Tile Setters vs. Trim carpenters
On a woodworking site, it's not tough to guess the winner of this battle. But the war of words makes for good reading. February 25, 2005

Glued-Down Wide Pine Flooring
A long discussion of installation methods for wide board floors. August 21, 2006

Why is Wood Flooring Kerfed on the Bottom Face?
Speculation, theories, and facts about why wood flooring and some door jamb stock is usually milled with grooves in the underside or back side. October 13, 2008

Eliminating Wood Problems -- An Industry Review: 10 Ways of Eliminating Wood Problems
Gene Wengert explains why eliminating wood problems begins and ends with monitoring and controlling the moisture content (MC) in wood -March 18, 2000

Getting Into Flooring Production
The owner of a rough lumber business has been getting a lot of requests for hardwood flooring. Here's a discussion of what equipment he would need to start producing it, and what markets he should cultivate in order to make money. November 13, 2005

Kitchen Cabinets and Floors — Which Should Be Installed First?
The decision affects both trades, and there's more than one well-reasoned opinion posted here. May 6, 2007

Refinishing old oak floor
Comparing methods and products for a reasonably priced, quality finish. January 28, 2002

"Floating" wood floors over concrete
Suggestions for installing a solid wood, "floating" floor over concrete. June 6, 2001


Hardwood Flooring Grades -- Offer Affordable Choices
Making sure the budget matches the vision. November 15, 2001

Bleaching, Pickling and Antiquing -- Hardwood Flooring and Millwork
Customized hardwood finishes offer new decorative dimension. December 3, 2001

Installing Hardwood Floors -- Over Concrete Slabs
Considerations and procedures for this type of installation. November 7, 2001

Installing Hardwood Flooring -- Over Radiant Heating
Hardwood Floors and Heated Flooring Systems Now a Good Match. November 23, 2001

Holly and Teak for Boat Decking
This thread answers the question of why Holly and Teak are paired in boat decking (below decks only), and continues with a folkloric and historic discussion of Teak for boatbuilding — including on nuclear submarines.October 19, 2013

Hardwood Flooring and Millwork -- Finishing Options
Pre-finished or site-finished? November 16, 2001

Router Table and Lift
Designs and ideas for a smoothly functioning router workstation. December 9, 2004

Radius Shoe Molding
Determining radius of cabinets in order to match molding. July 20, 2004

Durable Wood for Porch Decking
What natural wood species might be suitable for a covered porch floor? June 26, 2009

Machinery for End-Matching Flooring
Short of investing in a specialized end-matching machine, are there other ways to efficiently get quality results on more typical shop equipment? July 26, 2010

Wood Floor Over Concrete Cupping Problem
Wood floors over concrete can be prone to problems. Here's an example. April 4, 2011

Sawing Hickory for Flooring
Quartersawn may be most stable, but flatsawn is prettiest. February 15, 2009

Test for Moisture when Installing Hardwood Flooring
"Acclimating" flooring in the house before nailing down is not a sure-fire precaution. You should also provide a vapor barrier, and test the flooring, subflooring and slab for proper moisture content. December 26, 2006

"Brushed and Burnt" Oak Flooring
Thoughts on how to replicate a "brushed and burned" look on wide plank oak flooring, using a flame gun and a brushing power tool. July 27, 2008

Troubleshooting Bowing in Engineered Flooring Layups
Veneer balancing issues, as well as glue characteristics, could explain why laminated engineered wood flooring panels are curling badly. December 29, 2008

Flooring Joint Profiles
Is it okay to saw strip flooring with a flat shoulder joint instead of a V groove? June 4, 2012

Removing Stains from Wood Floors
Suggested ways to remove stains from floors without deep sanding. November 28, 2014

Trimming Plugs
Cutting and sanding wood plugs can be tedious and laborious. Here, pros discuss efficient ways to make a clean job of it. September 3, 2005

Planing Warp out of Wood Flooring Stock
It requires hand labor, but you can use a moulder to straighten warped stock — up to a point.June 28, 2013

Cutter Profiles for Tongue-and-Groove Flooring
Tips on the fine points of profiling tongue-and-groove floorboards. September 10, 2007

Troubleshooting Tearout With Maple Flooring
Check sharpening, settings, feed rates, and more. April 10, 2005

Is Sweetgum Too Unstable for Flooring?
Sweetgum is highly prone to movement. However, sawn thin enough and heavily nailed (and glued), it just might work as strip flooring. February 19, 2008

MDO as a Painted Floor
Yes, you can make a "distressed" floor with medium density overlay (MDO) panels. June 11, 2014

Tear-Out Problem When Machining Flooring Ends
Ideas for stopping the wood from tearing out when the cutters get close to the edge. November 27, 2007

De-Nailing Antique Pine
Advice on finding and removing the nails from reclaimed lumber before milling into flooring. April 27, 2007

Flooring Equipment
Basic descriptions of moulders and end-matchers used to make wood flooring. November 11, 2008

Milling Your Own Flooring
Sawmill operator asks about the wisdom of milling up some mesquite flooring, and gets opinions both ways — along with some practical tips. October 4, 2005

Optimal Size to Rough Cut for Flooring
Start with a uniform finish thickness, then add allowances for planing, drying shrinkage, and cupping. October 26, 2011

Wide Board Flooring Tips
Advice on sawing, fastening and sanding wide board oak floors. September 15, 2006

Saw Blades for Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring will eat up any saw blade. Most installers use cheap blades and expect to wear them out. August 13, 2007

End-Grain Flooring
Advice on installation methods for end-grain wood flooring. February 10, 2009

Is Sassafras Suitable for Flooring
Sassafras is an attractive wood, but probably too soft to use for flooring. May 11, 2008

Waste factors in floor manufacturing
The amount of wood wasted from rough to finished flooring may surprise you. January 24, 2001

Making Base Moulding from Engineered Flooring
Suggestions for fabricating baseboard moulding out of engineered flooring, even though the face and core are different materials. October 3, 2011

Jatoba and Ipe for Indoor Floors
Are these Brazilian hardwoods good flooring material? June 23, 2006

Shrinkage allowances for red oak
Estimating radial and tangential shrinkage when drying red oak to 12 to 14 percent MC. 1998.

Engineered Flooring over a Concrete Slab
Laminated wood flooring products work well applied to a concrete slab, as long as the floor is acceptably flat and a proper vapor barrier is applied first. February 5, 2007

Milling Tolerances for Herringbone Flooring
How much length variation from piece to piece is acceptable in herringbone wood flooring? March 28, 2015

Gluing Wood Flooring to Concrete
Adhesive choices for glue-down wood strip flooring. July 12, 2008

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