2x4 Chunks for Flooring

wood product in a wet bathroom. no.fucking.way.

>>1065318

My bathroom is trimmed out with maple. Did it about 12 years ago. As long as it's sealed correctly and it's dry it won't be an issue.

>>1065314
Do some research on wood grain and expansion. There's a reason end grain isn't used as a flooring surface.

>>1065319
>There's a reason end grain isn't used as a flooring surface.
There is commercial end grain flooring around.

i wouldn't use end grain pin Op.

Do this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgmingPJObk

>>1065337
Wow hexagons that's like quadruple the work lol

>>1065319
Thank you and I would look into it some more.

I just thought it was pretty.

>>1065348
more like sextuple.

>>1065336

Most of the old Aeroquip plant near Jackson Michigan is floored with 4X4X6" blocks, end up. Made for a superb machinery mounting surface.

>>1065314
Well at least it is end grain. Kiln dried and sealed really well should be fine. What type of air flow do you have under that floor? That is very important. A basement or crawl space with good ventilation to control the moisture is essential. If that is second story then is should be fine.

>>1065314
>Hii just wondering if anyone has tried this before and if you have any tips? Or maybe why I shouldn't do it? I'd like to do this in my bathroom (lots of sealant obviously) Anyone have any reasons why I shouldn't?? Thanks in advance
One reason is that southern yellow pine 2x4's are very soft, and will show damage easily.

>>1065373
People use yellow pine studs? Jesus christ.

In a bathroom? Absolutely fucking not. In a small cabin or camp? Sure, try it out.

>>1065447
Cheap, fast growing, and has the compressive strength to handle the load
What are your studs made out of? Oak?

>>1065319
Not as uncommon as you think. I think it would work really well in open common areas. Bathroom will definitely have a few problems but as long as you dont mind sanding tortion spots down every 5 years and resealing it should eventually be water repellent enough.. SEALANT MAINTENANCE EVERY YEAR. Dont be lazy and you will have an amazing looking floor.

Pine is way too soft to stand up to wear and tear as a flooring. It'll be full of dents and scratches in no time.

Test it out.

>>1065314
Plywood way cheaper. Can cut different designs and stain and assemble like a puzzle. Make sure and varnish over it a lot. I did dark stayn on 4x8 sheets of half in plywood in my shit kitchen. Cost fuck nothing. After 4 years showing wear tho. Maybe should have used more laquer or better? Did 3 coats.

>>1065348
Not really. you just have to setup the rip cut on the saw and cut the beam hexagonal before you chunk it up.
>>1065362
>>1065314
the real question is how thick you have to make it. since it's end grain, I would go at least 2" with pine, with a tighter grained hardwood you might get away with as little as 1/2"

>>1065314
Probably a bad idea. Thin pieces of wood cut through the grain like that are quite prone to breaking apart.

>>1065348
It's like 2 more cuts

>>1065314
We had floors like this in a restaurant I worked at, except smaller squares as opposed to the larger rectangles in your pic.

The two things that floor was good for was swelling in the humidity until it bubbled and buckled, and making people fall on their ass. I don't know what they finished that floor with but even after they sanded it to a semi-matte finish we had rich old white ladies falling on their ass left and right.

As for the bubbles, they left at least 3/4" expansion gaps around the edges of the floor and around steel beams, and it would still get huge bubbles in randoms spots in the dining room. They tore big sections up and refinished them twice before giving up and going to stone. It was a nightmare.

Now that I think about it, they makes tiles that look like center rings of a stump, large ones at that. These things were like 10"x10" and they used them on the patio to match the indoor wood grain. I don't know what they cost but they never caused problems.

File: 054da93227eaa63067f6bde6be74ca79.jpg (19KB, 300x250px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 300x250px

Not OP, but asking for him.

What if he poured resin instead of sealant? It's chip resistant, waterproof, will fill all gaps and give a solid floor, and will not host bacteria.
I know lots of ridiculous endgrain slice tables are sealed like this. Would this work for flooring?
The only downsides I can assume are IF rot gets into a chunk or several chunks, they are essentially fucked and cannot be replaced because the entire floor essentially becomes a single hard sheet - or that maybe demolition/renovation would be a shitshow if the resin bonds with the subflooring.
OR your floor is naturally not level - you set your chunks down, and pour the resin to find it pool in a certain area like a dipping corner or a dip in the center.

If in fact this is feasible and reasonable, this will easily be the most expensive part of the project.

I don't know how your 2x4s are priced where you guys are, but where I am I can get 8 feet for 3 damn dollars. You could crosscut that shit for a whole day and end up with a room's worth of chunks. You could probably get a bucket of 2 part resins

>>1066703
>You could probably get a bucket of 2 part resins
from your sculpture supply store for less than 100.

pls respond

>>1065319

> Do some research on wood grain and expansion. There's a reason end grain isn't used as a flooring surface.

All it means is that it will expand in two relevant dimensions instead of only one, you have to deal with the expansion either way.

If he lays those blocks like tiles and fills the gaps with silicone it could work. The silicone can easily take the bit of expansion.

>>1065812

> Plywood way cheaper.

It's harder than spruce pine fir, but not cheaper. As someone else said, if you just take a cut off saw to some SPF beams the blocks will cost bugger all.

Plywood has very little shrinkage compared to solid wood though.

> Maybe should have used more laquer or better? Did 3 coats.

Two component polyurethane tends to be what the hardest wearing coatings are made off.

>>1065500
Fir

>>1065314
Most 2x4 are Doug Fir which is a very soft wood and will not hold up to wear and tear.

Otherwise it's possible, but getting a good result will be an unholy fuckton of work. Side to side expansion won't be a problem if each piece is fully adhered to the floor and fairly thin (1/4 inch or so). The endgrain surface is a different story. You're going to have to season the wood *thoroughly*, or the rings and rays will shrink at different rates and give you a ripple effect. Then you're going to have to raise and knockdown the grain on each piece, probably 4-6 times. Even if you lay them all out on the floor first, instead of going piece by piece, that's a LOT of finishing work. After that, you're still going to need a top notch sealant, although a normal poly designed for flooring should work.

Alternately, you can just coat the whole damn thing in a self-leveling resin and hope you never, ever have to pull up the floor for repairs..

>>1065314

In the nineteenth century, it was common to pave roads with wood blocks soaked in creosote. Look up "wood block pavement" or "Nicolson pavement" for examples.

They tended to lay the blocks with the ends facing up. There's a heritage street like that in my town, and the blocks look like the sawed-off ends of 2x4s.

Those roads required lots of maintenance and eventually rotted, but they did the job while they lasted. The critical piece is the sealant, or they'll rot very quickly.

>>1065362
This. Have really only seen it in industrial applications, old school. Requires regular resanding to keep flat/ level.

>>1065314
Just for info: http://jennisonwright.com/woodblock.html

And inspiration.

>>1065538

We have yellow pine flooring in our restaurant.

Been about 5 years and the only thing we do is sand and stain it as the sun bleaches it.

>>1065538

Not many high heels in a bathroom, the coating takes the abrasion.

>>1065362
Westinghouse East Pittsburgh plant had acres of end grain blocks on the floor. Soaked up oil and held weight like who flung the chunk.