# Endgrain Floor - Made from scratch



## thomasporter

*Endgrain Flooring (Cobblewood)*

*NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *

About 4 years ago I did the entire 1st floor of my condo in redwood endgrain. It was time consuming, difficult, aggravating, and one of the most fun projects I've ever done. I have decided to take you guys through a step by step journey as I do a new endgrain floor in my house. I'm going to start with one room at a time and take you through the process of building the floor from scratch. I'll also throw in some of the information I've found about end grain flooring as I go along. Once the project is finished, I'll compile a video of it all so you can see it in a compressed time lapsed way. Until that day… you'll have do do with pictures and wordy paragraphs as I try and test some of the new ways I've devised to make this floor happen in a more efficient manor than the first time I did it. If you want to see the floor I did before please look at my projects gallery. It's in there.

I just started the tear down process of the room. I took out al the furniture. I removed the carpet, tack strips and junk on the floor. Now I'm going to clean it off and begin preparing the subfloor. Here's where I'm at… These will serve as the "before" pictures…


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## Toolz

thomasporter said:


> *Endgrain Flooring (Cobblewood)*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> About 4 years ago I did the entire 1st floor of my condo in redwood endgrain. It was time consuming, difficult, aggravating, and one of the most fun projects I've ever done. I have decided to take you guys through a step by step journey as I do a new endgrain floor in my house. I'm going to start with one room at a time and take you through the process of building the floor from scratch. I'll also throw in some of the information I've found about end grain flooring as I go along. Once the project is finished, I'll compile a video of it all so you can see it in a compressed time lapsed way. Until that day… you'll have do do with pictures and wordy paragraphs as I try and test some of the new ways I've devised to make this floor happen in a more efficient manor than the first time I did it. If you want to see the floor I did before please look at my projects gallery. It's in there.
> 
> I just started the tear down process of the room. I took out al the furniture. I removed the carpet, tack strips and junk on the floor. Now I'm going to clean it off and begin preparing the subfloor. Here's where I'm at… These will serve as the "before" pictures…


Neat idea. I watched a show on one of the home improvement channels a few years ago that featured an end grain floor done with small slabs of tree limbs of various diameters. If memory serves they used oak grown on their property.


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## saddlesore

thomasporter said:


> *Endgrain Flooring (Cobblewood)*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> About 4 years ago I did the entire 1st floor of my condo in redwood endgrain. It was time consuming, difficult, aggravating, and one of the most fun projects I've ever done. I have decided to take you guys through a step by step journey as I do a new endgrain floor in my house. I'm going to start with one room at a time and take you through the process of building the floor from scratch. I'll also throw in some of the information I've found about end grain flooring as I go along. Once the project is finished, I'll compile a video of it all so you can see it in a compressed time lapsed way. Until that day… you'll have do do with pictures and wordy paragraphs as I try and test some of the new ways I've devised to make this floor happen in a more efficient manor than the first time I did it. If you want to see the floor I did before please look at my projects gallery. It's in there.
> 
> I just started the tear down process of the room. I took out al the furniture. I removed the carpet, tack strips and junk on the floor. Now I'm going to clean it off and begin preparing the subfloor. Here's where I'm at… These will serve as the "before" pictures…


I'm looking forward to this! I want to do my foyer in end grain mesquite , border with another species.


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## sbryan55

thomasporter said:


> *Endgrain Flooring (Cobblewood)*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> About 4 years ago I did the entire 1st floor of my condo in redwood endgrain. It was time consuming, difficult, aggravating, and one of the most fun projects I've ever done. I have decided to take you guys through a step by step journey as I do a new endgrain floor in my house. I'm going to start with one room at a time and take you through the process of building the floor from scratch. I'll also throw in some of the information I've found about end grain flooring as I go along. Once the project is finished, I'll compile a video of it all so you can see it in a compressed time lapsed way. Until that day… you'll have do do with pictures and wordy paragraphs as I try and test some of the new ways I've devised to make this floor happen in a more efficient manor than the first time I did it. If you want to see the floor I did before please look at my projects gallery. It's in there.
> 
> I just started the tear down process of the room. I took out al the furniture. I removed the carpet, tack strips and junk on the floor. Now I'm going to clean it off and begin preparing the subfloor. Here's where I'm at… These will serve as the "before" pictures…


I enjoy doing flooring. It is such a dramatic way of changing the rooms appearance. This is going to be an interesting post.


