Hardwood floor (Ipe) and new subfloor

[cgrutt]

More cabin work putting in new hardwood (Ipe) floor while it's still relatively warm out so jumped off other project for a bit. Problem with this one was existing floor was way out of level so need to install new subfloor first. Floor was almost 3" out over about about 13'... had to actually come down on the high spot or wouldn't have clearance to open front door so was bit of a challenge leveling it out...

Scribing 2x4s and gluing/screwing to existing subfloor. Lot of work but got it really close to being dead flat! Hopefully will get new 3/4" T&G plywood subfloor down tomorrow and start laying the Ipe out on Wednesday...

Scribing 2x4s...



Glued and screwed to existing subfloor...



Just about ready for 3/4" T&G tomorrow...

 

[NYGuns]

Well it's safe to say this is going to be the straightest, flattest and prettiest floor around. Keep up the good work, Chris!

 

[stokes]

Well it's safe to say this is going to be the straightest, flattest and prettiest floor around. Keep up the good work, Chris!

I can tell you, it is/will be the only thing in the whole camp that is straight,flat, level or square.As for pretty, Chris used the same wood for my sons floor and it is awesome.

 

[cgrutt]

I can tell you, it is/will be the only thing in the whole camp that is straight,flat, level or square.As for pretty, Chris used the same wood for my sons floor and it is awesome.

Yeah shooting for as "pretty" as your son's floor...

 

[Saltwater60]

Sometimes perfection is impossible. The newest home I’ve ever owned was 1928 so ask me how I know??

 

[cgrutt]

Sometimes perfection is impossible. The newest home I’ve ever owned was 1928 so ask me how I know??

Not perfect but much better than it was lol...



Came up nearly 2-1/2" on right side of picture. At least now it's flat and reasonably level throughout...

 

[masterswimmer]

Chris, do you ever land a pure 'vanilla' job? Or is every project a builders nightmare that you make look easy? Looking forward to seeing this cabin project progress. I sure as hell hope you're billing time and materials on this.

 

[FRANKIE]

Not perfect but much better than it was lol...

View attachment 133906

Came up nearly 2-1/2" on right side of picture. At least now it's flat and reasonably level throughout...

You can take a bow on this job brother! If I ever need a bowling alley built… I’m calling you!

 

[cgrutt]

Well ran into another "problem" for whatever reason the flooring was all different widths... not off by much but enough where they weren't running straight after first couple of courses. Ugh. Funny thing is I used the same flooring on another project and didn't have this issue go figure. Wound up running them all through table saw took off anything from a smidge to little more than a blade width. Had a batch that were actually too narrow threw those off to side and will make them a bit narrower if I need them.

Anyway starting to cool off but can't beat the color of the Japanese maple in my "woodshop" lol...



Coming out good. We made last minute call to run them left to right (vs front to back) as 1. They'll actually span the new "joists" I put in (which are perpendicular to actual floor joists) and 2. the two side walls are so out of square there would be a whole bunch of triangles running down sidewalls and I thought it would look awful. Glad we made change I think it looks much better this way...

 

[FRANKIE]

Couldn’t have came nicer!
What’s your plan for the threshold?

 

[cgrutt]

Couldn’t have came nicer!
What’s your plan for the threshold?

Thanks! Floor will run up to wall and door it sits approx 1/4" below door threshold I'll leave small gap for expansion and probably put a piece of aluminum trim or maybe a wood 1/4 round over gap. I have to hand nail 1st two courses so just put them off til end...

 

[FRANKIE]

It’s great when you consider everything like expansion. I would go with the wood 1/4 round.
only problem I see now, is it’s gonna be to nice to walk on!

 

[Bustedknees]

An all to common problem with hardwood. And the manufacturers consider it acceptable. I like to push people towards engineered hardwood for this reason.

 

[cgrutt]

An all to common problem with hardwood. And the manufacturers consider it acceptable. I like to push people towards engineered hardwood for this reason.

There was engineered maple (laminate) in there to begin with. This is so much nicer (but alot more work lol).

 

[Saltwater60]

There was engineered maple (laminate) in there to begin with. This is so much nicer (but alot more work lol).

I’ve seen minor differences that once installed you really don’t notice it but damn a saw blade width is a lot. That’s a ton of extra work to remill all that lumber.
Makes sense to run it against the new joist.. Well there probably wasn’t even another option to do anything but that.

