McDave wrote:Wow! Those are some sexy floors. Funny while you were putting in new floors I was giving the kitchen a tune up. I put in a new kitchen about 21-22 yrs ago. Time really flies... Needless to say I am not as young as I once was, and all that time working on floors, cabinets, doors, countertops, windows, walls and appliances took a toll and it was -30f -52f wind chill which doesn't help old bones, so I was a little poopy pants for a few days. So just a couple things I remembered that I wanted to let you in on. Wood is beautiful and it feels good and it makes you a better person, but.... it is slicker than owl sh*t for them poor dogs. Your pooch looks to be fully mature and probably doesn't have all that puppy energy anymore, But a rug with rubber backing will help with the traction issue for you both. Socks are slickery as well. Also, Knotty Pine likes to do strange things for year or two so don't be surprised if you see some different warping or a split here and there as time goes on. Pine is also very soft and will dent and mar easily if you move something heavy across it or drop a tool on it. Last but not least, any time you are doing long runs of almost any material like flooring or siding or drywall where you will have butt joints, you will want to stagger the joints so they are not in the same place or form a consistent pattern. Random patterns like nature will make it flow and your eye won't focus on one place. If you start with 10' planks, take a foot off one then continue to fill in that run. Then start with that foot piece on the next run. Keep it as random as possible and use your cut offs to begin or end a run. Sorry I didn't get that tidbit to you sooner. Here are some pics of 20+yr old red oak, 3/4" x 2 1/2", cabinets I did in Hickory, base trim pine, doors and windows Poplar. Notice the floor joints, completely random. Still looks pretty good.
McDave
I was originally hoping for no joints, just long one piece planks (As you can see, I miscalculated some). The good news is that I can easily bring them up and change if I need to (Not that I plan too).
I did read all the information about Pine being soft and people really don't even like to use it for floors. But, I'm about $170 into the floors including all the wood, stains, brushes, and extra coatings. At this price, I'm o.k. with them not looking perfect after I spend more time in the trailer. I will absolutely add some sort of rugs in the main area and galley.
I don't think I would even think about stepping outside in anything below 0. Last week it got close to 0, and it was super painful. This week it's warmer, so I'm hitting it as much as I can.
And my dog still has that puppy energy! I was told 2 years for a lab, but not the case. He's going on 7 years and his energy sometimes drives me crazy (In fairness, he's not a working dog. He eats and sleeps all day).