Reclaimed oak planks to use as flooring

[mitch moore]

I recently was given the opportunity to get all the rough cut red oak planks that were uses in the loft of a 100+ year old barn, I'm interested in having it turned into flooring to use in my home, my question is, is there someone near indianapolis with the ability to turn this into flooring? Also what kind of cost would I be looking at? All the boards range from 1×8, 1×10, 1×12 and most are 12' +. Is it a good idea or will I run into problems using this wood

[Tom Deutsch]

Is the wood cupped at all? Hard to think 1 by boards that wide wouldn't be cupped. You'll just need to decide what finish you want for this floor and then proceed. Any local lumber yard or cabinet shop should be able to plane it to your spec and cut a tongue and groove. Boards with a bow aren't bad to work with but the ones with a twist are going to be devilish to lay as flooring.
If you plane it smooth, it's going to look a lot like brand new oak, except for the fact that your boards are so wide - that should still look pretty nice.
Personally, I would run them through a planer just until they are almost flat; you would probably get some totally smooth areas but with some areas remaining where you can see the saw marks. Would have to see the boards to know what is possible with them.
Some pictures (from the ends and of the faces) would be great!

[Dave Haughs]

I suppose my first call would be to Northwest Lumber on Lafayette Rd. If they can't do it, they will have recommendations who can. I'd lookup and call a couple local cabinet shops too, for pricing comparisons.

[Jim Becker]

Using reclaimed material for flooring is always an interesting thing to do. What Tom brings up is important, but there are ways to deal with it, depending on what you want the end-product to look like. Wide planks might be scored on the back, fastened to the floor and then sanded to similar thickness, but not too hard so that some character remains...that's how our great room floor was originally done with wide pumpkin/white pine. If you're wanting standard strip flooring of uniform widths, the recycled material can certainly be milled to create it. It will likely look like a "newer" floor, but may exhibit the tight grain of old growth timber, depending on its age.

[mitch moore]

I have found that some of the boards I have already pulled are cupped, but running the through my cheap planer, I was able to get a straight board and didn't lose to much thickness

[Scott T Smith]

One thing that most folks are concerned with regarding reclaimed lumber is the potential to strike metal within the boards.

I personally will not run reclaimed boards through my production equipment; the risks far outweigh the benefits. I learned this lesson the hard way when an eye bolt embedded totally within a board (and out of sight) significantly damaged a $5,000 planer head.

[Danny Hamsley]

You should check the boards carefully for powderpost beetles. They love red oak, and in an old barn, I would expect to see some. Be safe and get the wood heat treated.