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I found a source of 5″ red oak flooring (shorts) to cover the plywood floor of my woodworking shop. The shop is in a fairly humid area (central NC) and is not air conditioned except for occasional wood stove use during the winter. Should I expect flooring of this width to expand/contract significantly with ambient humidity changes? Would I be better off with 2 1/4″ or 3″ strips? Is 2 1/4″ standard for residential use because it’s cheapest or because it minimizes shrinkage gaps? Also, which is the preferred fastening method, nails or staples? Any insights would be appreciated!
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Richard, is your 5 inch oak S4S or T&G? Either way Nail. S4S you will Face Nail, T&G gets Blind Nailed or Face Nailed. For Face Nailing, you may like the look of wrought head or cut nails from Tremont, a division of Maze Nails. See: http://www.MazeNails.com for more information.
2 1/4 inch flooring is cheaper, that's all, the ratio of expansion/contraction is a given percentage for a given wood. Your 5 inch should look great.
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I found a source of 5" red oak flooring (shorts) to cover the plywood floor of my woodworking shop. The shop is in a fairly humid area (central NC) and is not air conditioned except for occasional wood stove use during the winter. Should I expect flooring of this width to expand/contract significantly with ambient humidity changes? Would I be better off with 2 1/4" or 3" strips? Is 2 1/4" standard for residential use because it's cheapest or because it minimizes shrinkage gaps? Also, which is the preferred fastening method, nails or staples? Any insights would be appreciated!