I have layed 5" rustic hickory planks in a grid pattern leaving a 24" square for tile. I've achieved a weave look by cutting down all standard length planks to 53" (24" tile plus 5" wood plus 24" tile) and butt the planks up to each other in a perpendicular way at 26 1/2" O.C with a biscuit for each joint. I'm ready to sand and called the clarke american salesman and he said that he has heard of guys cutting down 3/4 plywood and then sanding the entire floor. has anyone else done this before or have any suggestions for sanding.

Random Orbital Sander, then hit it with a hand sanding with the grain, to get any j hooks the ROS may have left.

As Gary says, easiest way is with orbital sanding followed by hand-sanding. You could also use a 3 or 4 inch belt sander.
Using the plywood insert method with the big machine will mean that half of the units will be "cross-sanded" meaning you will have to follow up with the same method noted above; therefore essentially being a waste of time.

thanks for your help. ROS it is. Any particular clear coat that will be more resistant to water during the tiling process? I'm worried about that.

It is most important that you seal the vertical edges of the grid pattern as well as the surface. This will protect the wood components when future washing of the tile occurs.
I think a couple of coats of any good poly will do the job. Use what you are familiar with.

I didn't say that, Austin Floor Guy ( Perry ) did. If these are 3/4" square edged planks to be finished in place, you just need to clean them up with 80 grit on a ROS. Where they butt to each other, hopefully, they aren't too uneven and the ROS will take care of it. If your tile size was much smaller and there was more wood, I could see tacking down some 3/4" in the voids. However, in your situation, that's not needed. Just ROS them and finish. Take special care on the butts. Hopefully, this isn't a huge room.

Oops, sry Gary. My lack of concentration rearing its head.

Thanks everyone. I finished sanding this weekend and the floor turned out great... until I stained it. It is way too dark and so my next step is to see if paint thinner will lighten it up. I really want to avoid resanding if at all possible. As you can see in the youtube video it shows the actual color vs. the sample board color that I was going for.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE4JbVfYx_0[/youtube]

Your going to need to sand it, if you want it lighter.

the board in the video was the sample I did beforehand. I did test it. I just got a little heavy handed, I guess. BTW, I am a rookie, this is the first floor I've done. thanks for all your help... I really respect what you guys do!

I was saying it in a joking way.

We are all rookies, at least once in out lives.

I dont think washing the floor down with solvent is going to accomplish much.
Perhaps I am visually impaired but it seems to me that growing to love the new colour would be better than doing all that work over again. Remember that the urethane will add a golden touch to the overall colour, try a sample spot and let it dry to see what you think.
I hate undoing a lot of work because of colour issues, unless there is a huge discrepancy, which I dont see here. Is there a reason you need the exact colour of the sample you premade? If not, convince yourself that it is the sample that is the wrong colour, lol.

LOL!!!!!


That was classic!

I agree; nothing wrong with that color. An oil-based poly will bring out the golden tones. There is one trick up my sleeves I'll lay on your dudes though. Back in the day before screens, we used steel wool pads to de-gloss and prep our stains and finishes. Now, we sometimes steel wooled our dry stains, as recommended by Dura Seal at that time. This also lightened the color slightly. So, if you are using an oil based poly ( not water based or shellac ), you can use some medium grade steel wool to lighten the color prior to poly. It won't remove all the stain, just a little on the top. Give it a shot. Paint thinner usually doesn't work, nor does lacquer thinner.

Ya, good tip Gary. have had to do that on pine on occasion too, in the darker blotchy areas. Takes a degree of skill and patience though to not overdo it.
Hey speaking of pine, any of you guys have any familiarity with outdoor finishes?
I am gonna be installing about 1000 sq. ft. of pine as exterior cladding on a part of my house and want to: 1- maintain the natural colour of the pine, 2- prevent weathering of the pine, and 3- not have to maintain this with any degree of effort.
Been looking and talking to SIKKENS, and also a one sided conversation with CABOT (they havent responded as yet)