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## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Endgrain Flooring (Cobblewood)*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> About 4 years ago I did the entire 1st floor of my condo in redwood endgrain. It was time consuming, difficult, aggravating, and one of the most fun projects I've ever done. I have decided to take you guys through a step by step journey as I do a new endgrain floor in my house. I'm going to start with one room at a time and take you through the process of building the floor from scratch. I'll also throw in some of the information I've found about end grain flooring as I go along. Once the project is finished, I'll compile a video of it all so you can see it in a compressed time lapsed way. Until that day… you'll have do do with pictures and wordy paragraphs as I try and test some of the new ways I've devised to make this floor happen in a more efficient manor than the first time I did it. If you want to see the floor I did before please look at my projects gallery. It's in there.
> 
> I just started the tear down process of the room. I took out al the furniture. I removed the carpet, tack strips and junk on the floor. Now I'm going to clean it off and begin preparing the subfloor. Here's where I'm at… These will serve as the "before" pictures…


Wow… mesquite. That would be fun. You'd go through a couple of blades that's for sure. I'll be making about 900 cuts on the tablesaw to make enough pieces for this 160 sq ft. room alone. I did over 12,000 cuts on the condo project I did. I'm using Douglas Fir for this one. I used Redwood for the last one. I can't imagine what hardwood like mesquite would be like, but one things for certain…. it would be gorgeous.


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## thomasporter

*Buying the Materials*

*NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *

I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").

I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


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## sbryan55

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Thomas,

You have a good start on this project. This is going to be an interesting project.


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## ND2ELK

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Is the sub floor floating or attached? Thanks!


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## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Yes, the subfloor is nailed in using masonry nails.


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## Bravesfan

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


I look forward to seeing the finished project. Don't forget to stagger the seams of the subflooring, it adds strength to the floor and can help prevent future problems in case of movement.


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## Karson

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Interesting.


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## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Too late on the staggering subfloor idea, but it's a good one. I don't think I'll have much problem with it since it's such a small room and since it's so dry in Arizona, but you never know. It's anchored really well so it's very unlikely that it will move at all. There's more pictures and stuff coming soon I promise. I haven't dowloaded the images from the camera yet, but I just finished sanding/staining the floor and I'm about to polyurethane it and grout it. Not much longer and I'll have a finished project! Woo hoo!


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## jreist

thomasporter said:


> *Buying the Materials*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> I went and picked up a bunch of stuff from Home Depot the other day. I love the fact that I get to buy crappy lumber. Usually I blow lots of money on exotics or quality domestic hardwoods. Picking up a bunch of Douglas Fir beams is cheap. They were $19 a piece for 12' beams of 4×8 (actual size 3.5"x7.5").
> 
> I also picked up some polyethelene moisture barrier and tongue and groove douglas fir plywood (22/32"). This is what I'll be using for the subfloor. I installed the polyethelene and the subloor that afternoon. It's a quick job… cutting the subfloor with a skill saw with about a quarter inch of fudge room. Subfloors don't have to be perfect. They just need to be flat. Here's where I was at the other day…


Did you use the 22/32" fir plywood as a subfloor or an underlay over your existing subfloor? Would a 1$ underlay be enough?


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## thomasporter

*Getting things going...*

*NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *

So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?

I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


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## sbryan55

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Thomas,

This is very interesting series and a unique floor. I would assume that you are cutting these to 3/4" but in the pictures the tiles just appear to be thicker.

