I'm shopping for the best engineering wood floors for my first floor (slab ~2300 sf). Talking with a local store, the nice sales man recommended that I should consider oil base finish over a polyurethane finish since it can be re-polish and will basically last forever with the right care. Unfortunately he did not have may sample but have requested some from his suppliers. I have three kids, dogs, cats etc. and would prefer a quality floor that can hold up well over the years. Any recommendations on good engineering wood products would be great.

Thanks Chris
Austin - Texas

You have lots of excellent mesquite mills out there in Texas. And you can go direct.

HWFT,

Great forum. I have been reading for a few months -thought I knew what I was going to do but I keep getting newer and better information and better ideas.

I am closing on a new home in Austin and also have the same questions about oiled floors and flooring options in Texas. I would very much like to purchase direct and save some bucks. Not opposed to doing a true hardwood vice and engineered over a slab if its possible. I am willing to lay the underlayment plywood and do the work. We like the dark hickory rustic look. Can Mesquite be oiled?

LPD

LPD, mesquite is oiled all the time. It's so hard you will never wear it out in two lifetimes. One mills it at 1/2" and you can glue it direct to concrete but get straps and make sure the slab it flat flat flat! Oh and rent a 100lb roller.

Just google mesquite hardwood flooring and several places in Texas will pop.

Mesquite hardwood flooring looks nice although my significant other prefers a wider and longer boards. Other than mesquite, do you have a preference on a oil finished product with > 5'' wide planks. The more durable the better especially with my kids and house pets. I appreciate all the help.

Thanks Chris
Austin, TX

I don't mind the narrower boards and would actually like to do a mixed width layout -I like the way this looks. I was thinking #1 and better boards -hadn't really seriously considered gluing direct but on thinking about it more I really like this idea. I guess this is possible due to how stable the mesquite is. Straps are a definite if I go this route. Have not moisture tested the slab yet, but the way I do things (read: serious overkill) I would go ahead and pay the money for Bostiks MVP and BB for adhesive after what I have read here on the board.

Looking at one install pdf that I had found, I read that one should install with washer spacing? Would this be RH dependent? I mean if it is really humid during the install (and after acclimation) -washers would not be needed. But if dry, then one would need spacing for when the wood absorbs moisture?

I really hope that its possible to DIY this install. I am very thorough and take my time -and definitely research all the info I can obtain before I start. Has anyone heard of washer spacing then filling with sawdust before finishing? I would like to learn more about oiling the floor for finishing. Are we talking about tung oil or the like?

Jim

So what did you guys find out. I am looking into the same thing and would obviously love to use local Texas resources. Finding pricing and mills isn't very obvious. Does anyone have a mill they recommend that is close to Austin?

Here's a company that mills their own mesquite. I have no idea how close they are. You should email them for a price list. Mine may be out of date.

http://www.mesquitewoodproducts.com/about.html

Plus they said the lengths come up to 4 to 6 ft long. What else would ya want? Up to 8" wide!

http://www.mesquitewoodproducts.com/products.html