new timber floor

There seems to be differing opinions on direct stick flooring onto a concrete slab, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.

I got the marri timber from a local mill, rough sawn at the time, it was kiln dried for a few months then milled down to 90mm x 11mm tongue and groove. It sat in the house to aclimatise for 3 weeks.

I decided to get professionals to lay it after considering doing it myself. A coat of waterproof membrane was rolled on, then the timber was glued and nailed to the concrete (took one guy 3 days to lay 65 sqm). After seeing what was involved I was pretty glad I didn't do it myself.

Then came the filling and sanding to 150 grit, the machines had extractor bags so there was only minimal dust. The next day they did fitted the splay beading and another fine sand (180 grit) and applied the finish. I went for a 'solid' oil finish (not sure what that means) as I wanted a more natural look and is supposed to be as durable as solvent based finishes with the added advantage of being able to repair sctratces etc. easily rather that recoating whole floor with a poly. Also I was able to walk on it within hours of buffing rather than moving out of home. I guess only time will tell how the finish will hold up.

First set of pictures 1 & 2 show laying, 3 shows the sanded finish, 4 & 5 the oiling. (more pics in the next post of finished product)

Hope the next set of pics come through....not sure how to attach in a post.

I'm pretty happy with finished results....since taking the photos 5 days ago the finish has lightened off a little (not so orange) which is great

That looks stunning - congratulations!
Cheers
Justine

Really nice floor mate. It's nice to walk on too. ;) :D

G'day.
Really nice figure in the floor.
Tell me, Was the timber machined with a "V" joint?
The first 2 photos in your second post seem to show shadow along the joint between the Tongue and groove of some boards.

Or is this a gap starting to show or is it the grain of the different boards?

Hooroo.
Regards, Trevor
Grafton

Trevor

No there wasn't a V groove, just square cut tongue and groove.

There are no significant gaps so I think what you are seeing is the differing colour and feature of the timber. Also I think the flatter finish of the oil probably shows the individual boards more rather than a shiny finish that tends to reflect light.

Regards