Very nice.


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## mgradwohl

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


I like it, and your monster saw.

Questions:

Why didn't you remove the baseboard?
Why did you need a new subfloor, wasn't there one already?

Thanks man!


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## FlWoodRat

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Looks fantastic. What do you use to fill the 'grout' lines? I'm sure you have enough sawdust from all that cutting to fill the voids. What finish do you apply to the floor?


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## gizmodyne

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Interesting series. Keep it up. Also, Second to the questions above.


----------



## JohnGray

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


WOW great job! 
Please post follow ups "grout" ect.


----------



## Karson

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Great looking floor. I'm interested in how you plan on filing in the gaps. I assume it's not a tile filler product because that would fill up the pores of the wood also.


----------



## GaryK

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Fantastic looking floor. I'm with the others, what do you plan on using as a grout?


----------



## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Here's some answers to the questions:

1) The tiles are 1" thick. I was going to do .75 but thought, "what the hey. It adds a little more strength to the floor and doesn't really cost much more. I'm redoing the doorways anyways.

2) I didn't remove the baseboard because it isn't really baseboard. My home was built in the 40's and is textured in real plaster. That's actually a plaster baseboard look. It's solid as a rock, and I would have to chisel it away. It's only about a 1/4 inch from the wall, so I'm just going to rabbit my baseboards to fit over it.

3) The grout will be made from a mixture of sawdust, acrylic and a resin. I'll show how I do it later on. I need to finish the floor first so that there won't be anything clogging the pores when I try to finish it. If I were to grout it in now, the acrylic would fill up the endgrain and I'd have unsightly spots.


----------



## SPalm

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


This is fascinating. I can not image how it will come out, but judging by what you have done before, I bet it will be fantastic. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## FatherHooligan

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


What a cool idea. I'd never heard of end grain flooring before what a distinctive look. A good series of photos to document the process for us, thanks.


----------



## KevinHuber

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


I think it is a very intersting idea and will look great. My questions are:

Why didn't you square up the edges of the 2×4's prior to starting? Were you trying to leave a little gap at all the corners for the appearance?

How did you maintain the "grout" line spacing?


----------



## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


well first off… if I had tried to use 2×4's and then planed them smaller and squarer it would have taken me years. I used 4×8's (actual dimensions near 3.5"x7.5"). This made for a lot less cuts and an easier time laying them. I left them as they were because I knew I would be adding about an 1/8" to 1/4 of grout depending on how the spacing went. It gives it a more rustic look to leave it alone rather than square it up. The first time I did the floor I squared all of the beams and if you don't want a lot of grout than that's probably a good idea. But with the tolerances I had I didn't have to and wanted to achieve that more rough look.

The 4×8's in their finished dimensions make them look about the size of a red brick. I laid them in a running bond like brick. That's the look I wanted. There are many other styles of endgrain floors. Google it and you'll see some great examples.

To answer your question about the spacing and lining them up. I had marked the floor out both horizontally and vertically with a pen about every three bricks. This gave me a good enough line to follow and I was able to keep the lines as straight as I wanted. I eyeballed the gaps as they are all slightly different.


----------



## Chipncut

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


I really like it!

I'd like to do this myself some time.

In old North Hibbing, the town that moved, because of the iron ore beneath it,

the streets in the whole town where paved with Pine creosoted paving blocks.

They were 4 X 8 X 4" thick.

During the depression days, some people started stealing them to heat their homes


----------



## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


In Cedar Rapids, Iowa where my wife grew up there were a few old houses with creosote soaked endgrain driveways. They are sunken in along the tire tracks pretty heavily. They look like they've been there for a hundred years. Most people don't know what it is. It would be fun to do one of those today, but I don't know if I'd do it in as wet an area as Iowa. Here in Phoenix our biggest problem would be the extreme sun, but the creosote seems to handle that well… regular wood, not so much. I just don't know how toxic creosote can be in large amounts like that, or like you mentioned, being burned in a stove. Ick. Glad I'm not living through depression.


