Advice for laying recycled floor boards??

[Mr Crow Bar]

Gidday all,

my first virgin post here goes.

i bought a demolition lot of old soft wood floor boards. they are as rough as guts; ranging from 1/2 metre to 4 metres in length and about 25mm thick, half of the tung and groove has been broken off in the removal process, some are cracked and others have a bit of termite attack.

ok, so sounds like a complete nightmare. i like the fact they are rustic to the max but i need them to be functional.

they will be going straight to a concrete floor (i think from a quick assessment of cheap alternatives) in an apartment on the second floor. my first thoughts were to send them in a get them all planed and re-tung and grooved. it appears that could cost a fortune.

someone has also told me to just lay them straight down using a nail type gun to hold them in and glue, then remove nails. then sand them starting with a super coarse grade paper on the floor sander. now i have sanded back floors before and i find these floor sanders chew in if your not care full. and i could't bare the thought of ####ing up timber floors that are glued on and i am also scared the glue might not hold in the rigourous sanding process eg. the timber slats could move around.

has any one done this before? cos i envision they could turn out damn hot or i just screw it all up. please flood me with all the advice that could be possibly given on this topic cos i wanna give it a red hot go!

thanks in advance:confused::eek:

[glock40sw]

G'day.
Do a search of the forums as this has been covered elsewhere.
Also. If the flooring is to be re-machined, it will be a smaller size.

Not many places like to re-machine due to damage caused by hidden bits of nails that damage the knives in the moulders.

Direct stick using Bostik Ultraset glue will do the job or lay plywood and glue and nail to this.
being in a unit, you may have sound issues with downstair owners.

I feel your best bet is to talk to a floor installer.

[Mr Crow Bar]

thanks trev for the feedback, i will give it a look

[Dusty]

In all seriousness, it might be just as easy to lay carpet in the unit and turn the boards into some nice rustic furniture.

I'm guessing these boards are around the six inch wide mark which makes them quite prone to cupping (even though they are old) when laid directly to the concrete.

Have a long, hard think about this project as it could very easily turn into a nightmare for you.

Good luck