# Barnwood Hardwood Floor?



## [email protected] (Jan 10, 2006)

I have saw lots of posts on hardwood floors but couldn't find anything that really answered my question. Am going to be deconstructing a barn this week, and have a room in my basement that I am thinking about messing around with and putting some of the barnwood as flooring, ideally using some of the loft planks. Question is, if I plane all the wood, what is the best way to install the floor. Its in basement, so was going to put down a plywood subflooring, and I seem to find two different ways to install. First is, router every piece and make it tongue and groove, or I saw people have a clean edge, glue the bottom, and use a floor nailer and nail down? This way seems much quicker, didn't know if anyone has tried this, I am no carpenter, just was going to try and have some fun in the mancave!


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## plugjerker (Aug 29, 2006)

your biggest issue will be moisture content of the wood,you need to get ahold of a moisture meter,and im sure it will be way high.It really needs to dry out to at least 12%.Tounge and groove is ideal,if not,glue and face nail it.Decorative face nails can be found online and look good in a barnwood floor.a regular floor nailer wont cut it if not tounge and grooved.If your looking for someone to dry and tounge and groove it for you,i know a guy within a half hour from you.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Unless you have a very dry basement be ready for some serious expansion and contraction of the wood.

Are you planing on putting down strips to nail it to?

I got the miserable job of trying to inject glue under a bruce floor that had been glued to the concrete to manuf. It came loose due to expansion contraction. We put 1 1/2 gallons elmers glue under it using horse syringes in calking guns. 

Got sent back up the next spring to reglue again. You could see the same spots had come loose by the fillers where we had filled the drill holes with. Told the boss he could do it if he wanted it done because I refused.

They ended up pulling it and stripping and reinstalling.


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

It may be a cool look when it's first laid, but I don't think it will last long. It's not a good idea to install wood flooring in a basement unless you're using a product specifically designed and manufactured for use below grade. 

John


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## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

White wood (or plywood) is a definite no no on concrete, unless you really like rotten wood and black mold.

Frame up a floor with treated wood (lay flat) and then 3/4" treated plywood. You will then be able to install your planking.
Make sure however that the wood is acclimated to your basement environment for at least 72 hours before attempting to install.
Whether or not you tongue and groove it or install by butting the pieces together, you will get expansion and contraction.


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## jasonvanorder (Feb 23, 2009)

So glad there is a search function here. Anyway kinda along the same lines as the OP except i plan on using it on the main floor instead of the basement. I really dont have a way to tongue and groove it myself so was thinking of just butting the boards together and face nailing them. Anything i should be worried about? Plan on storing the wood in the basement for a week or 2 before its used. First time doing any flooring so any advice would be handy


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

jasonvanorder said:


> So glad there is a search function here. Anyway kinda along the same lines as the OP except i plan on using it on the main floor instead of the basement. I really dont have a way to tongue and groove it myself so was thinking of just butting the boards together and face nailing them. Anything i should be worried about? Plan on storing the wood in the basement for a week or 2 before its used. First time doing any flooring so any advice would be handy


Helped my uncle do knotty pine paneling a few years ago made from pine trees that were becoming liabilities next to his cabin. Did a lot of the cutting and trim work for him. I also helped him install a small bit of it. He finished most of it himself. I also installed pre-finished hardwood floors into my previous home - about 600 sq. ft. 

If you're doing it yourself you might want to consider investing in or borrowing the following tools: 

Planer to plane board to an even thickness
Router w/ table and appropriate routing bits. 
Miter saw for quickly cutting boards down to size and cutting angles
Table Saw for trimming boards lengthwise
Air compressor with hookup for air tools (pancake compressor works really good for flooring projects)
Air Framing nailer
Air Brad nailer
Air Pneumatic Flooring nailer
Small sledge
Rubber mallet
Good set of kneepads
Chalk Reel
Large level (6 ft) or very straight, flat piece of 2x4

I was lucky enough to be able to borrow most of the tools I needed so I only had to buy a few things. 


I think the rule of thumb for laying flooring is to store it in the room you plan in installing it in and letting it 'acclimatize' for at least 2 weeks. I would not store it in your basement as michigan basements are generally damp areas. But if this is barn wood you probably want to have the moisture content properly tested. The last thing you want to do is lay a bunch of wood down and have it start popping or huge gaps between boards showing up because of expansion/contraction. 

Very first thing would be to determine if your subfloor is in adequate condition to install nailed hardwood onto and has relatively uniform 'flatness'. You will need a minimum of 3/4" ply subflooring to install over. I did mine over 3/4" OSB but had to do a lot of work to ensure flatness of the subfloor. (Couple days renting an orbital grinder to sand cups near joists and other peaks near exterior framing - that sucked). I had a few spots I had to spot fill with self-leveling compound, and a few other spots where I simply put excess underlayment down in a layered approach to achieve relative flatness. 

Next thing would be to plane all the boards to the same thickness. I doubt barn wood will be uniform after all the years in the barn. With a router table you can route tongue and groove into the boards so you can use a flooring / framing nailer. You can find lots of info on google how to cut your own tongue and groove boards for flooring. 

Now would be a good time to work on the finish of the boards - natural, stained, satin or high-gloss poly? Cleaning up the surface and applying a coat of a poly sealant will protect the finish of your boards. It's also way easier to finish them while they're up than to do it after they're down. 

After that it's a matter of laying the wood and nailing it. I wont get into that here there's plenty of good info on google. 

I would also test face nailing the wood to make sure it isn't going to split each time you drive a nail into it.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Really awesome link doing almost exactly what you want to do: 
http://www.instructables.com/id/Wide-Plank-Floor-DIY-Rough-Cut-to-Tongue-and-Groov/


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## jasonvanorder (Feb 23, 2009)

d_rek said:


> Really awesome link doing almost exactly what you want to do:
> http://www.instructables.com/id/Wide-Plank-Floor-DIY-Rough-Cut-to-Tongue-and-Groov/


Thanks for the info! Trying to do this a cheap as possible. Most everything in your tool list i can get my hands on so im all set there.


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