----------



## TulipHillWoodWorks

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Thomas,
Do you have to put a subfloor in or can you mastic the tiles right to the concrete? I have no experience in this.


----------



## TThomas

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


WOW…looks very cool..I think this is a project I will be getting into and trying myself


----------



## beckyt

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Thomas,
These floors are awesome….I am a HUGE DIYer and I LOVE the rustic look….I've always had a fascination for wood grain….cant believe I have never heard of end grain floors before today!!! I have 2 ?s….

1) I'm with TulipHillWoodWorks…you mentioned that you added a plywood subfloor as seen in photos…so I am assuming you started with a concrete slab. If so, did you do any prep to retard moisture prior to the subfloor….could you simply add a moisture barrier to the concrete slab and wood block over that?

2) You mentioned the # and size of your blocks, but what were the dimensions of the room?

I think it looks awesome and I am anxious to do this…..I love hard work and a challenge!!! But especially something so beautiful and unique!

Thanks for sharing


----------



## beckyt

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Well sorry, I didn't realize that I entered this project on part 3….I see where you answered both of my questions…..160 sq ft room….and the polyethelene barrier…..and the 22/32 Douglas Fir plywood…..hahahha

However, curious if I just sealed the concrete for moisture, could i lay without adding a subfloor….

Thanks!


----------



## JoeinGa

thomasporter said:


> *Getting things going...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> So now it's time to do all the cutting and laying and cutting and laying and cutting and…. well you get the idea. This room will use somewhere near 800 tiles to cover the entire floor. That means cutting up about 10-12 beams depending on how far down the beam and how many pieces get damaged. Sometimes there are cracks and the pieces can only be used as half pieces for custom cuts later on. I leave about 20% more than i need just incase. You can never have too much wood right?
> 
> I worked for about 10 hours strait getting lots of stuff done. I went and picked up the mastic and some other finishing materials at Home Depot. I came home and got started nailing the subfloor down and securing it to the concrete. Then I started the cutting and hauling in the tiles. With out going into great detail here's the progress. Give me questions in the comments and I'll answer. This shows you the stop I made on the table saw out of a piece of scrap thermofuse and how I put 3 beams at a time on the sliding table to speed things up. Here's a note however… if your table saw can't cut 4×8 beams in one pass… you're in for a lot more work than you know. Make sure if you're going to attempt an endgrain floor that you think through all of the processes before buying the lumber. My saw will cut up to around 5" tall. Most tablesaws cannot. So here's where I'm at. I'm almost done laying all of the tiles now but I ran out of mastic and I need to make a supply run tomorrow. Here's the pics…


Beckyt… Thomas hasn't posted anything since 2011, so he may not be following LJs any more. You may not get an answer.

That said, I worked in the Tool Rental business for almost 8 years in TN and I had several guys do floors like this. The first one we saw was a young guy who used 2X4s and he cut them 1.5" thick. He literally poured wood glue on his old wood floors and then laid the wood blocks down in it. He said he mixed sawdust and wood glue to make a paste and filled in around all the blocks (like grout). He rented a sander from me and after sanding, he put down 3 layers of Poly on the whole floor. He did what was to be a child's room in a 100 year old house.

When he showed us the pictures the other guys I worked with said things like "What an idiot" and "That'll never last, pine is too soft" but I gotta tell you, it looked fantastic !

It's been over 3 years now and I wish I knew how it looks today.


----------



## thomasporter

*So much to do... so many sore muscles. *

*NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *

Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.

I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.

(My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)

Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.

See you tomorrow!


----------



## sbryan55

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


Thanks for the post, Thomas. I am sure you were beat after all you did today. Good luck on the stain as it is going to be tough to decide on one to use. The end grain will soak it up like a sponge. To tell the truth I probably would just topcoat it and leave it natural because any stain you put on it will end up being fairly dark.

