end grain floors; xtra sheetrock for insulation?

[Sherry]

Hi everyone--Can anyone help w/ a few questions?

1.  On the old forum on this site, someone gave a rough set of instructions for making an end-grain floor.  What wasn't addressed in that posting was what type of wood should be used.  I always thought that end-grain floors were made of old reclaimed wood beams.  These are of course very expensive, unless you happen to have an old barn on your property (I don't, but wish I did.)  I wonder, would there be problems in the future from not using reclaimed wood (shrinking, warping, or whatever could go wrong)?  Does anyone have any suggestions about what wood to use?

Here is another thing I wonder about this type of floor.  Charmaine Taylor of Dirt Cheap Builder has spoken of developing building materials and methods that don't require all the bending and kneeling and heavy lifting that is usually part of the building process.  She points out that she can't do all of the things she used to do when younger; since it is an axiom that we're all getting older, I got to pondering methods of assembling an end-grain floor on pieces of plywood or other backing (performing this task at a worktable) gluing them to the substrate by whatever method is appropriate (what would that be, if this method is feasible?)  and then fastening the substrate to the floor by whatever method is appropriate (again, what would work here?).  Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this would work, or suggestions, modifications, etc?

2.  My next question is re insulation in new construction.  I read a posting on another web site which said you could get extra insulation by using 2 layers of sheetrock instead of the usual one.  Does anyone know if this is true, and if it's worthwhile to do for the extra insulation value it adds?  If this is not a good idea, is there any other way to get extra insulation value when using standard 2x4 studs in construction?

Thanks for offering your thoughts on these questions.

Sherry

[glenn kangiser]

From the cordwood masonry book I found that hardwoods tend to expand more when wet.  New or wet boards may still be unstable dimensionally - over a year I have seen shrinkage of about 8% plus or minus on pine boards -  Some hardwoods shrink as much as 25% speaking of eucalyptus -maybe others.  Reclaimed wood should be pretty stable.  I don't see any problem with assembling as you mentioned.  -My opinion-

Looking at the R value for sheetrock I can only see getting about anither R1 out of it.  John has mentioned Foam board under sheathing  - that would give much more depending on thickness-  A screen wall on the outside could help a little too (finish boards spaced off the outside a little bit- leaving an air space- helps with drying wall and longer siding life also}.

[NELSELGNE]

I saw a Bob Vila show on PBS where they used end grain wood bricks for
flooring.   THey grouted them with sawdust mixed with sealer.   The
sawdust and sealer mixture filled all of the seasoning cracks in the
wood.  
http://www.bobvila.com/wwwboard/archive/1998/10/05/

http://www.birgerjuell.com/cobblewood.html

http://www.birgerjuell.com/cobqna.html

http://www.archsystems.com/collection_listing.jsf?brand=Flooring&collection=661&type=ASI+Hardwood

http://www.timelesstimber.com/Contractor/index.php?content=end+grain+block

http://www.mesquitefloors.com/Flooring%205703.htm

http://www.kaswell.com/woodblock/mesquite.htm

http://www.coedcymru.org.uk/endgrain1.htm

[Amanda_931]

That Mesquite is right pretty.

Much more so than 2x4 would be, although I think I've seen those as countertops or something.

Rob Roy used log rounds as floor tiles in one of his saunas.

thanks for the links.

[Sherry]

Is foam board the same stuff that is used to insulate on the outside of the First Day Cottages that are discussed on another thread on this site?  Could you use just the foam board on the outside without insulating on the inside and still achieve a good insulation value (build in NJ), or would you have to use both?

Sherry

[bartholomew]

A double layer of drywall is often used for sound insulation or for extra thermal mass (for heat storage) but will add virtually no extra thermal insulation (resistance to heat loss).

Polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams have an insulating value of about R-7 per inch, so a couple inches would match or exceed the roughly R-11 to R-14 that you'd get by filling 3-1/2 inch stud bays with fiberglass or cellulose. Plus the foam would cover the studs, eliminating the thermal bridging where the studs allow more heat to pass through than the insulation between them. Other foams have less insulating value.

[John Raabe]

I can't add much to what Bart has said except to say that if you want a superinsulated wall you can use both cavity insulation and foam board sheathing. Cavity (fiberglass, cellulose, etc.) will always be cheaper per R-value than foam. You can use cavity insulation to get the R-14 (2x4) to R-21 (2x6) of the basic wall and then add 1" to 1.5" of foam (either inside or outside of the wall) and up both the cavity insulation and even more important, insulate the framing.

Superinsulation makes very good financial sense for full time houses in cold climates where heating fuels are pricey. A small seasonal cabin with a wood stove may not pencil out for the additional costs.

[Sherry]

All of the replies have been very helpful, but have brought up another question in my mind.  This is for a year-round home in northern NJ,  by the way.  A definite 4 season climate, 20's and 30's most days in winter, but can get down into the teens and below zero, esp. at night.  Summers 80's and 90's, fairly humid.

Please excuse my ignorance, I don't have anything close to the technical expertise most of you do, but I'm trying my best.  On the foam board insulation, John, you referred to it as "sheathing" in your post.  Which got me thinking....I read in a recent "Money" magazine article that you could save money on construction by both bracing the house and using extruded foam sheathing instead of plywood.  Don't laugh if this sounds dumb---could you use this method and have the foam serve as both insulation and sheathing, and would this then bring the total  spent down to the point where it was less than or equal to the price of cavity insulation?  Just trying to think of ways to save money here.

Thanks for the help.

Sherry

[John Raabe]

Sherry:

If you are NOT in an earthquake or high wind area you can probably use the foam board as sheathing in conjunction with something such as metal strap bracing (check with your buidling Dept.) at the corners.

You might also be limited in the type of sidings you could use since all you have to nail to is the studs. This would probably be fine for the two lower cost sidings however — cement board and vinyl.

Here is a link to an earlier discussion thread on composite sidings.
http://www.countryplans.com/bbs/messages/5945.html