Installing Unfinished Hardwood Part 1

When you decide to install hardwood flooring the first consideration is whether the floor supporting it is strong enough. If there is movement when you walk on it you may want to add another layer of plywood (and glue the layers together), for strength.

In this case the floor joists were undersized, however there was a full width 1 1/2" cedar floor in place already. Considering that this 1" beech (very hard), flooring would be glued to the floor beneath, it should be more than strong enough as long as we ran the flooring perpendicular.

We always start with a clean chalk line and in this case we would be fitting a threshold to the entrance door later, so we trimmed off the lower part of the groove to make it easier to fit later. The first couple of rows get surface nailed typically... set the nails well below the surface though, and make sure the first board remains aligned to the chalk line.

Planning for full boards along obstructions is something that youwill find only experienced carpenters like Nick Vanegmond doing. (in photo above).

You will always start with the straightest boards, and alternate the width. This floor has 3", 5" and 7" boards. For the boards to remain tight you have to use the smaller boards to split the inconsistancies. End cuts all have to be trimmed off about 5-7" for stright from the mill products like these.

Every board is glued to prevent squeeks and for added strength and durability.

A cut off plank is used to bump the flooring into place. Trim off the tongue of the block leaving the groove face... this way you don't cause splinters that will obstruct the flooring from laying flat.

2 Steps to Make Hardwood Flooring

Making Flooring in 2 Steps

Step 1, Plane the dried lumber. One person feeds, the other takes it out and stacks. That's Chris feeding.

Step 2, the lumber is fed into the shaper. This is trick. I haven't showed you the machine because Merv designed it and built it to work the way he likes it. This machine trues the wood (takes the crown out), trims it to width, then does the back cuts, shapes both sides and does all this in a single pass.
Out comes perfect flooring!

Wood Flooring and Moisture

Did you ever wonder how wood absorbs moisture?

Plants draw moisture up the stem to the leaves. Wood from a tree is just a slice of the stem.

Wood cells can be as long as 2 1/2" and they look like tubes. When the wood is alive they are full of moisture

Oak has rather wide cells and that give it a distinct grain. Mahogany is a similar shape of cell.

Sealing the end grains can prevent any wood from expanding and contracting quite so much and so quickly.

Many exterior builders seal the lumber all 6 sides.

The more wood flooring is dried, the harder it gets. When wood flooring is dried using heat the sap cooks. This cooked sap will not absorb moisture the same as air dried or partially dried floors, and it will actually deter the infiltration of moisture some species like pine.

This is why Merv dries his flooring to 6% rather than 8% moisture content.

Quite often floors are destroyed by moisture damage-- It takes considerably more moisture to make 6% flooring swell than it does flooring dried less.

What makes good Hardwood Flooring?

Sanded in place flooring will always be more even and a more finished looking. Pre-finished flooring doesn’t get sanded in place and for that reason imperfections in the sub-floor will often show through. It also normally has v-grooves or ridges so that the joints are less prominent.
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The other issue with pre-finished hardwood flooring is that it is typically not available in wider than 5” strips and the moisture content is rarely less than 8%. Our flooring is dried to 6% or less. We have seen flooring from brazil between 10-12% which is wet enough to buckle, twist and shed much of the coating in the first year. Even flooring with 8% moisture will have durability issues and movement.
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Early flooring was comprised of alternating strips between 3-8” planks to make best use of the materials. It is a very different look and it simply cannot be matched in a pre-finished product.
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They would also hand plane the rough materials while they were in place. It was always a rough, hand hewn look, charming and personalized. That can be done, however the price will be astonishingly high. Rather than $15/sq.foot it may be closer to $35/sq. foot. Finishing with sanders is far more efficient and much more quickly done.
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When you buy pre-finished flooring you don’t have control over what finish is applied. Stains and Coatings vary greatly in both performance (durability), and how they age. When it comes to price stain can be purchased for between $20-200/gallon. Verathane can vary between about $30-150/gallon as well. Factory finishes can vary wildly in which product they choose to apply. It is often lacquor which is hard, but humidity can cause imperfect finishes.
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The major difference between pre-finished and finished in place flooring is that you can create custom colors to nearly any tint and shade. From pink to green… natural is rarely the choice anymore.
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Pre-finished flooring is often small chunks between 16” and 3’ long. Twisted material is simply cut shorter and milled at the ends as well.
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Our finished in place flooring is typically between 8-12’ in length and put down by craftsmen. Working with our flooring enables patterning and borders as well as countersunk plugs. Surface screwing and installing tapered plugs adds a historical look to a floor. Alternating the species of plugs will also add character and interest as well. We can also give an antique look by just sanding lightly leaving a slightly uneven appearance to the planks. Nothing you would trip on—just an authentic type of look. Sanding happens with a large polisher rather than a drum sander.
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Speak to one of our flooring installers if you are considering solid wood floors. If you are a builder or home renovator you may wish to visit the mill and talk to Merv about improving your offerings. Typically it means buying better and building better and more often than not—increasing your profit margin.