This is an interesting post. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## trifern

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


I agree with Scott about the topcoat. Several coats of an oil based poly will really warm it up and pop the end grain. It will keep darkening as it matures. If you want to stain, then you may try picking the color you like and diluting it. Good luck and keep us posted. Thank you for sharing.


----------



## Taigert

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


Dido on the natural top coating, fir will take on a nice warm tone as it ages.
It look great!


----------



## suebee

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


Tom, 
I love your floor! I can't wait to see the finished product. We are getting ready to do the same thing only we are not grouting. I think we pretty much have it down. I am only hesitant about a few things and thought you might be able to comment or give us some feedback before we start. Our kitchen is huge and we are doing 4 X 4 in douglas fir. We are getting ready to cut the tiles now. We are using a 12" compound miter saw to cut the tiles down. Do you have any comments on this? We thought this would give us the most accurate smooth cut. After seeing your saw in the pics I was wondering if this would make a big difference. Second, I am a little worried. We still have to pull up the linoleum and plyboard. Have you heard of endgrain flooring being laid without a plyboard layer? And surely not without a vapor layer, right? Please let me know your thoughts if you have a moment. Thanks!


----------



## Karson

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


Looking great. A nice job


----------



## Sawdust2

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


I'm glad this came back around.
Last week we got a tour of Lockeed Martin in Marietta. The plant was built back in the '40's and now makes the C130 and F22.
One area that has not yet been "modernized" has a huge section of the hanger with end grain flooring. It was easier on the feet and less flexible.

Yours looks nicer.

Lee


----------



## sherryc

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


This is a great series, and your floor looks amazing so far. We are adding on to our house in a big way right now and doing all of it ourselves, of course. We are considering creating an end-grain floor in the kitchen, and can't wait to see the rest of your story. Will you be posting more soon?


----------



## Amber

thomasporter said:


> *So much to do... so many sore muscles. *
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Okay I'm slow today. After felling that Olive tree (see my projects for detail), lifting all of the subfloor panels and fir beams by my lonesome and working my day job to boot… I'm beat. I'm more sore than I have been in a long time, and I just don't feel like doing much. I've been on and off tackling the floor but I keep getting side tracked.
> 
> I finished laying all of the full size tiles. I started cutting up all of the custom pieces that go at the end of each row. I'm calling it a night because I'm exhausted, and I'll tackle the little stuff tomorrow after a good nights rest. Better than trying to speed my way through it and screwing things up. While the mastic was drying I tryed out a bunch of different stains and finally ended up with a color I like. This isn't a very good respresentation of the final product because there will be a gloss finish on it, but just pretend. The piece of oak is a completely different stain that I'm trying to match to the floor. I'm close but not quite. I want to use oak for the doorways and they will lay on the long-grain. Since the douglas fir on the end grain soaks up stain like a paper towel, it gets dark very fast and what might look like a very light brown becomes almost black when you stain it, leaving a zebra-like stripe. If you use a fairly light stain it comes out okay. If you use a dark stain… eeeeek. So I have to find a matching stain that looks like it was meant to be the same.
> 
> (My words aren't coming out like I want them to. I'm tired. I hope this is all making sense, because I'm not going to proofread before I post this.)
> 
> Well… here's some more pictures. I can't wait to finish this project and compile the video I'm making for you guys. I'm doing a step by step process to show you how I do it on video. I think that will give a better idea. We'll see.
> 
> See you tomorrow!


Wow, your floor looks great! So, I am thinking about doing something like this but intermixed with tile. Can you make the cuts with a chop saw? My table saw is kinda crappy. I was thinking more about maybe 4×4s. I also read somewhere that you should buy at least 5 year dried wood. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Amber


----------



## thomasporter

*Wrapping things up...*

*NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *

Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.

I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.

A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).

I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.

The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.

I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.

What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.

I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.



























Thanks, 
Thomas


----------



## wraith

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


That could be one of the nicest floors I've ever seen. All of the trouble was worth it. Great job.


