I am looking forward to installing some Appalachian milled 10” wide X 3/4” thick engineered live-sawn white oak at our new home in New Braunfels, Texas. This is going to be a really unique floor and possibly the most eye catching one I’ve done in my career to date. There are lot of reasons that this floor will stand above others I’ve done in the past.
First of all this width alone is the widest planks I’ve ever worked with. In the past I have used 8” solid milled from Tuscarora Wood Midwest in Covington, Ohio. Which is Amazing in their own right but now for this discussion, the planks on our new floor are 10 inches wide. For reference that would be 2 normal 12 oz cans stacked on one another, or 1 and half dollar bills side by side, or 3 crayon’s end to end, etc. My point is these are really wide planks and that alone makes them eye catching.
The next thing to consider is the “live-sawn” or “European-cut” approach to the milling process. Live sawing is a very old method of sawing a log. Instead of squaring the log in the case of Plain Sawn, or quartering the log in the case of Quarter Sawn, Live-sawing is the technique of sawing straight through a log from one side to the other, much like pit-sawing of centuries ago. The result is planks that exhibit Plain Sawn grain down the middle with Rift & Quarter Sawn grain along the edges. It is a dramatic look and a more reasonably priced alternative to Antique Reclaimed Oak. This also leaves a lot of character on the surface of the wood in the form of mineral streaks, knots/holes, splits/cracks and other variations that can all be filled and sanded/finished into the floor making for every board having it’s very own personality.
Another factor to consider about this floor is more on the technical side (for the installers and aficionados) is the heavy 4 millimeter thick wear layer, and thick plywood backing making for an overall 3/4” thickness like standard solid wood products. That translates to a very sturdy and dimensionally stable product that can be sanded and finished several times during its long life span.
Lastly the thing that I think will make this floor pop more than anything will be the penetrating oil finish that I put on top. I’m not entirely sure what specific product I’ll use or wether it will have color or just be transparent but any way you slice it I think this is the best choice for finish for this floor. Not only because penetrating oil is the best looking but because it’s the best performing for a household like ours. Our family is very active to say the least, with 3 small kids, 1 giant polar bear dog, 2 smaller dogs, 2 cats and 2 adults all abusing the floor daily. We have lived on top of several different finishes and this makes them most sense for us. More on that though in a different blog to come.
Thanks for taking the time to read about our new floor. I plan to share the entire install process with photos and lots of information as well so please check back to see how things go. Also feel free to leave your lovely, kind, and encouraging comments or questions below.