“knitting” installed strip oak flooring

I have to enlarge a doorway into a 4′ passageway, the flooring is strip 3″ t&g oak, what is the best way to cut the installed pieces to knit or stagger the repair?
I have to enlarge a doorway into a 4′ passageway, the flooring is strip 3″ t&g oak, what is the best way to cut the installed pieces to knit or stagger the repair?
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Replies
I've heard of using a biscuit cutter then a chisel to finish.
Weave I've heard of....knit, is a new one.
I've used the biscuit joiner method....but not everyone owns one.
I've also made do with both sawzalls and/or jigsaws. Takes a steady, patient hand.....buts works fine.
Beware the bikini clad female.
She may be interpreted as offensive.
<Weave I've heard of....knit, is a new one.>
Hah! I can both crochet AND macrame floors.
Forrest
Well then.....you ARE the man.
; )
Beware the bikini clad female.
She may be interpreted as offensive.
If the floor is to be refinished you could tack down a guide across the width of the board then used a router with the smallest diameter straight bit you can find ( if you want to avoid nail holes you could use double stick carpet tape). A plunge router would be needed to start the cut of and you may need several passes to get through the board. WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES SINCE YOU HAVE A HIGH CHANCE OF HITTING A NAIL. Guides are made for this but they are spendy you could fashion a stop of sorts so you don't over cut.
Wallyo
If you don't have a biscuit joiner then you probably also don't have a fein multimaster! Which is the ultimate tool for this job.
Whatever you use--chisel, jigsaw, sawzall, biscuit joiner, multimaster--one trick is to tape a carpenter's square to the floor first to cut up to/against. This will give you a good square cut to butt into. It also helps to cut first with a utility knife to prevent tearing out along your cutline.
If you do have the biscuit joiner, then put it right against the square taped to the floor and go for it. You're ensured a perfect cut, and square, then finish with chisel or whatever.
Is also helps to saw a couple kerfs lengthwise (rip) on any board you are to remove before hacking it out.
"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing..."
I've found the best way for a clean and neat job is to score and chisel. I score with a sharp utility knife about 1/32" deep.Then lift this thin chipout with the chisel.Now you have a edge to place the chisel.Succeding cuts are 1/16" or deeper until you are thru.Try to slightly undercut the piece. When installing the new piece, cut it 1 or 2° out of square so the top surface will be tight.This should take care of any roughness in the first cut.Sometimes I will finish the first cut with another chisel that may be slightly dull. I have hit nails in the subfloor that quickly dulls a sharp chisel.
mike
Did similar type repair not long ago and used the old chisel method which always works. Never tried the biscuit jointer. I search out my nails with rare earth magnets before hand so I'm not dealing with "murphys law"
Gary
1. Fein 2. rotozip w/ wood bit works really well for 'toothing in '
Edited 2/28/2008 10:48 pm ET by JerryHill
I've always called it 'stitching, not sure where I got that from. Anyways, my preferred tool is a Fein multimaster, with the rotozip & a 1/8" bit a close second. A sharp chisel will clean up the tiny radius corners quickly. If there is an exiting butt joint reasonably close, I will make two rip cuts in the plank with a circular saw, right up to the joint & pull out the pieces.
I just finished about six hours of 'stitching' 1 1/2" white oak. The carpenters saved a lot of the old flooring they pulled up, enough for all the patches. So I had good matching material to work with. I was going to do a little photo shoot of the whole process & post it on here, but my dig. camera quit working. Maybe next time.
Good luck,
Mike
7.25" circular saw. set just so you avoid the underlayment...
two passes 1/4" apart toward the grooved side (avoid the adjacet tongue)...
lift out the sawn part...
small prybar from exposed end, slowly rotating the nailed pc away from the adjacent pcs.
Liberty = Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
American Heritage Dictionary
Sharp chisel and mallet has always worked for me.
Cut the flooring lenghtwise with a circular saw set to depth of hardwoodand use a chisel to help remove cuts. Remove paper, you may want to glue the new boards, also the paper will bunch up when you drive in the new boards.
Remove boards you can to factory ends. Boards that are too long, score a line with utility knife and a square. Drill a series of holes along the line using a 1/4" drill bit. Cut out flooring as above. Square the end of board along drilled line with a sharp chisel.
After removing boards, the remaining floorboards will be loose along the groove side. Nail down the bottom groove with 1 3/4" finish nails. If you have an 18ga nailer with a small tip you can do it that way, but I usually nail them by hand and set them with a nailset. I think its a better hold than power nailing. If the groove is splitting, which happens with old wood, you can pre-drill for the nails.
Hopefully you can get the same boards to slide into the slots you've created. If not you may have to modify boards to fit with a tablesaw. Knock in the new boards with wooden block and a hammer, be carefull not to damage the ends, tap them in slowly and keep the block tight.
This is the time of year to do this job. It gets alot tougher when the summer humidity hits and the floor swells.
Good luck.
Gord
steve,
I have often used a router with a straight bit and an edge guide, which can be a piece of plywood that you are kneeling on. Don't use a square. It's a lot more likely to move while you are cutting.
A floor finisher I know always uses a jigsaw. He drills a pilot hole right through flloor and subfloor in the middle of the board he wants to remove and cuts both ways. He keeps a shortened blade around in case there's a joist under the board he wants to take out, The tongue will have to be cut out with a small chisel.
Ron
floor patchA Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/