Wide Plank Flooring Toronto

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Wide Plank Flooring Suppliers in Toronto

Random width, wide plank pine, custom tinted installed in a Rosedale Residence in Toronto

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The majority of our clients live in or near Toronto Ontario. We offer free shipping directly to the site within the GTA or Barrie*, or you can pick it up at our Mill near Collingwood if you would prefer.

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If you look closely at the photo (or click it to see the larger view), our wide plank wood flooring is milled to different widths. When you buy wide plank wood flooring out of a box from a retailer it is usually a 5" board and all the same.

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Our Random Wide Plank Products are available in Beech, Ash, Oak, Maple, Pine and most other locally grown species and typically feature 3" to 8" boards and really give a different and more historical look. Pine is available in larger board sizes, however it is a softer wood.

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If you would like wide plank wood flooring installed in the Toronto Area please call Lawrence at 416-951-9998. They have 5 crews at the ready all winter long. You can also place your materials order through Lawrence.

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You can also order through the mill directly or arrange a visit with Merv at (705) 445-1147. You can click for directions at the side bar, but please call first.

*(on orders of more than $3,000)

Dehumidification Kilns.

These are drying kilns. Sort of like a garden shed with a railroad to move the lifts of stickered lumber in and out.

These kilns use heat and a dehumidifier to remove moisture from the lumber. It takes a few days to take White Pine down to 6%, and can take up to 3 weeks for some hardwoods.


The wood is always dried before being turned into flooring. Drying makes the lumber much more stable and any cracking or twisting will ocurr during the drying phase. When the lumber has "Done its Thing", we then plane it so that it is flat and true it so that it is straight.


Stickering is basically re-stacking with small spacers to allow the air to flow through the lumber. It really has to be done by hand.

These fans circulate the kiln's air through the stickered wood. Plywood is placed to direct the air to fit each load of lumber individually. If you didn't have the circulation the kiln would not dry the lumber all to the same level.


This unit is the dehumidifier--it simply extracts the water from the circulated air. There are other aspects involved, but for simplicity, we are showing you the basics.

Planing Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring

We've come a long way from the days where planing wide plank flooring was done after it was in place.

This is a 10 HP Three Phase Planer. I am not sure how old it is exactly, but she has history.

This 3500 lb machine lived at the Collingwood Shipyards for the first 35 or so years of it's life, and Merv bought it at auction.

It originally had an 8 hp, 500 Volt motor. If he tried to run it with that motor every home within 2 miles would have their lights dim for a second when it started.

This is the kind of wood planer that will remove 1/4" of material a pass and do it smooth, quickly and without slowing down. This is no handyman machine... it was designed for constant duty.

Relief Cuts - What are they for?

Relief Cuts in Flooring

These small cuts out of the bottom of flooring actually have 2 purposes.

Firstly it breaks the tension that causes wood to cup. (Cupping is when the board becomes curved across the width of the flooring).

Secondly it cuts the surface area that contacts the sub-floor. If the boards were flat on the bottom they would likely have more creaks and pivot points. Small bits of sawdust, grit or sand may cause the flooring to pivot or not sit flat after if the relief cuts did not exist. Cutting the surface area down increases the pressure on the contact points--enabling more solid connection.

White Oak and White Cedar Shingles

Now Milling White Oak Shingles and White Cedar Shingles in the Toronto Area

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Many people don't realize that shingles were made from numerous species of wood over the centuries with varying results.
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White oak, black locust, honey locust, redwood, cedar, rock elm, yellow poplar and osage orange for examples.
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Here in Ontario we traditionally had plenty of White Oak so many historical buildings originally had them.
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This is an old school mill with Merv posing beside it. Merv has actually devised a way to do the shingles on his band saw mill. Many have tried... few have had success but he has made it work.
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Where Red Cedar may last 20-40 years depending on the grade and who installed them, White Oak shingles may well last twice as long.
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White Oak Shingles are difficult to source. They are available now from Colling-Wood Flooring mill starting at $410.00 USD per square. (FOB Collingwood Ontario).
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Merv also has a supply of White Cedar to make shingles from. These start at $200.00 per square and again, it depends on the grade. We can custom mill longer, thicker or to just about any specification. Turnaround time is 6 weeks for most orders, so please book ahead.
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Most people don't realize that White Oak Shakes or Shingles have a life expectancy of 125 years and obviously they are a renewable and Green Alternative to Asphalt and most other types of roofing.
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The other issue is fire protection in places like California. These shingles can be chemically treated to resist fire as well.
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Call Merv Directly at (705) 445-1147 for more information about shingles.

Best way to heat a Woodwork Shop

Here's the best way to heat a woodworking shop.

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This little shed houses a fireplace with something resembling a truck radiator. Water is circulated through the flooring mill-woodworking shop and the house offering nearly free heat for both.

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The fuel for this unit? Off Cuts, Mill Ends, SCRAP wood from the woodshop.

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No disposal cost, no delivery surcharge.

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This is the most efficient way to heat any woodworking shop.

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Inside the shop and showroom are 2 small radiators with fans that are controlled by a thermostat.

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Running a profitable woodworking business is about efficiency and practicality. The lower your overhead the higher your profit and the greater your ability to keep pricing competetive.
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This is the other shop unit. It is designed so that it doesn't load up with sawdust.

Is Engineered Wood Flooring Durable?

Engineered Wood Flooring is made from numerous layers of plywood and solid wood laid up perpendicular to one another with resin and has a thin layer of hardwood on top. Normally it then has the same polyurethane with aluminum oxide on top to seal it as click flooring. It is more durable than click flooring, however by the price you would think it would be real hardwood flooring.

Engineered flooring normally contains real hardwood so it will look very much like the real thing HOWEVER--If engineered flooring gets damaged you will not likely be successful in repairing it. You may be able to sand lightly and touch up with polyurethane however it just isn't worthwhile. If you tried to refinish it like real hardwood floor you will likely burn through the typical 1/8" veneer when you run a power sander over any high spots. These floors are not likely to look good for more than a few years, then it is replacement time.

Based on price, you are likely better off to install pre-finished strip hardwood which retails about the same price. It takes a little longer to install, however you have the ability to re-finish a couple of times over the life of the floor.

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Now, if you want real hardwood flooring, you can have our wide plank Oak, Maple, Ash or Beech for the same price. It takes a little more time to install, and you may want to hire a pro for the finishing, $3.00-4.00 per foot, however you should get 50 years of service from your initial investment and you can custom tint the colour to any shade or colour. If you plan to keep the home for more than 5 years, and you care about value, install real wood flooring.

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Our flooring is full length and wider boards than the standard boxed store flooring. It is a far superior looking floor and obviously has a greater intrinsic value for many years to come.

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So in summary, use click or laminant for locations where people are not going to take care of it. Rentals, investment properties.

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Use real wood for locations where you get to enjoy the durability and the better looks.