I’ve bought an MFBM of local birch planks (4″ and 6″ edged and planed but not t&g) that I plan to floor my cottage with. I was thinking of installing it like pine, top screwed and plugged (several small floors, good success) until someone pointed out that birch does not behave like pine (yah dummy) and I would more likely end up with a mass of split kindling than an interesting floor.
Opinions? Should I rent time on the shaper and T&G it all? Anyone tried biscuit joining plank hardwood flooring? Or could surface fastening work?
In a quandry
Replies
We call it the poor man's cherry.
If your planks were dryed and milled properly, there should be no problem. This flooring is called red birch because it is milled primarily from the heartwood of white paper birch. I don't find it overly splintery at all, heart or sapwood. There is some greenish undertones sometimes.
Excellence is its own reward!
That floor is beautiful! How was it done?
It's typically milled 3.25" w flooring srips, T&G, put down with a nailer, sanded and three coats of oil based poly..
Excellence is its own reward!
You can screw it from the top if you predrill the holes an eighth bigger than the screw shanks. No worry about splits then, just use screws with large enough flat heads or washers. The only thing about square edges is that they will eventually tend to collect more crud in the gaps than t&G. Also, the varnish will run into the gaps and glue the boards to the floor. I see a lot of old square edge floors around here. They crack where they want to crack. Adds character. Most are just nailed with cut nails. Just figure how much time and expense it will take to drill, screw, plug versus mill T&G. Around here its about an extra $2/SF for screwed and plugged. Milling may be cheaper and easier.