# Cobblewood floor



## PJwood (Jul 9, 2008)

I would like to do a cobblewood floor (over hydronic) and this is what i have gathered up to now. Any criticism/advice/suggestion is welcome.

I would like to make cross-sections of trunks by cutting them across the grain on a small sawmill (yes this is fraught with problems since the small sawmills are not designed to hold wood "vertical". But let's assume i manage this. I would cut "large tiles" (20-50 cm for instance) and smaller tiles (5-10 cm). I suspect a slightly thick cut like 3 cm would be sufficient. Leave the tiles in PEG for a week (i am thinking oak/hickory/maple which are plentiful here (not cedar since the softwood/hardwood transition might look "too busy"). Sticker air dry for 6 month. Then dry indoor to EMC.

Here i am a little stuck on how to plane. I understand the "router-on-a bidirectional-carriage" but that sounds awfully slow and a thickness planer will shred the edge of the "tiles". A thickness sander sound a little slow too… Advice ?

Once the "tiles" are reasonably smooth I would rubber mastic them to the concrete (hydronic floor), fill the larger spaces with smaller tiles (even cross cut branches) to try to decrease the gaps as much as possible. Fill the gaps with Woodwise Wood filler (or similar).

Sand, then epoxy or whatever is suggested for a good finish.

I realize this is a BIG project… and i should probably do some sample before but i would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks !


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## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

Saw a floor like that on one of the TV shows, but he used 4" branches. 3cm thick should suffice. I'd glue them in place (I think the maker used grout on his) and then hit the whole floor with one of those new "Orbital" floor sanders. Then polyurethane.

The one on TV was truely unique looking…I think it was the "Extreme Homes" show.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

What you are trying to do sounds similar to the project posted by Thomas Porter. He posted an end grain floor project and blog that went through the various steps necessary to complete the project. You may want to send him a private message asking for advice.

Hope this helps.


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## PJwood (Jul 9, 2008)

Yes i saw (and admire) but using dry dimensioned wood that can be cut on a table saw is a lot simpler (no drying, checking, planing or "grouting" for instance). But interesting nevertheless.


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

PJ are you indending on using green timber if so i would stick dry it before laying it this is a time comsuming project but i think you and everyone else would love the end result

good luck and i hope you will show us all the end result

andy


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

When you mention hydronic floor, do you mean a concrete floor with infloor heating?


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## PJwood (Jul 9, 2008)

Yes, Mark, infloor heating via PEX tubing in concrete (hopefully with a "wood-furnace/boiler/gasification/hydronic-the names keep changing).

yes, Pommy, i was planning on stick dry !!!

Indeed this may be a too big project. I probably need to do a sample to see what i am getting into….


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Is there a problem with the wood flooring insulating the hydronic system? I would be concerned that the effectiveness of the system would be diminished by trying to heat through 3/4" or more of wood. What is the R value of the flooring? A buddy of mine just put in infloor heating and he was talking about the relative insulative values of different flooring types…I remember that ceramic was most transparent but do not remember where wood flooring ranked.


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## PJwood (Jul 9, 2008)

This is correct: a wood floor would insulate more then concrete or tile for instance, but depending on material less then a carpet floor. AS long as the surface below the hydronic is well insulate, the wood will probably only make the system "less responsive" (slower time to heat) but the amount of heat delivered to the room should remain the same. I am also considering some stained concrete but I do not think that they wouold be as pretty.


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