Making your own pre-finished flooring

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rizzoa13

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So here's a question for discussion. If I wanted to make my own prefinished white oak flooring what would be the most durable finish? I ask because while I refinished my current oak floors and used bona traffic hd I'm just not happy enough with how it wears. The floor also creaks as it was installed in the 50's so eventually it's got to go.

So if I went to make my own flooring I could remove and screw down the subfloor to eliminate creaks. I could also spray as many coats of finish on all 6 sides of the boards as I want. Opinions?
 
I have oak flooring installed in 1956 and it squeaks as well.  In one small bedroom where it was the worst I found that they skipped many boards while nailing which caused the squeaks.  I used the Squeak No More Screws but then you must fill the holes left! [sad]  The room had a cabinet, dresser and a single bed but I still used over forty screws.  I started to try to match filler for the holes but abandoned the job long time ago.

I you have access to the floor from below, they sell brackets/braces to cure squeaks, etc. or add shims to gaps.  I have a basement but its ceiling is covered with stapled 12"x 12" tiles.
 
Thanks Bill. I'm not so concerned with the squeaks, it gives this place character for the time being. I'll eventually be extending the kitchen into the dining room some and want to then flow new flooring all the way through. My thoughts were to hand pick boards and machine and finish all the sides to make sure it stays where I put it, plus I'm anal and would rather create my own thjngs rather than buy them!
 
You think that you'll be able to purchase oak flooring to match existing oak from sixty years ago?
 
Not a chance which is why I want to rip all of it up. Screw the crap out of the subfloor and then lay a whole new floor.

The Amish are a few hours drive from me and I can source some great wood.
 
I think at a certain point you cross what's doable in a home shop.  A lot of commercial coatings that come on prefinished floors are either baked or UV cured. 

I'm curious to hear what you found lacking in Bona Traffic HD?  It's generally considered one of the toughest finishes for floors.  I'll be interested to hear what folks recommend that is more durable...
 
Many high end floors have as many as 12 coats of finish in their finish process. My experience is that you will never get a finish like a commercial product due mainly to the products they use that are not available or easily sprayed by average homeowners. High end flooring chews up your saw blades because of the toughness of their finishes.

Not saying you cant get an acceptable finish yourself. Last oak floor I finished I used a Benjamin M water based poly for flooring. Worked well but we sold the house a year after so don't know how it has stood up.

BW
 
I am not expert but I have refinishes a few floors with varying success.
The first floor was an Oak floor sanded on April 29 1992. I remember because when I was done and got dinner and turned on the local news to see the genesis of the Sublime song April 29 1992 in progress on Manchester Ave. [eek]
Anyhow the floor held up well with a water based finish. But I am totally unsure of what I put on it.

The second was a Jarrah floor.
It is a Mongrel as there was water that telegraphed up from below. What I should have done is put oil on the floor, as I believe now that it was oiled. So there are some strips under a rug that are an eyesore.
I'll probably refinish it around XMAS as it is in another state.

What I would suggest is that you choose your finish.
I think I will go either linseed and tung in a Maloof blend or with Festool Surfix. I am not sure it makes much difference, but I know the Maloof can be blended and I am not sure if the Surfix will eventually be changed or discontinued, so that is the main concern.

If it is a poly then I think you just select your finish.

Oiling seems like it is easier to get patchwork repairs done - I dunno ???

The multi layer coated engineered floors seem good, but as soon as a dog claw or refrigerator makes a mark you are well-n-truly stuffed.
So I think you want a simpler finish.
As you have a router table you should be able to run the Amish boards through for T&G if you wanted to.

You could finish 5 sides in Poly or Epoxy, and then sand the top after you install it, and finish that in oil?
Epoxy is generally great, except it is not hard and scratches easily... And UV protection is needed.
 
Thanks for the responses.

On the Bona; it just hasn't lived up to my expectations for wear. My sister in law put a decent gouge in the finish with high heels on, I was livid.

I've installed many floors and the ones from lumber liquidators I've found have a really nice quality and hard finish. Problem is there are ugly boards, boards with checks and places with imperfect finish. In really just hoping to find a finish that with MANY coats I can replicate something like a pre-finished floor. Again, thanks for everyone's responses.
 
rizzoa13 said:
Thanks for the responses.

On the Bona; it just hasn't lived up to my expectations for wear. My sister in law put a decent gouge in the finish with high heels on, I was livid.

I've installed many floors and the ones from lumber liquidators I've found have a really nice quality and hard finish. Problem is there are ugly boards, boards with checks and places with imperfect finish. In really just hoping to find a finish that with MANY coats I can replicate something like a pre-finished floor. Again, thanks for everyone's responses.
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Do that again but buy plenty of extra material and return the rejects?
 
You guys are on a roll. I want to make the floor, I enjoy making my own things.

I'm not a homeowner or a diy'er I do carpentry every day and it's a passion for me so I don't want to buy flooring, I want to make it. If anyone's found a really durable finish that they could recommend for a floor id love to hear about it.
 
I've just had real good luck with Bona Traffic. Here are some photos of maple treads with Bona Traffic and Traffic Anti-slip after 6-7 years of use. We have a 92# Golden and in the closeup photo #2, you can see that her claws have really indented the maple treads but have never broken through the Traffic coating. The stair treads are the worst case because she's nervous about going down stairs so she really digs her nails in to feel secure.

