Hardwood Flooring

[Don_M]

Has anyone ever made their own hardwood flooring? I.E., the actual individual planks that would be laid/fastened down?

Any tips/suggested resources wood be appreciated

[cams2705]

Has anyone ever made their own hardwood flooring? I.E., the actual individual planks that would be laid/fastened down?

Any tips/suggested resources  wood be appreciated

Check out Matt Cremona on YouTube ... he has a few videos where he milled and laid his own flooring.

[Gary G™]

The flooring mills charge a small (nee, tiny) setup fee and then about $.15/running foot to mill standard flooring: that's both edges AND the bottom relief.
What's your time worth?

[efmrrt]

The flooring mills charge a small (nee, tiny) setup fee and then about $.15/running foot to mill standard flooring: that's both edges AND the bottom relief.
What's your time worth?

It's not what you time is worth - its about getting it done the way you want it done. All too often businesses want to do it their way and not how you want it. You also get better quality control over your floor, a a good feeling about saying I did that myself.

[Snipe Hunter]

I considered it, then did the math. I checked it two ways. Planed at the mill and planed myself. The mill can plane many more and wider pieces than I can and I could have it in 5 days. It would have taken me at least 5 days to do it myself (2200 sq ft) with my DeWalt 12" planer. I'd still have to plane the sides before shaping and I don't have a shaper so it would have to be done on a router table. I can buy pre finished oak flooring between $3.75 and $4.50 a sq ft and other hardwoods under $6.00. I'd pay that much just for the raw stock.

[efmrrt]

I considered it, then did the math. I checked it two ways. Planed at the mill and planed myself. The mill can plane many more and wider pieces than I can and I could have it in 5 days. It would have taken me at least 5 days to do it myself (2200 sq ft) with my DeWalt 12" planer. I'd still have to plane the sides before shaping and I don't have a shaper so it would have to be done on a router table. I can buy pre finished oak flooring between $3.75 and $4.50 a sq ft and other hardwoods under $6.00. I'd pay that much just for the raw stock.

Equipment is the limiting factor. That's why with a Powermatic 209 planer and Powermatic shaper with powerfeed come into play.

[Gary G™]

Efmrrt said, "It's not what you time is worth - its about getting it done the way you want it done."
To me, It's about both.
I took 2,000 Sq.Ft. of kiln dried lumber to the mill. They gave me my choice of profiles and bottom reliefs and they did it right.
I couldn't have done it better myself.
My time was certainly better spent doing other things.

[Mr Eddie]

Has anyone ever made their own hardwood flooring? I.E., the actual individual planks that would be laid/fastened down?

Any tips/suggested resources  wood be appreciated

I had the same guys that milled all my trim work do it.  It was expensive but I was able to get 12' - 14' boards by using them.  I wanted the long boards because I think they look nicer.  But the main reason I wanted long boards is because each board spans many joists and made the floor more stable than it had been previously.  Now the floor does not make any noise and there is no 'give' when you walk across the room.

Lonnie

[WoodworkerTom]

End matching would be tough but you could probably just use spines if necessary.

I milled my own flooring once but I had access to industrial machines. Gang rip and Weinig 6 head moulder. I did it to mill 5" Jatoba that was 15ft long. I have one board wall to wall in my dining room.

I would think it could be challenging to get the blanks parallel before running the T&G so when installed there are no gaps.

You can always try running a few pieces as a test and see if it is worth your time and get you the final outcome you desire.

[Don_M]

Has anyone ever made their own hardwood flooring? I.E., the actual individual planks that would be laid/fastened down?

Any tips/suggested resources  wood be appreciated

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am planning on using Makoree and would gladly pay someone to do it. But I am doing a very small area (upstairs balcony/landing) and only need about 100 - 150 sqft. Not sure that small of a quantity would make sense for a mil, but I will check into it. Thanks