[Greenbuilding] Recycled old (1940) oak flooring

[Corwyn]

On Jan 20, 2008, at 23:05, Kathy Cochran wrote:

> I am trying to bring back to life a charming house built in 1940 - wood
> floors, arched doorways, stucco outside, plaster inside.  No 
> insulation --
> AT THIS POINT.  The floors are in basically pretty decent condition  - 
>  oak
> slats 2" wide, random lengths, NOT T&G.  Does anyone know where I could
> locate a source where I could get recycled oak slat flooring that would
> "hopefully" match the existing floor?  Preliminary requirements look 
> like I
> need about 15 pcs about 20' long (or random lengths to meet this
> requirement) and about 20 pcs about 13 feet long.

If the important thing is visual matching, I would just find some oak 
that has a similar graining.  You will probably have to sand (or change 
the thickness of) the recycled wood, which will remove any patina or 
coloring that the have.  Now you are basically at new wood.  There are 
then various techniques which can be tried to match the existing color 
of your current wood.  You can try this yourself, but I would try to 
find an expert in your area as it is definitely in the realm of art.

Is there a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near you?  That would be my 
first stop.

Don't worry about the tongue and grove, if the top part is the right 
width (or slightly larger), the tongues can be easily
removed.

(every time you open something up fill the accessible void with 
insulation, thanks)

Thank You Kindly,

Corwyn


-- 
Corwyn
Kermit didn't know the half of it...
http://www.greenfret.com/
corwyn at greenfret.com