Cypress Flooring winter

[smee]

Is laying cypress pine t&g ok nearing winter ?- ie. is it more prone to splitting?
And is there any dark floor stains available (walnut or equiv) as wattyl dont seem to make this in flooring stain to be compat with 7008.
Has cypress the same staining traits as radiarta -ie bugger to get on evenly?

[Zed]

Im not sure about laying it (perhaps journeyman mick or one of the other tradies can answer) but I know that my house has cypress pine flooring and it definately contracts in winter, you can hear the creaks when you walk over it when its cold....

I'll hazard a guess and (again the tradies may correct) say that the reason they leave some slack space on the edges of a room is to allow for contraction and expansion of the timer during temperature extremes.

cheers

[journeyman Mick]

Smee,
cyprus is generally more prone to splitting than radiata and a lot of other timbers. When used for framing it is usually fixed with special blunt (gun)nails so that they punch through rather than wedging with the point as this causes splitting especially near the ends. You will need to predrill the ends of the boards if you are face nailing. As far as laying a floor in winter is concerned it's probably better than in summer. (I'm ready to be corrected on this) If you lay a floor when the humidity is at its lowest it will tend to grow with higher humidity. This will push the boards out to occupy the gap you have left under the skirting. If you lay when the boards are at their widest (high humidity) they will shrink as the air dries. If the tongues and grooves are stuck together with the estapol there is a chance that you will get splits. Having said that however, in my experience floors are laid whenever the job is ready for it as time is money and no one wants to wait for anything nowadays. As far as staining the floor goes this is not reccomended practice as you will get uneven fading due to sunlight. Consider hiring a secret nailer to lay the floor. They're a bit slower but you won't need to hire flooring clamps and you'll save time in not having to stop all the nail holes, not to mention that the finished job looks so much better!

Mick

[smee]

I was considering secret nailing (but I got face nail boards- didnt know secret nail profile was available) but won't this split the tounge (I can ony get 58mm nails-boards are 85x20mm) - will I still have to predrill? - (the nails are sort of blunt will 2 slight angle edges?)
I can get a loaner nail gun - Duofast finishing gun with 15G x 50mm (DA-21) gal c-Brads? - is/will this be OK??
Thanks for you inputs

[journeyman Mick]

Smee,
then secret nail profile is only neccesary if you hand nail (hand nail? what the hell is that? :D ) The secret nailer is specially designed to drive the board hard against the previous one whilst firing in a staple. You need to lay the first couple of boards and face nail them as the gun needs (from memory) 3 boards to sit on. You then lay the next board in place, put the gun on top (it hooks over the edge of the board) and belt the actuating bumper on top with the supplied mallet. Unless tha board is very badly bowed you will not need to clamp it as the mallet blow butts the board in tight. Do a search on this BB as I have posted a fairly lengthy explanation in the past. You won't need to predrill the tongue, I've succesfully secret nailed cyprus floors. The loaner gun is probably a bit light gauge but okay for a few boards if you are secret nailing the rest, as long as you put a bit of sikaflex under the boards - this is worth doing howevwer you fix the floor as it prevents a creaking floor further down the track.

Mick

[smee]

Thanks Mick, I'll probably secret nail then, so the facenail cypress boards won't split by useing this secret nailer at then ?- what nails do they use?
You mention "put a bit of sikaflex under the boards" , you are refering just to the joists only? and will plain silicone suffice?

[smee]

What type (number) of sikaflex should I use, is this what makes cypress creek-ie cypress on Hardwood joists? I though it would be from the toungues rubbing together??

[journeyman Mick]

Smee,
The secret nailers use a large staple of hardened wire and won't split the boards (I've succesfully laid cyprus this way). The grade sika doesn't matter any polyurethane adhesive sealant is fine, Bostik seal'n'flex is probably the cheapest, especially if you use the large "sausages". Just apply a dob under each board where it sits on the joist, the tongue and groove can't rub if the board can't move on the joist. Don't use ordinary silicone, as it's not strong enough. Liquid nails will work but tends to go hard and let go after a few years, especially when subject to high temperatures.

Mick