Making parquet flooring

[Halo Jones]

There is company near me that sell lots of offcuts off different harwoods (mainly ash, oak, walnut, beech) for next to nothing.

I was thinking of using this to make parquet flooring for our hallway which is roughly 3 x 2 m. There are a few threads on here where people have used reclaimed flooring but does anyone have good hints and tips for making it new? ie best thickness; does it really need to be tongue and grooved / biscuited or can you get away with just sitting them side by side; are there any woods that should be avoided; how much do you have to worry about wood movement with such small pieces?

Even if it is possible am I just setting myself up for a world of pain :twisted:

H.

 

[ProShop]

FWIW I've done loads of these in schools, public buildings, Famous museums, stately homes.................................

I assume you mean block flooring, parquet is the small thin fingers that come in panels (some with a bitumen felt backing or a loose string web(think of string vest) .

You don't need to have a T&G if you don't want. You can put grooves in and insert steel lathes (it a long time since I did any of those). If your going to mix & match be careful about different timbers moisture holding properties & shrinkage & expansion. Make sure the blocks are well acclimatised to the room your laying them to. The blocks usually have a chafer on all 4 edges on the bottom, then use a setting mastic, this creates an individual cocoon for each block to hold it in place.

Hope this helps

 

[hunggaur]

hi done a lot of work on hardwood and parquet flooring.

proshop has said you do not need T&G and more modern block do have a chamfer all round

however the older floors just used to be flat blocks set in bitumen.

a good flexible mastic/rubber parquet floor glue will hold flat blocks in place

the main problem you have is the expansion and contraction of different woods. if it were me i would make all the blocks to size and then leave them in the room to be fitted for at least 2 - 3 months (the longer the better) this way you know that they will all be down to the same moisture content,( make sure you do not just stack them in a up the corner make sure the air can get round them) if you try to fit it to soon they will expand and contact at different rates and you will end up with gaps of blocks lifting.

 

[Halo Jones]

Thanks for the replies.

This seems like it may just work. Is there a handy reference somewhere for the expansion / contraction properties of different woods?

I see ash is pretty high on the Janka scale so it should handle the odd high heel and the 1 year old hammering anything they can get their hands on against it. The only thing that puts me off ash is the yellowing effect when treated with oil. From what I can tell the main treatment of these floors is hardwax oil. Is there an alternative synthetic that wouldn't react with the ash?

Thanks again,

H.

 

[Cowboy _Builder]

I've done quite a bit of Block flooring , i'm in the process of doing one at the moment in France ,I use AWO blocks and Sapele as a border in random lenths ,as in the pics ,I fix them with a flexible mastic , i've never had any shrinkage problems , all the blocks have square edges no tounge and grove , i have around another 16m2 then sanding and sealing .

 

[hunggaur]

sweet floor but as my wife says i don't do fiddley

 

[Tierney]

I'm thinking of doing the same to extend the 1920s parquet that is in my hall into the dining room. I have seen an oak floor laid recently that I think had some sort of moisture barrier/membrane put down between the original floor boards and the new floor that was laid on top - does anyone know what the barrier/membrane could be, and is it really necessary?

DT

 

[andyacg]

on a related note would any of you floor chaps recommend a plywood floor. i thought it sounded like a terrible idea but after seeing one it didnt look too bad. the boards were sawn into 4" strips around 4 ft long and a small bevel around the edges. then glued down and stained. looked OK and it really speaks to my inner skinflint.