I plan to install a end grain wood floor in my kitchen.My choice of material is to use recycled beams .I am going to look at material that came from a old barn,the owner thinks it is oak.I will have to verify when I see the material.
Being in the building business and allso a woodshop teacher ,I have the knowledge and the machinery to mill the beams,cut the wood slices etc.I am familure with expansion and contraction of the material.
I relize it is a big undertaking,seeing the prices for flooring we decided to go for it
My question I am not up on the newer products for finishing.I am a big fan of oil based finishes,I like the buildup and the golden petina it gives off,looking for some ideas,gene

One of the key processes with this floor you wish to create will be sanding SMOOTH. the pores of the wood will absorb a lot of finish. You should also contemplate using a trowelable filler over the entire floor, prior to finish sanding. This will help in creating that "build" you are looking for.

Gluby I would love to hear more about this. I fell in love with end grain the first time I saw it. I've always been curious to know how you can reclaim a beam without wrecking your planers and saws on the 1000s of nails.

If you want some good ideas on how to finish your end grain flooring check this site out:

http://www.atdg.com/v2/fr/t-parquet-pav ... debout.htm

It's a french site but the pics say it all. Alot of these guys don't use any filler at all, if you are looking for a nice rustic feel. The beams have rounded corners. The pieces are bevelled and installed like ceramic tiles, so you could get away with just using a buffer to smooth out the edges before finishing. If you go this route your subfloor needs to be flat.

If you have oak, I would definately put a stain on it to reveil the ray flecs. Being a woodworker, you probably know what I mean. It's like a quartersawn effect but even better!

Nice site big al. I liked this one best http://www.atdg.com/v2/fr/parquet-massi ... s-plan.htm

That is probably one of the coolest floors I've ever seen.

I have this original ad on the wall in my office. Hard to read after I scanned it, but you can barely make it out.

There was over 55 million sq' of Kreolite in use , in the U.S., in 1935.
Pretty interesting...Looks like it was an interlocking floater. Now who in Europe says they invented that concept??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49277015@N02/5002425232/

Here's another site for some Ideas: http://www.kaswell.com/woodblock/end_grain.htm. How do you plan on installing, full spread glue? I saw a show once where the made a grout from saw dust and an epoxy then just troweled it in like tile. would be similar to full spread filler but probably stronger.

Check out their "installations", pretty impressive. Funny how they don't have an installation pdf. Maybe they certify you to install it? They don't talk about finish. Sure would like to know what they do for a transition, on a 3 inch thickness, ( especially commercial )

They probably make all the other flooring guys worry about that Howard. ha ha Mud that stone baby.

I read that if you want a nice flexible wood grout, you can mix ground cork with sealer or urethane. The cork will flex with expansion and contraction where regular filler would crack.

Hey Gluby if your still around I'd really like to know how you mill your beams!