----------



## sbryan55

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Thomas, you have created a unique floor with this technique and I really like the look of it. You did a good job on this project.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## cabinetmaster

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Wow Wow Wow. I dido wraith,. Very unique qnd well done, It is truelly amazing what some people come up with, and you have done an amazing job. It looks very professional. I would never have thought about doing a floor like that. What type of wood is it and what are the wood sizes? How long did it take to put down the pieces? Just out of curiousity.


----------



## trifern

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Very nice outcome. You have created a one of a kind floor. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## MsDebbieP

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


yes indeed.. totally amazing!! gorgeous gorgeous…

I loved the photos as well.. as they kept getting closer and closer to the floor… drawing us right in, just as we'd do if we were there in person!


----------



## Ampeater

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


WOW!! I really like it. I had to go back and read the other four parts of the blog. The floor looked so good after the sanding that I would have had to sit and look at it for quite a while before I put any stain on it.


----------



## Karson

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Great Job. I hope that you will enjoy it after all of the work. But it does look beautiful.


----------



## mindseye

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


thats a incredible job, i had never seen anything like that before. Thanks for sharring this has really got me thinking I want to try it.

woderful!


----------



## thomasporter

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


I have no clue how long it took me. It was so piecemeal that I lost track of time. I just kept going back to it when I had a free block of time. Doing the rest of the house should be quite an achievement. It's not a floor style for the faint of heart.


----------



## suebee

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Wow Tom! What an incredible job! The floor looks absolutely beautiful. We are really thankful for your instruction and patience. I am curious if you would ever consider doing the tiles without staining in a natural color, or other colors. I saw the redwood and now this one in walnut…both are just great! We are planning to do our floor in a natural with the sawdust. I will be sure to post everything as we go but we may end changing our mind again as we run into problems or lose patience. Right now the ceiling has us stuck. As I said before we took the knotty pine planks off the walls and and are making tiles to put in the ceiling. Very slow. This is taking us much longer than we thought. We started back in August!


----------



## daltxguy

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


very cool! Thanks for getting the final post on this. I was following with interest. Do you have something special in mind for the baseboard? Also, I imagine this raised the floor quite a bit with the subfloor and the tiles. So do you have to trim all of the doors now too? Since you were using dimension lumber, do you expect any cracking of the tiles as they dry out further?


----------



## TThomas

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


This looks great…...I am going to get in over my head and try this….how big was this room and how many hours do you figure you have into it??
Once again it looks great….


----------



## jockmike2

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


I don't know how much of a headache you suffered, but from what I see it is a beautiful looking floor and one to be proud of. I hope it was worth it for you. It really is gorgeous. One of a kind, unique and worth it for you I hope.


----------



## MarkwithaK

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


This is awesome. Years ago I worked in a steel mill here in Indiana and throughout certain parts of the plant you can see this exact same thing.


----------



## Manitario

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


just stumbled onto this project…very cool…I can only begin to imagine the tremendous amount of work that went into it though….


----------



## Kevin_WestCO

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


That's a cool idea for a floor. I know the posting is fairly old.. did you ever redo the grouting on this floor?

I'm a flooring contractor. You could use epoxy grout. Its a lot more flexible and would hold to the sides of the wood like glue. The wood would be the softer of the two and should except the expansion and contraction of an end grain.


----------



## AaBD

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


i had a similar idea to do this method on a desk top, and was directed to this blog by another member. first off, great job.

what did you end up using in place of the grout? i am trying to determine what adhesive i would need to use to adhere the end cuts to a solid wood desktop, and what material to use to fill the gaps between boards and smooth out the surface.

i'd appreciate any feedback you can offer.

cheers!


----------



## OFarrell

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
> 
> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
> 
> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
> 
> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
> 
> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
> 
> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
> 
> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
> 
> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
> 
> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Thomas


Awesome job I have manufacturing End Grain for the last 10 yrs. If I can be any help let me know .I would be glad to help.


