Hi everybody;
This is my very first chat ever.
I am building a traditional style home in Wheaton Illinois. The house will have a wrap around front porch. Should I install 1×4 fir porch flooring, If so do you have any advice?
Thank you
Hi everybody;
This is my very first chat ever.
I am building a traditional style home in Wheaton Illinois. The house will have a wrap around front porch. Should I install 1×4 fir porch flooring, If so do you have any advice?
Thank you
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Replies
Welcome to Breaktime. Take a moment and fill out your profile, it might help in answering some questions that might be environmental dependent.
Traditional porch flooring is/was clear vertical grain fir. It needs to be primed and painted, all sides if possible, to preclude rot. As an alternative, check out the following site for a composite:
http://www.tendura.com/
It is pretty stable, can be painted, and installs pretty much like wood. Without the rot.
Good luck.
BTW, if you decide on the fir, get the highest quality you can find, installation is easier and it just looks better.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Thank you for the tip re: Tendura, I will look at it today.
Thanks to everybody for their thoughts re: the fir porch flooring. This was my first online discussion ever; and it was very helpful and a pleasent experience. Thank you.
1 x 4 is actually only 3/4" thick....I prefer the 5/4" porch floor.
Advice....have the framing run parellel to the house so that the flooring can run perpendicular for draining purposes.
My paint supplier with Ben Moore recomends against priming before applying their Porch Floor Paints....but I recomend you prime the areas that won't be exposed (or painted) before installation.
Welcome to BT.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
5/4 ?
are you serious ?
most people choke when we give them the 3/4" pricing for a fir floor.
the last time i saw 5/4 fir porch flooring was on a home built about 75 years ago.
do you install the floor as raw wood and then paint only the exposed surface ?
carpenter in transition
Edited 3/15/2006 6:32 pm ET by timkline
I second the motion to prime everything before you start. This takes longer than you might think (and a lot of space for things to dry). Prime ends that you cut. Plan on renting a flooring nailer. Take two Advil BEFORE you begin nailing -- your back will thank you. I have mixed feelings about painting before installion versus sanding and painting after. I prefer to paint before, but it can leave some irregularities if the material isn't machined precisely. Sue
Plan on renting a flooring nailer
A flooring nailer ? You mean like a hardwood flooring nailer ? As far as I know, the only nails available for flooring nailers are the raw steel Powercleat type nails that typically begin rusting in the box.
We stick with hot dipped galvanized oval heads.
carpenter in transition
The last few porches I've done, I've used: a. Framing gun with SS nails, b. Countersunk SS HeadCote screws.
Using the screws takes a little more time in order to drill the countersink in the tongue, but it draws the boards up nice. The SS nail job was an experiment, and other than marring the surface of an occaision board with the toe-nail spur on the gun, it went fine. Placement was a little sketchy at times, though...
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Ah yeah... nails. I'm glad the subject came up, because I'm open for ideas. When I started doing porch floors after a long hiatus, I asked around at all of the lumber yards and hardware stores about what was appropriate, and got mostly blank stares. For smaller repairs I've tried galvanized finish nails, serrated underlayment nails, and spiral decking nails. Except for the galvanized, I had problems with splitting and heads being too big. Not to mention it's time-consuming, especially when drilling and countersinking each one. The decking that I removed from old porches was, without exception, nailed with flat hardwood flooring nails from a nailer. In every case the wood had failed and the nails were still holding. While I don't feel completely comfortable about it, I've gone with that for my new work. I do welcome your suggestions. No one has mentioned the issue of finger-jointed stock, either. Every lumber yard around here sells with yellow pine or finger-jointed fir. I drive an hour to the supplier I've found that stocks continuous non-jointed fir. Sue
Yeah, I just use the regular nails on the T&G for porches (under roof). Decks I try to use hidden fasteners.
FJ stock breaks when it hangs over the tailgate!
Forrest
Thanks -- I'm glad I'm not the only one using regular nails... was starting to feel a bit shoddy there for a moment. You've restored some of my self-esteem :-)Sue
i guess i could believe the nails close to the house under protection might survive, but the nails out near the edge of the deck where the rain hits, doubtful. the material is so expensive, it seems crazy to risk the install on untreated nails.
i generally only ever drilled the last foot of a board to prevent splitting. otherwise haven't had much of a problem.
finger jointed ? no way.
one of our guys installed 3 or 4 porch floors last summer and used yellow pine. all of them will be ripped out in about a month or two because of severe expansion and buckling.
never again.
carpenter in transition
Nails.....galvy screw shank. Heads are a bit large, but once you find the proper angle to set them at, no problem. Predrill only at the ends.
FJ decking/flooring? Not if you paid me double.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
One more for Tendura, it was great to work with. Put it down painted it, looks great after 4 yrs. My porch is about 30' across the front and wraps ten feet down one side.
House is about 130 rys old.
Expensive...but worth it.
Prior to installation, I prime all but the top surface of the product. A good sanding after install, and two coats of Ben Moore porch floor paint.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
When you prime before an install, do you paint the tongues/grooves, along with the back side?********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Yes, I do.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
I tried that once, and had all kinds of trouble getting the boards together. Since then, I have primed the backs, but leave the t/g's alone.Do you have a trick, or just lots of muscle?********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
No tips really.....I usually roll the undersides and brush the edges in to ensure good coverage.
As with any other wood product, I try and have materials on the job about two weeks in advance to allow for acclimation.
But I haven't noticed any difficulties....none more than any other T&G product. They all require a bit of extra muscleing from time to time.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
There is a adaptor for the bowrench tool that fits into the groove of T&G flooring that really helps closing the gap with a stubborn board.
I did seven porches or porch repairs last summer, and I primed all sides and edges of each board before installation. When I could, I painted the top prior to installation, as well as the tongues so no primer would show through if the boards shrank over time. They all went together just fine. Sue
Use Tendura. Period. It looks and goes down like primed 3-1/8' x 3/4" t&g pine, and you paint it. Darn good product - 1/2 wood flour, 1/2 mystery polymer. Will span 16", but I always use 12". About $6 sq. ft. from retailers.
Did i mention I love it? It's the only solution for old house folks who want the right look. trex is for a deck. a porch is a different animal, aesthetically speaking.
Forrest
What was the question again?
Edited 3/15/2006 7:32 pm by McDesign
I've got 5/4" tonge & groove mahogony. I don't recommend that at all. Looks great stained and sealed but it needs constant care. The poly doesn't hold and the rainwater swells the mahogony. I've wondered if fir would be better. Sounds like synthetic is the way to go."With every mistake we must surely be learning"
I'm with you. I just put down the Tendura and it looks great. Talk to me in 50 years to see how it's holding up.
Another plug for Tendura.
I installed it on my own front porch 4 years ago. I still haven't painted it,and it's holding up fine.
Not that I recommend skipping the paint.
And it's actually 7/8" thick.