I'm just real impressed with this kind of coating performance.

Photo 1 & 2 are of the same tread while photo 3 is of the next tread down.
 

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Cool treads I like how the tiger graining rolls over the edges.

Those are the kind of indents I'd like to try to minimize. I know nothing is going to stop a big dogs claws I'm just hoping for something a little tougher than the blna traffic hd.
 
Look into luxury vinyl planking. It floats or can be glued down. Quick install and durable. Good for high traffic. Too much labor involved, sanding and refinishing old floors. If you have access from a crawl space or raised foundation you could screw from below. You could also face Neil above. I'm thinking the builders used 5/8" plywood and nails, so they've become loosened and rusted over time? Hard to say. You could try a fix in a closet and see how it comes out before you commit to a final solution. 
 
mkasdin said:
Look into luxury vinyl planking. It floats or can be glued down. Quick install and durable. Good for high traffic. Too much labor involved, sanding and refinishing old floors. If you have access from a crawl space or raised foundation you could screw from below. You could also face Neil above. I'm thinking the builders used 5/8" plywood and nails, so they've become loosened and rusted over time? Hard to say. You could try a fix in a closet and see how it comes out before you commit to a final solution.
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The Internet is a place beyond reason at times.
 
rizzoa13 said:
mkasdin said:
Look into luxury vinyl planking. It floats or can be glued down. Quick install and durable. Good for high traffic. Too much labor involved, sanding and refinishing old floors. If you have access from a crawl space or raised foundation you could screw from below. You could also face Neil above. I'm thinking the builders used 5/8" plywood and nails, so they've become loosened and rusted over time? Hard to say. You could try a fix in a closet and see how it comes out before you commit to a final solution.
Click to expand...

The Internet is a place beyond reason at times.
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  Okay, back to making your own flooring.  You want stable stock to work with, you want extra stock in case you run into a hidden problem once you start machining a board run.  Pick the width you want, rip your boards, run them through a thickness planer, then edge machine the tongue and groove that gives you your fully machined planks.  Make a drying rack, start applying your choice of finish and way of applying the finish[ rag, brush, spray]  install once dry.
  Post pictures,  enjoy your work....
  As for floor finishes, it has already been noted here and elsewhere, the more bomb-proof of a finish that you apply, the greater the refinishing headache when it comes time to do touch up work since some of the newest commercial stuff doesn't even like to be sanded.  Not that you'd need to reach that level of hardness, but as an example of what's out there.
For me, based on past experience, I'm pretty happy with Water Based finishes since they dry quickly and you can often get more than 1 coat applied in a day.
Refinishing seems to go better for me than trying to redo a 10 or 15 year old Poly finish as well. Like others ,I'm surprised that you were unhappy with Bona...... [blink]
 
Yea I mean I don't want to sound annoying it's just the bona didn't really give me the finish I was lusting after.

On the topic of repairs. As a carpenter and not necessarily a refinisher I've become exceptionally good at cutting out a piece of damaged flooring and laying in a new prefinished piece. Last kitchen job I had the woman deleted a kitchen island and there was a hole for the electric. I cut out the piece and machined a new one to drop in. She wanted to bust my chops so she said she could find it easily. I waved my hand over it and said have at it. She couldn't find it and I wasnt going to show her after that!

That little story just means that I'd make some extra flooring in case I need to do some spot repairs.  And in 10-15 years when the micro scratches build up and it loses its shine I'll deal with that then.

I'm also asking here opposed to a flooring forum because floor refinishers have to deal with existing floors where as I'd be able to work on each board like its a piece of furniture ya dig? There also isn't any floor manufacturers forums so I figure this may be the place to ask.
 
Take a look at this thread from Garage Journal

"A Herringbone Parquet Floor, From Scratch"
 
rizzoa13 said:
Yea I mean I don't want to sound annoying it's just the bona didn't really give me the finish I was lusting after.

On the topic of repairs. As a carpenter and not necessarily a refinisher I've become exceptionally good at cutting out a piece of damaged flooring and laying in a new prefinished piece. Last kitchen job I had the woman deleted a kitchen island and there was a hole for the electric. I cut out the piece and machined a new one to drop in. She wanted to bust my chops so she said she could find it easily. I waved my hand over it and said have at it. She couldn't find it and I wasnt going to show her after that!

That little story just means that I'd make some extra flooring in case I need to do some spot repairs.  And in 10-15 years when the micro scratches build up and it loses its shine I'll deal with that then.

I'm also asking here opposed to a flooring forum because floor refinishers have to deal with existing floors where as I'd be able to work on each board like its a piece of furniture ya dig? There also isn't any floor manufacturers forums so I figure this may be the place to ask.
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  I hear you.  I understand what you want. So, decide on the wood species that you're going to be working with. Make your boards, finish them, and store them near where you'd like to install them to allow them to acclimate to the room.
If was my floor from scratch, I'd go with 3/4" nominal thickness to allow for a long life of service and several sanding sessions down the road for either you or a future owner.
 
This is depressing. I'm old enough now that I am wondering if I'll live long enough to wear out a pair of SHOES let alone a floor. [scratch chin]
 
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