plywood, so it has plenty of flex to allow the floor to squeak when getting the morning coffee and watching the fog lift along the river valley. All the cuts are square for simplicity. After the whole floor was laid down the out side rows were removed and bar clamps were used to tighten up all of the gaps then the screws were tightened down to hold it while the floor relaxed into place. I agree tongue oil is better then linseed oil, however I use it by the gallon and it is only available in the quarts around hear. Lightly mop it on and allow to soak in over night and reapply twice more until the wood will not absorb any more. Wipe down and allow the wood to rest. If we have a board that wants to cup then relief cuts will be made or the board will be replaced.
The only real debate was whether to use Oak plugs or Walnut plugs, in other words did we want the pegs to blend in or stand out. Polyurethane was dismissed early on because the only real reason to use it is for the shine and after some ware the shine fades and the scratches show. Therefore, they opted for a wax finish that can be brought back with another coat, and will allow the natural wear of the wood. The reason behind using full 1” planks is simply because of the width of the plank can use the extra thickness to help stabilize it.
I would like to do the same thing in my dining room but would loose the 6” and 8” boards, and would reinforce the sub floor so that it is flat and solid. I would consider doing a half lap or tongue and grove on the sides and ends, and I would use the Walnut plugs, and a wood rasp to aid in the aging process.
As for Doug fir flooring, it looks grate in the right setting, like in a Montana bar room, or in an old cabin setting. The right choice of wood can make a setting work, and Steve from Brideck enterprise can make a Doug-fir floor work.

 

[mtngun]

Glue was not even considered as an option because they wanted a squeaky old floor in this kitchen.

The customer wanted a squeaky old floor. OK.

Getting back to the glue vs. nail vs. screw vs. T&G question, I've done a lot of searching on the subject and there doesn't seem to be any consensus. Here's a good thread from another forum where several people report good luck with glued floors, for whatever it is worth. To glue or not to glue

As I said before, I have nothing against nailed T&G, it's just that the simplicity of a glued plank floor is appealing to someone who wants to use their milled wood. The screw and plug system is another option if you like that look.

 

[Ted J]

I love the look of Tung oil but it's not nearly hard or durable enough for a higher-traffic area or if you have dogs etc. running around on it. It'll show scratches very easily. I'm going to be going with a good hard Poly-based finish on whatever I end up doing.

Vid of applying tung oil to an oak floor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD53LK0trS8

That's also a good way to add the poly finish to the floor. That's how we refinished bowling lanes when I worked at one in my college years, but with the poly once you started pouring you didn't stop until you were finished. It requires at least 3 people.