linseed oil and floor wax

[onkingston]

Hello everyone.  I'm laying 4x4 squares of oak plywood down as my flooring.  Laying them like tiles with and alternating the grain.  Now, I have a friend who owns an 80 year old house and he believes his oak floors are just waxed.  80 years of wax and they are beautiful.  Feel nice on bare feet.  He waxes them once or twice per year.

Urethane ikk.  And toxic.

I'm thinking of sanding the squares.  Treating them with boiled linseed oil and waxing on top of that.  Rent a buffer and lay down 2 or 3 layers of wax to get started.

Any thoughts on this?  Any experience?  Recipes?

Thanks

[Amanda_931]

My woodworker friends hate boiled linseed oil, much prefer the tung oil or the combinations called Danish Oil.  Faster drying, nicer finish, or so they claim.  

I've used boiled linseed oil on pine, haven't had any particular problems with it.  But it wasn't for a floor.

A lot of people really do think that this company's products are worth the extra cost, they've got a couple of floor finishes.  Web site is difficult to navigate, IMHO.  Catalog, well, at least you have it in your hands.

Here are three different products.

http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=345

http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=6&products_id=137

http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=344

[Daddymem]

Hello everyone.  I'm laying 4x4 squares of oak plywood down as my flooring.  Laying them like tiles with and alternating the grain.  

If you don't mind my asking...how are you doing this?  Do you have a traditional subfloor down first?  How thick is the plywood?  This could be what we are looking for as far as satisfying a mortgage company that we have "finished" floors.  Thanks for any information.

[jraabe]

Interesting suggestion — oak plywood tiles. It could go over a standard 3/4" subfloor and could be 3/8" to 1/2" thick I would think. It could also be laid in patterns with an accent wood strip of the same thickness. I don't expect this would be a low cost solution.

As for coatings I have had good luck with Danish oil finishes. This I have used on fir, pine and hemlock trim, handrails etc. It can easily be redone and gives a much better texture than urethane. Lets the wood mellow and oxidize to those rich colors we call patina.

[onkingston]

Well, no one with dire warnings so far!  Except my mom that is, who thinks it's the end of civilisation,  and that my floors will turn black with all the dirt that will get embedded in the wax.  Is she right?  She also says that I have to strip old wax before applying new and can't just let it build up.  ??

It is, if I remember correctly, 1/2 inch oak plywood.  I do remember the price though: $33 Cdn a sheet, on sale!  So yeah, if this works I"ll have a lovely floor for cheaper than the cheapest (&B*&!*  broadloom that ends up as toxic waste at the dump in 5 years.

I have painted OSB down now.

How I'm doing this...  
1) Cut the squares
2) Sand.  Stain? Apply oil, buff, wax, buff.
3) Glue the squares down.  I'm not sure what glue to use.  I'll separate the sheets with finishing nails while laying them to allow for expansion and contraction.  I figure if the glue doesn't hold them as the years go by, I can screw it later.
4) Wait a bit, then put caulking in the cracks.  I'm not sure what caulking to use or what colour it should be.
5) Apply a finish coat or two of wax over everything.
6) Put carpet in heavily trafficked areas.

I have research to do before I start regarding waxes and oils.  Thanks for the oil tips and links.  I have finished furniture before with oil and wax.  Never a floor though.

[jraabe]

Ahhh to live in Canada. Where the lumberjacks roam and wood is still reasonably priced.

(Just watched the "Concert for George" again - George Harrison tribute concert. The Monte Python sketch "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK" comes to mind.)

For adhesives I would use standard thinset tile adhesive used for parquet flooring and put it on with a notched trowel.

You might want to consider spacing the tiles wider apart and then using grout rather than caulk. When it is waxed or oiled it may work out better than caulk that wants to repel such things.

[onkingston]

You'd use actual grout?  Same stuff you use for tiles?  Will that expand and contract with the wood?

[Daddymem]

Just ran across some DIY stains with boiled linseed oil in them and thought you might be interested.  There is also a milk paint recipe and an interesting bayberry wax recipe too.  The website looks interesting, covering the topic of homesteading.

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4095/resources/recipes.htm

[John Raabe]

One suggestion I would have with whatever system evolves out of this homemade tile floor idea is to checkout the size of the "tiles". I expect that 4'x4' is too big a scale for the interior. It also makes the shrinkage and movement factor larger.

Snap out some chalk lines on the subfloor to test a pattern before you start cutting plywood. I expect 2'x'2' is the largest you would want and 16"x16" could also be cut from 4x8 sheets and might look better yet.

If you do an experiment with my suggestion of grout, use plenty of plasticizer in the mix and let the oil or wax fill any slight cracks that develop. Smaller tiles will move less.

[glenn kangiser]

On natural rock they seal it first before grouting to cut down on or eliminate cleaning problems so I would assume that you would want to seal the wood tiles first to prevent discoloration in the pores of the wood.  I remember from shop class using a sealer or filler to fill the open pores of oak, walnut and other open pore woods.

[onkingston]

 I'll let you know what I do and how it works out.