Carpentry Strut Time
PATX
2,820 Posts
I just went to Build It Green 
And bought some of these heavy ass 3" beams to make a floor.
These things shouldn't really have any warp in them right or do they need to rest for a while? Any tips for attaching them to the floor properly? Right now they are on a layer of shitty lino tiles and a layer of carpet underlay. The underlay can go, but removing the tiles would probably make the floor much rougher.
And bought some of these heavy ass 3" beams to make a floor.These things shouldn't really have any warp in them right or do they need to rest for a while? Any tips for attaching them to the floor properly? Right now they are on a layer of shitty lino tiles and a layer of carpet underlay. The underlay can go, but removing the tiles would probably make the floor much rougher.
Comments
As to the warp, let the wood sit for at least a week, IN the room where it's gonna be installed, you don't want it to shrink or warp after it goes down.
Leaving them in the room a couple days will help them acclimate to the average temp and humidity, i would do so before cutting. Aside from that, adhesive to the subfloor (i would nail down plywood) and quarter round on the mouldings. But hey, i'm no flooring dude. Sand, stain and fill to taste.
Yes, they will warp regardless of what you do. However, fastening them down to the existing floor will minimize the movement (I would use large antique/barn nails). Also, until a board is secured on the floor, you should not keep them sitting on ground level. The moisture on the floor will rise and cause the boards to bow (no matter how thick they are). So try keeping them about 3' above ground level for the time being. You should also periodically rotate them (turn them over) to counter act any warping that does occur.
Tongue and groove is for proper flooring. I have some of that for other areas. These are old beams, 3" thick, and I'm assuming they are less prone to warping considering they hold houses up and stuff. They have already sat for 3 days in the room - procrastination is useful like that.
I did think about some sort of liquid nails type thing because the wood would sit nicely on it but was worried about f*cking up the wood for any future uses I might have for it... I'm odd like that. But I guess it could be sanded off no problem if I decide to dig them up again. Maybe liquid nails plus 6" screws will do it. Antique barn nails would look the best but will probably cost a lot in NYC.
Anyway, I think I just need to go for it. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Yes, sanded and varnished. It will have a natural unevenness, but apparently that's better for your feet.
i mean maybe you should really go to home depot and see what hardwood floor pieces usually look like and then go from there.
But don't trust me. I'm a woodworking nightmare.
what are you using for a threshold from the planks to the carpet?
Basically.
The carpet is coming up and the fake oak floor is going down. Don't know what the threshold will be yet. I might make a border with 2x4s as they are the same height as the planks.
It's gonna be mad rustic with minimalist flourishes.
I nearly found God while laying the laminate flooring. That shit is retarded. I'm getting it so cheap I might get more though.
Then I found this guy in my oak ply. WTF???
Saw these and thought you carpenter doods might like:
wooden bike wheel dude
wooden supercar dude
go with countersunk screws
you can tongue and groove those yourself if you got access to a decent tablesaw. not too hard. definitely square the sides up or sides wont match up too well and will gap up.
if youre down to be rustic, just f*ckin do whatever, especially if youre not spending dough and youre willing to do it all over in 6 years.
spend a couple bucks extra and get ecoprocote polyeurathane. ive used it and it looks great. no vocs that will give you headaches.
They're probably already minorly warped. Never seen boards that thick used as covered flooring, but if you have the ceiling height, who cares? I'd scrap/pull the tiles up, level the floor with floor leveler and shoot the boards into the concrete with Hilti shots. Ask the dude at hilti what length to use and tell him your purpose. you can do the counter sink/concrete screw thing but that's a busted tendon waiting to happen...and a ton of striped screws that if they don't catch all the way will actually force your new boards up.
If you use the shots, you can grind of the top of your barn nails and glue them on top if you like.
I'm assuming that floor is concrete????
That's really cool.
Anyone know of a handbuilt wooden turntable?