Buying and installing real hardwood flooring.
 

There are several ways to have a wood floor in your home, laminate, engineered and of course the real thing.

As an avid woodworker hobby person my wife and I decided on all natural Florida Cypress it in naturally resistant to bugs termites etc.

If you go to the new Citizens bank in Brownwood you can see a beautiful job with it.

I searched the heck out of direct cypress mills here in Fl, found a great one up near Gainsville.

Spoke to owner showed us all the styles he made and how it was all klen dried.

They had very reasonable prices for all custom cut orders approximately $2.50 a sq ft

We placed our order last week

Received a call yesterday it was ready picked it up this morning and my other half offered to unload the truck

I stacked the wood in LR where it was going.

I want to point out a very important install detail which I'll bet the builder or other installer don't do no matter what type of floor is acclimate the wood the moisture content "MC" is the same as the house it take 5-7 sometimes 10 days it all needs to be spaced out, that was my job

enjoying this thread...keep posting

Free installation lessons (including the beer) if you want to help lay it in about a week!!

Yes, please keep us updated on this! I'm in the planning stages, and choosing mine soon. I hope it goes well, and will be watching for your updates.
Thank you !!!

Oh one thing I'm doing is running the ceiling fan 24/7 to circulate the air for the acclimation process along with keeping the concrete as dry as possible.

And just what is the installation process? Is this glued down, floated, nailed to sub floor? And then how is it finished? Sanded in place? Do they have an engineered version?

And engineered is actually real wood and can be sanded and refinished a few times. It is just pre-finished before install so no need to sand and seal once installed.

Keep us posted and we want final pictures.

About 8 years ago a few super urethane glues were developed that creates a moisture barrier to the concrete along with a rock solid bond, there are two primary manufacturers on the market, I need to speak with them on this application tomorrow and make a choice.

They do make engineered cypress, all you need to do is compare the two, IMO there's nothing like the real wood not only in looks but the feel under foot.

I can tell the difference 20 feet away.

The engineered stuff (not big box stuff) is $9 a sq + install for the good stuff or three times as much. Of course less labor.

This wood is so smooth it appears to be pre-sanded, I will sand in place yes but only with a drywall type sander by hand perhaps a bit with a palm sander here & there.

My last home I did 2800 sq ft this a piece of cake by comparison.

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This is a great project, but I hope you have considered one other aspect. I think it may be a big challenge to get a really tight glue down with 3/4" boards in lengths greater than 3 or 4 feet.

How are you going to avoid lifting in places, especially where there is natural board warp, and the resultant air pockets or "squishyness" which may result? Even the best glues I've used tend to dry unevenly and then bond unevenly.

The key I understand is no board is to greater than 7', I will use compression straps and 2" masking tape to keep the seams tight, if there is any lifting the only thing I know is to place weight in that area.

The boards I have were dried to under 10% and look very flat and straight, they are 10' long.

More of 'my 2 cents':

First, I'd start with glue tests. You need to know the right amount of glue needed on each surface and the number of minutes of set time for optimal bonding. If the glue instructions say something like "apply when tacky" you need to know just what that looks and feels like.

Secondly, the floor pattern for the entire area must be completely mapped out.

Check all boards and set aside any which have an obvious twist or warp. Use those for end cuts and edge boards

Good engineered flooring installers only do a small area at a time, so that they can be certain of a good glue bond and that things don't "get away" from them. I assume your 10' boards are tongue and grooved on the ends, so you're not going to cut them to 7'. I'd probably do no more than 4 boards at a time, 20 sq ft. which is a good size area. Since the boards are staggered, lay them down in place, scribe the glue edge area, then apply the glue only in that area. I would have heavy flat weighted objects, rented somewhere if I had to, to place over those entire board areas after setting and taping them. Have enough weights so you can complete several 4 board areas before removing the set that has been down longest.

This may slow down the job, but it will save problems.

the ends are not T&G so I intended to cut them 7' and less in random lengths.

Your other points will be great to work with.

Since you are cutting all boards, consider 6'/4' instead of 7'/3'. Installation will be a little easier and you may like the floor pattern better. I presume the boards have a slight bevel edge. Be sure to bevel the end cut edges so they match.

Good luck! Have fun! How about a couple of close up photos someday?

agree about 7 & 3 a few but 6/4 5/5 mixed etc is nicer looking, I'm also putting the whole room on a 45 degree cut.

I ordered this with no bevel so it will appear to be a flush floor.

I'll follow up with pics as it goes along.