{"id":58,"date":"2007-09-05T08:25:55","date_gmt":"2007-09-05T13:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tenonandspline.com\/archives\/58"},"modified":"2008-07-30T17:45:15","modified_gmt":"2008-07-30T22:45:15","slug":"im-floored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenonandspline.com\/blog\/archives\/58","title":{"rendered":"I’m Floored!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a very busy Labor Day weekend. On Saturday I began the process of installing 300sq ft. of “utility grade” Oak hardwood flooring from Lumber Liquidators<\/a>. This stuff is only $.89 sq. ft. — and for good reason. Much of it was under 10″ in length (many pieces significantly less). There were numerous pieces that were improperly milled, missing tongues, missing grooves, etc. I originally purchased 330 sq. ft of the stuff, but upon further reflection decided that I should<\/em> have purchased less utility grade stuff – maybe closer to 250sq. ft. and maybe 100sq. ft. of good <\/em>stuff (select Red Oak). I ultimately wound up buying around 60sq. ft. of select Red Oak so that I’d have at least a few long pieces to weave in periodically. Inserting the occasional 8′ long piece after working with tons of 6″ pieces also served as a morale boost – speeding up completion of that row significantly.<\/p>\n

All things considered, I probably saved less than $200 in materials. However, I actually prefer the “patchwork” look for a workshop floor and it will definitely be easier to stomach the occasional inevitable incident that results in nicks, scratches and potentially gouges in the hardwood.<\/p>\n

The next question is: How do I finish the floor? Do I apply Polyurethane? Water-based? Or should I leave it unfinished?<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m fairly certain that at some point someone <\/span>is bound to knock over a can of stain in the shop…and without *any* sealer, the wood will soak it up like a sponge. I’m also concerned about mud and water damage in the traffic areas. However, I’m also leery of a heavy – and occasionally slippery <\/span>– polyurethane finish. For now I’m thinking of filling, sanding and then using a sanding sealer or possibly a light coat of water-based poly. Research continues.<\/p>\n

There’s still a lot of work to do on the interior…but here’s a time-lapse of the weekend’s endeavors below:<\/p>\n