resawn floorboards (from old joists)

For flooring an extension to my Victorian house I am planning to use reclaimed victorian floorboard (with suitable insulation under). ebay item 220474833588 is an example.

However, an alternative is "resawn floorboards" where the supplier has sawn up victorian joists to make 'new' old floorboards. ebay item

130325590872 is an example.

Is there anything to aware of with such resawn boards? is the joist wood likely to be softer for example, or to have more knots in it?

Robert

Reply to
RobertL
Loading thread data ...

taking old pine crap and reusing it makes it still old pine crap IMHO.

The victorians used pine because they hadn't invented chipboard or MDF.

why not get some decent wood in there if you are going to all that trouble? Elm maybe..now that IS worth reclaiming.

Or how about brand new oak?

Its not that expensive..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

This reminds me of European Whitewood aka Xmas tree. The dark ring round the knots, and the fluffy end grain suggest some kind of spruce, but the

12" width is mighty unusual. From the photos I'd say it wouldn't be a particularly hard wearing material. A bit of a gamble given that you don't know too much about the timber. The terms "Quebec Pine" and "seasoned" really don't mean anything. 100 year old timber is just as likely to distort as the modern stuff if it's encountering central heating for the first time.
Reply to
Stuart Noble

absolutely. silk purses and sows ears..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Well, that's the OP's decision. I prefer the look of pine floors, especially in smaller houses, where hardwoods can seem a little ostentatious (like stone lions).

Reply to
Stuart Noble

Decent pine is an excellent wood for construction. What is called pine these days is nothing like the stuff the Victorians used.

Strange how many of their buildings are still standing then. But perhaps you think a house using those will last as long?

No? And green oak will move every each way. Reclaimed pine won't.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I would be very very wary of cut up joists as floor boards as the defects allowed in a joist are quite likely to be unacceptable in a floor board If you must have second hand floor boards of pine (ensure Scots pine - Pinus sylvestris) then take your time and get decent pine boards Chris

Reply to
Why?

Likely if anything to be the very best timber of its type.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Its hard to go seriously wrong with floorboards. You can use all sorts of horrible stuff for loft floors etc. At worst you might encounter a defect somewhere requiring a nogging underneath, or a cut to remove it. Just a case of dimensions really, including min length.

NT

Reply to
NT

Compared with how many have been trashed as basically BER? Not really.

But perhaps

of course. MDF and chipoard wont fall to pieces if it doesn't get damp.

who said anything about *green* oak?

Reclaimed pine WILL.

If it suffers humidity changes.

>
Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Bwahahah!

Best material is reserved for planed, not rough sawn. No building regs in victorian times either. If it didn't fall down, it sold.

The only thing you can say, is that if it hadn't fallen down, it wasn't total rubbish.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

This is quite a difficult one to call as the pictures do show wood that is not heavily knotted, is quite straight and tight grained, but is also from trees of quite small diameter such that it will have a tendency to cup. Add that it is not T&G and I think you might have problems with it as the t &g do tend to hold the wood flat - you nail through the tongue.

If you do go for it I would recommend finding first a joiner with a spindle moulder who is prepared to cut the tongues and grooves. That may not be too easy on second hand wood as it may contain nails.

Rob

Reply to
Rob G

I have 30 sq m of resawn pitch pine floorboards, sawn from beams, in storage waiting to go into my master bedroom once the plaeterer has finished. They came from an eBy seller in E. Yorks. The timber is in excellent condition, with no noticeable defects. A couple of the longer boards have rectangular holes towards the ends, where the cut went across a mortise ;-)

The advantage of re-sawn boards is that you get good quality 100-year- old well-seasoned timber, but newly cut and intact tongues and grooves.

Regards Richard

Reply to
geraldthehamster

There were 2 types of housing built in the 1800s: quality houses and cheap shacks. The latter are as good as all gone, what's left is almost entirely the quality builds.

NT

Reply to
NT

Proof by assertion?

ah..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

If it is brand new it will be? Or are you saying well seasoned oak is cheap?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Structural timber has always been chosen to be knot free. Not so floorboards.

And it's reasonable to assume any Victorian joists still around came from somewhere that didn't fall down - or at least not due to joists failing.

I'm wondering if you have any experience of this sort of timber?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

;-) Indeed.

You'd be hard pressed to find timber of that quality at affordable prices new. If at all. But most Victorian floorboards weren't tongue and groove. Too much movement in the average Victorian house. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Not so sure. I lived in a cheap 1890 terrace in E London for a while. I reckon it'll outstay the mid-50s bomb site semi infills.

Problems I've seen have tended to relate to foundations. Otherwise, if it's streets that get cleared for example, demolition can have little to do with quality of construction - more lack of maintenance (private landlords maybe) or planning (road widening, 'slum' clearance).

Rob

Reply to
Rob

its not that expensive.

I picked up enough to floor a room, if it had been flooring rather than dooring, for a couple of hundred. Nice new seasoned european ok..

Recycled victoriana is a con game.

Their cast iron was good. Their wood was not, unless it was elm or somesuch.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.