Bernie Fritchie, a reader, send us this picture of his recently completed log round floor. He had this to say about it: “I harvested the rounds from my property, and dried them last winter. I used sanded grout in the voids and applied 5 coats of Bona poly. The rounds are Douglas Fir winter wood so the bark will stay on.”
Also see our post about log-end-flooring.
All the alternative builders I’ve talked to about this have two objections. The most common objection is that they will rot out, though I think that’ll take a loooong time, and thinset, I think, would only speed that process. T-he second objection is that of bonding…but I just don’t understand the need for a paver to be un-pry-able up off a floor. My concrete goes overhead, not under foot, so I’ll let you know when my floor fails (hopefully I won’t be living there any more).
Try it and see. Often things will work beyond the standard norm or recommendations. Maybe it’s not 100% but still functional for many years.
Hey Owen,
I have 10-12″ Scoria (with old leech field pipe to hook up for radon if needed) then ripped old tarps, 10 mil taped airtight all around, a little more old tarp (to keep punctures down), 8″ plate compacted road base. This puts me above the third row, so drainage is addressed. I wanna just lay down and oil, although everyone says it will get wonky or rot out if I don’t lay on thinset, but thinset holds moisture, $$, and these are thick pavers at this point, not fragile ceramic tiles… Not a lot of end grain info out there.
Yes, there’s not a lot of information available, plus I’ve never done it before. But basically it’s like setting tile. You need thinset or some type of adhesive to hold the log ends in place. Trouble is, they won’t bond to compacted road base. You’ll need a solid substrate that can be bonded to. Then follow the directions in this blog post. Be sure the wood is totally dry before using.
Low cost alternative for a small entryway etc.: Take a risk and use what you have and what you can afford. For a large area though, it would be risky doing it your way.
Hey Bernie, thanks for the reply.
Your thoughts on my laying these 2″ thick tiles on a rammed earth subfloor (plate compacted road base- super solid)? I’m seeing their thickness as appropriate to lay like a paver rather than tile… And I’m considering a sawdust/sand/linseed as my flexible grout… Then oil the whole floor, topped with a oil/thinner/varnish for a moppable sealer over all the substrates.
Do you have a moisture barrier under the rammed earth and scoria insulation underneath?
First make sure your beam material is dry, then coat all sides, top and bottom with Bona urathane sealer.Let the sealer dry 24hrs before gluing. I glued the pieces down with Bona R850 urathane adhesive 1/8″ trowel and let that set for 3 days. I used sanded grout, let that dry for 1 week, then top coated the floor with Bona Traffic poly, I applied 5 top coats.. Its important to let the adhesive and grout dry properly before top coating..
Thanks for the details. Floors like this are popular and so I’m sure readers appreciate your help.
Yes Greg I allowed the grout to cure/ dry for 5 days before final coats of poly
Hey Bernie,
awesome floor. I’m about to lay some end grain flooring cut from some twisty and bowed old cracked beams in order to stretch my brick pavers far enough. My question to you is about your grout and sealer. Sanded grout, no saw dust? Also, your thoughts on the poly that you used? Thanks
Always allow materials to dry before sealing/coating. You don’t want to trap moisture.
Very nice use of Doug Fir…
Fantastic!!did you let the grout shrink up before applying the poly?
Beautiful. I really like the previous post. That IS art.