rough sawn oak flooring for barn loft

6 years ago

My friend and I are building a loft in a barn for a bourbon bar for his daughter's wedding. The framing is complete, all support 4x8 beams and 2x6 floor joists are rough sawn solid oak. we still have a couple hundred rough sawn one by oak boards. They are anywhere from 6 to 12 inches wide and 8 to 16 feet long, I was going to run them through a planer just slightly to leave the original saw marks. they would then be about 7/8 inch thick. how should I attach them to a subfloor? The owner would like them screwed like a deck (predrilled). Is that possible without a tongue and groove? Should I butt them tight or leave a slight gap? I am perplexed. Thanks.

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Comments (3)

Sammy
6 years ago
Do you even need a subfloor? I’d think you’d want to build this like a regular outdoor deck. Here’s an article that I think you’ll appreciate: https://www.deckmagazine.com/design-construction/working-with-local-wood_o

This guy built a deck using 3/4” (after planing) green, white-oak boards, ranging in width from 6”-12”, I believe.
Iron Brigade thanked Sammy
Seabornman
6 years ago
Are the floor boards air dried and for how long? If they are I'd attach directly to framing using star-drive deck screws. I'd leave a small gap, maybe a 6 penny nail width.
Iron Brigade thanked Seabornman
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Iron Brigade
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you guys! The wood has been sitting in a huge pile, each board separated by shims, and covered with metal roofing pieces. I like your ideas about skipping subflooring and building it like a deck. Also, a 6 penny spacer sounds perfect. Thanks so much. I don't think there'll be any bare feet up there, but I probably should sand the edges. Although it is protected from rain, temperature extremes seem to dictate an exterior oil clearcoat. Any ideas about that?