 

[cgrutt]

I’ve seen minor differences that once installed you really don’t notice it but damn a saw blade width is a lot. That’s a ton of extra work to remill all that lumber.
Makes sense to run it against the new joist.. Well there probably wasn’t even another option to do anything but that.

Yeah main issue is most of these pieces are short so with minor different widths so close together it was making the next course run cockeyed.... getting them all same width was really my only option it would have been a bear dealing with all the small gaps in subsequent courses they tend to magnify as you get further out. Come to think of it the first floor had this problem too but not right off the bat. Could be the boards on average were a bit longer and I didn't notice it. The whole floor will be filled before final sanding so any small gaps go away...

 

[Saltwater60]

Yeah main issue is most of these pieces are short so with minor different widths so close together it was making the next course run cockeyed.... getting them all same width was really my only option it would have been a bear dealing with all the small gaps in subsequent courses they tend to magnify as you get further out. Come to think of it the first floor had this problem too but not right off the bat. Could be the boards on average were a bit longer and I didn't notice it. The whole floor will be filled before final sanding so any small gaps go away...

That answers my other thought about you sawing off the finish on the edge. If you are going to fill it and sand it no one will ever notice. My 1901 pine floors look great and there are plenty of gaps, but everyone wants something different.

 

[cgrutt]

That answers my other thought about you sawing off the finish on the edge. If you are going to fill it and sand it no one will ever notice. My 1901 pine floors look great and there are plenty of gaps, but everyone wants something different.

This is all unfinished flooring it needs to be filled, sanded, sealed and top coated.... I'll be using Bona floor products: Amber Seal and Traffic HD, which is their commercial two-part polyurethane. Same as prior project. The Ipe is very dense and oily wood normal poly is prone to adhesion issues and oil based finishes need a ton of ongoing maintenance.

 

[Saltwater60]

This is all unfinished flooring it needs to be filled, sanded, sealed and top coated.... I'll be using Bona floor products: Amber Seal and Traffic HD, which is their commercial two-part polyurethane. Same as prior project. The Ipe is very dense and oily wood normal poly is prone to adhesion issues and oil based finishes need a ton of ongoing maintenance.

Not to mention oil based products take forever to dry and smell for a month.

 

[cgrutt]

Getting closer....

 

[stokes]

Looks great as it is, its gonna be killer when you finish the seal and top coat.

 

[cgrutt]

Homeowner asked me if the bedroom floor will be level lol... yeah worked on that today same level as the rest of cabin (Except bathroom). Had to piece the subfloor together with cutoffs from main room no biggie its Glued and screwed to existing subfloor. Didn't take any pics today but rest assured homeowner won't roll out of bed anymore LMAO. Hopefully rest of flooring will be done tomorrow then sanding and finishing...

 

[stokes]

The support in the back corner of that bedroom was leaning when he first bought the cabin.Dont recall who he had fix it, but I would bet they didnt jack that corner high enough.

 

[cgrutt]

The support in the back corner of that bedroom was leaning when he first bought the cabin.Dont recall who he had fix it, but I would bet they didnt jack that corner high enough.

And now you tell me? Lol.

Back side of bedroom was low by about an inch. Not anymore....

 

[stokes]

Well,I didnt know you were doing the bedroom too.That back corner was sagging about 6" when he bought it.Took some convincing to get him to have that issue addressed.I can only assume the day laborers he found didnt jack it enough.

 

[cgrutt]

Well the bedroom is level hopefully get the flooring done today...

 

[cgrutt]

Well still working on it lol...

Need to rip about 30 Sq ft of flooring to finish but don't feel like running table saw in the dark... tomorrow's another day...

Coming out really nice.


Main area into bedroom.



I ran the flooring right into bedroom. Undercut the door frames happy with how they turned out.



Bedroom into main area all flat and level!

 

[stokes]

Looks great Chris.Just in time before it starts gettin too cold.

 

[alistair]

Chris; Did you do the sanding and staining? If so, give me a call as I have a space that need to be refinished.

 

[cgrutt]

Chris; Did you do the sanding and staining? If so, give me a call as I have a space that need to be refinished.

Yes (on pic of @stokes son's floor the current project is still unfinished). Be happy to help if I can! Thanks.