Hardwood Flooring Whitby Ajax Oshawa

Strip Hardwood Flooring is the traditional flooring of the 50's.

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They use smaller and shorter, lower grades of material and tongue and groove the ends as well. Some strips are 12" long... some are 36" and anywhere in-between.

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This strip flooring is roughly 3". Merv doesn't often mill material this small. In the interest of showing you different looks and options, we include these.

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You can reach Luke at (416) 834-0750 or (888) 293-8938

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This was unfinished oak, 3" strip which was stained and finished with 3 layers of high end verathane. You can tell from the photo above that it was finished in place due to the smooth appearance in the light from the window.

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Antiqued Wide Plank Flooring

Antiqued Wide Plank Flooring

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There are different ways to lay flooring. Sometimes it is a restoration type of project where we have to mill douglas fir into quarter sawn planks and then lay string in to create spaces and use square head nails to match a nearly 200 year old floor. Don't get me started about the tinting. Photo(Etobicoke-Toronto Wide Plank Pine Flooring Custom Tint)

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Flooring can be antiqued using chains, bolts, ball bearings, carved hammers and chain mail. The goal is to make it look old before it's time. There are a million techniques and some will look more rustic than others. We could start out with thicker boards and even sand wear paths out when it comes to pine and softer woods.

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My caution here is that the expectation needs to be met--not managed. Managing after a client is upset will cause problems later. Best to have an informed client. Photo(Etobicoke-Toronto Wide Plank Pine Flooring Custom Tint)

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If they like the look of pine, but aren't aware that pine will crush beneath heavy furniture and chairs and leave marks, and that high heels will mar the surface (antiquing the flooring further), and that the flooring will wear away with time. Beech is a hardwood that can be stained to look much like pine, (and without so many knots), if they want a better wearing floor. Photo(Etobicoke-Toronto Wide Plank Pine Flooring Custom Tint)
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A good hardwood, or Antique Wide Plank Flooring supplier will show you samples of what the floor will look like before it is installed.

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The floors seen in these photos were installed in an Etobicoke-Toronto Area residence and had to be stripped up after installation and hickory put down instead because the contractor didn't explain to the client what they were buying. It was nearly 3000 sf of flooring. Photo(Etobicoke-Toronto Wide Plank Pine Flooring Custom Tint)

The photos in this article were provided by Lawrence Winterburn. He was the trim carpenter doing crown molding, base and hanging doors on the site.

Barrie Area Hardwood Flooring Company

Nothing looks better beneath a Christmas Tree than Real Wood Flooring.

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The client wanted a rustic wide plank wood floor and an instantly old look so we gave pine the run down with 18 grit paper which gave it a scratchy surface. We gave it a rough scrape with 40 grit on the drum sander to even things out a bit. A light sand with the buffer to make it feel more smooth without taking out the slightly rough finish and this Wide Plank Pine floor was ready for stain. (photo) Wide Plank Pine Barrie On.

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We mixed high quality tints by hand to produce this exotic, South American Hardwood looking custom colour. Then gave it 3 coats of a high end verathane.

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Most people don't realize that we can put down high quality wide plank flooring of any species and give it nearly any colour tint we want. Some species absorb the finish better than others. Every type of wood has subtle differences in grain and colouration. You could use the same color stain on 5 different types of wood with entirely different appearances.

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This Beech Flooring has beautiful tone differences between sap and heartwood and has a natural color applied--however there is nothing stopping you from giving it a deep red tone to make it look much like tiger wood.

. (photo) Strip Beech Flooring Barrie On.
Both of these jobs were done in Barrie Ontario. To speak with the hardwood flooring contractors call 705-322-9919 and ask for Lawrence or speak to Jamie Elliott at 705-487 5353.