I'm currently working on a first time DIY project installing 2000 sq/ft of 3/4" x 3-1/2" unfinished Brazillian Cherry throughout my home. I got halfway through the first room (a guest bedroom) and stopped because I have some concerns. I'm noticing that I'm ending up with small gaps between the boards that are nearly impossible to correct as I'm laying them down. This is because the width of some boards do not match up at the ends. They could be off by as much as 1/8th of an inch. After reading through this forum, I've learned that this may be caused by poor milling. That makes sense, but I can't seem to find a good answer for what is considered to be acceptable or not.

The other concern I have is with overwood, which is another thing I learned from reading this forum. I'm noticing that this is occurring quite often, and has spots where it gets to be off by about the thickness of a credit card. Should the flooring be fairly smooth when I run may hands across the boards, or is it common to feel overwood on just about every row? I'm also assuming that this should be eliminated during the sanding process, but I don't know if it's going to make sanding more difficult, and if there is a point at which sanding won''t work.

I know it's hard to see this stuff in photos, but I figured it might still be helpful. Here is a link to some photos:

http://www.conex.us/postings/hardwoodinstallers.com.html

-J

Buz,

Most, if not all, b. cherry is milled in south america, at least the unfinished solid. Having milling problems like that are common with b. cherry. One of the first floors of b. cherry I did had tons of gaps and overwood and poor milling. It is what I call the nature of the product. Had it been milled in Canada or the USA, it may have been better. It's best to attempt to cull out the worst pieces and figure on filling the floor during the sanding phase.

Good thing it is unfinished wood. Sad to say, there are a couple of prefinished that look like that. The kiln operator and the guy with the moisture meter at the mill, are to blame.

it should be ok in the end, I have seen a bunch of bcherry and this is common to find. Cull out the worst peices and hope you have enough to finish..

Great.. thanks for all the responses! I'm actually glad to hear this, because when I take a step back and look at the floor, it does look real nice. I'll stop worrying so much and finish getting it down already.

isn't br111 milled in south africa? What makes that a better product?

Factory PREFINISHED flooring will be milled better than UNFINSHED raw flooring in most cases. That only makes sense as the mill knows the raw flooring will be sanded and finished in place. BR-111 is a factory prefinished floor. Those types of floors are made all over the world but typically, UNFINSHED wood flooring is milled into flooring in the country where the wood was harvested.