Replies

1. 
   Jim_T. | Jun 24, 1999 09:09pm | #1

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   Donald,

   I'll be laying the floor for my (open air) porch in a month or so, here's what I'll be doing:

   I'll be using doug fir 1x4 T/G, a Palco product, it's preprimed and costs $.75/lin ft in my neck of the woods. Plan on using Benjamin Moore Urethane reinforced porch paint-1 coat all sides over primer and 1 coat on top after floor is laid. Flooring will be laid perpendicular to house with no splices ( i.e. all 10' lengths in my case). I used 1/4" per foot slope when constructing the carcass. Will be using 15 gauge galv nails through tounge into PT strapping and joists. Now, I've thought of using a marine grade caulk between the tounges/grooves.
   My boater friend tells me its used to seal the grooves when building wooden boats. It's called 5200 sealant made by 3M and can be obtained through boat supply houses or catalogs. Don't have any experience with this stuff, though.

   I never costed mahogany-assumed it will be MUCH more than the doug fir I'm using. Let me know what you find out for flooring in your area.

   Hope this helped-Jim

1. 
   clayb | Jun 25, 1999 03:53am | #2

   *Hey, Jim TNot to bunk your paint process, but the old timers around this old neighborhood I work in always say to not prime the under belly of the boards, that way, any moisture that may "eek" into them can breathe out, therefore, not absorb a whole lotta moisture, swell up and pop in the middle someplace. Actually, I've heard it advised both ways, and I've never been sure which is the best procedure. By the way, those galvanized nails, they wouldn't be flooring nails would they? Somebody outta come up with that one...

1. 
   Rusty_Floyd | Jun 29, 1999 04:51am | #3

   *Donald, Being from the south we have all kinds of weather in Georgia. Down in theses parts we use pressure treated 1x4s T&G keel dried. Primed & back primed. I did a open porch 5yrs. ago in the historical Dist. of Rome Ga. it still looks good.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jun 29, 1999 05:47am | #4

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   Donald,

   If it's a covered porch, you can use any species of wood you want.

   I would suggest finish head screws instead of nails, and the wood will tell you if you need to pre-drill or not. No caulk. You don't need it.

   If the wood you want is tongue and groove, lay it like regular hardwood floor, ( nailed in the tongue ) but leave a little gap for expansion. It is exterior even though it is under-roof.

   My suggestion,

   Ed. Williams

3. 
   Frank_LaPiana | Jun 29, 1999 08:10am | #5

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   A friend of mine just had a new deck laid - 1x4 mahagony. Deck size is 12x14 and the mahagony ran about $400 more than pressure-treated fir. His building buddy used stainless steel square-drive screws.

   It's a beautiful wood and he finished it off with marine teak oil (available at boat stores). It will need to be re-applied every 1-2 years depending on wear.

   I used to have a sailboat with teak trim - used the teak oil on it once a year and remained nice and brown. Teak ain't mahagony however, which is usually varnished in a marine environment.

4. 
   Donald_Andersen | Jun 29, 1999 08:10am | #6

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   I am flooring a 900 square foot roofed porch in suburban Philadelphia. The joists are all pressure treated. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding mahogany vs. fir vs, any other kind of wood? Do you need to drill nail holes in mahogany or can a standard floor nailer be used? Does anyone suggest caulking between boards? Any recommended sources? Thanks for any replies.