----------



## Kaotic11

thomasporter said:


> *Wrapping things up...*
> 
> *NOTE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DO THIS…
> Please don't use regular grout like me. The wood shrinks slightly and is allowed to move because of the urethane adhesive remaining pliable. There's tiny little cracks where the wood has separated on the outer tiles in the room. It's not going to weather well, so I'm replacing the grout in the near future. Thank goodness endgrain floors are cheap material cost.  Everything else I did was fine, but the grout was an experiment that proved bad. I'll leave this project here so you can see it, but be warned - I have now decided to try other grout mixes using flexible wood filler or epoxy/resin/sawdust mixes. *
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> Alright so it's been way too long since I've followed up this project, and yes, I finally finished it. The pictures you are about to see are where I'm at at this very moment. I just put the last coat of poly on the floor and it's drying right now.
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> I ran into some stumbling blocks on the way and I'd like to fill you in. First off, I left the project alone long enough to get disenchanted with it and began to procrastinate with it, but thankfully I have a wife that puts up with that kind of crap and just "encouraged" me to finish it. We've had a lot going on so it's been very easy to ignore the room all together and just let it sit there.
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> A few things that kept me from delving right into it were the fumes from the poly and the stain, and the grouting process. I didn't want my wife and kid to be in the house while it was curing. Way too many fumes, especially with endgrain because it soaks up so much more than normal (about 5 times as much).
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> I rented a sander from a local home depot. If you have a large area to do I recommend using the buffer style. If you have a small area to do with a lot of square corners I like the big square finishing sander style. They both work great. I used very coarse sandpaper to get the ball rolling. Then I stepped up grit until I got to 150. After that it really doesn't matter there's a texture that I was trying to achieve and I got it at that grit. I rented the sander for 24 hrs because I had to do it at night and they closed before I could be done, but it can be done in less than 3 hours if it's a fairly small space, so if you're good at doing things quickly and effieciently… go for it. If not, spend the extra $10 and relax.
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> The grouting was a big concern because I was having difficulty maintaining a balance between consistency and color and I was worried about longevity. I was mixing up the sawdust with the color and then the glue and more color and more glue and more color… etc. etc. I found a few I liked but it was difficult to get a color that I felt comfortable with that would hold, so I did what any person with patience running low would do…. grout it with real grout. Eeeeek you say? Yes, it's not what I had originally planned, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted. The color was exact. The application was a bit tougher than when you tile, simply because of the natural pouriceness of endgrain. It had a tendency to hold on to the sand crystals and they would dry up and look like dust.
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> I didn't have time to take a bunch of pictures of the process, but I'll give you a brief synopsis because it's not rocket science and you'll be able to figure it out…. I stained the floor… I polyurethaned the floor. I polyurethaned the floor again. I grouted the floor…. I wiped it up with sponges…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and wiped… and wiped again…. and then I polyurethaned again.
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> What's the purpose in polyurethaning and staining before I grouted you say? Because if you don't seal up the end grain with the stain and poly than you're going to get crap in it from the grout you use. It will be impossible to get an even stain with the colors that bleed in from the grout. This goes for the sawdust version of grout as well if that's what you use.
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> I'll post a final set of pictures of the room once I've finished al the moulding and fixtures. Right now I'll post these wet poly pics. They show off the grout and grain. Thanks for keeping up with this blog and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be doing the rest of my house someday soon, and if there's stuff you want to see pictures of let me know so I can take them next time.
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> Thanks,
> Thomas


Just wondering how this floor is holding up after all this time. Also wondering - could a person do this project on 4×4 sheets of subfloor in the garage and then once its complete, install the completed boards into the room 
(or hallway)? Would a person have to use grout at all - like when a person lays reclaimed wood on the floor and you just use spacers and nail the boards down, then cover the entire floor with stain & poly, letting the poly fill in instead of using grout. Thank you for your time and the flooring does look great!


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