How to Make 2x4 End Grain Floors
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2020
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In our first video, we show you how we cut and installed 2x4 flooring in our shop bathroom for less than $80. Our total investment was about 6 hours of labor including cutting the 2x4s, organizing them, installing, sanding, and applying the polyurethane. Our space was a little over 6' by 7' or 42 square feet.
This is a great, cheap DIY option for where imperfection is perfection (like in a workshop!)
Materials Used:
Roberts 1407 Flooring Adhesive: amzn.to/47MmdZ1
Minwax Polyurethane For Floors: amzn.to/480WZXf
Tools Used:
Flooring Trowel: amzn.to/3t8NJB0
Dewalt DWS780 Miter Saw: amzn.to/41dUQ7L
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Thanks!
Alex and Emily Tarsha @ Tarsha Homestead - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Alex: It's a shop! You don't have to be extravagant!
Also Alex: We divided the tiles by color.
(Kidding! This is awesome!!)
“Get you an Emily” 😂
Excellent video. Very good information and details. The floor looks awesome. You and your wife make an awesome team.
Anyhow. Thank you both for the video. Very appreciated. Definitely not many out there for block wood floors.
dude, thats awesome. that floor looks great
What a great idea!
You guys did a great job! That is such an awesome idea! Thank you for sharing brother, God bless you guys!
Wow that is the coolest floor I have ever seen! Way better than laminate or tile! Nice job guys
This is a fantastic idea for me! I've been wracking my brain on how I could some wood flooring on the cheap and this is the ticket I've been looking for!
Awesome! Gonna try this in a new addition.
Great project! The floor looks great.
Thanks, Brian!
Perfect job and well done!
Adrian!
Looks beautiful.
Want to do this in our home. This was the perfect video explaining how. Love how it turned out. It looks awesome! I also subscribed to see other projects! :)
Hadley Jons I’m really glad it was helpful! We looked all over and couldn’t find a tutorial, so it’s super exciting that it’s gonna help you!
We’re a little behind on making some new videos thanks to a crazy summer, but we’ll have more good stuff soon!
🤔 interesting idea. Way cool result! 😎
Good idea
Beautiful
I made endgrain wood flooring for my kids bedrooms. Ton of work but i love the look
Love this look! I need to figure out a project I can use it on.
That looks fantastic.
I’m designing my own shed/workshop and your video has given me some ideas for the floor.
I work in a wood yard so access to timber for me is no issue.
Thanks from the U.K.
Thanks!
Inspiring video.❤👊
I'm looking for an Emily now. She's cute and the floor looks fantastic. I'm thinking it would work as a backsplash too.
Looks great. Not sure I would do it in a bathroom though. End grain absorbs moisture much more than face or edge grain.
I did this in my kitchen 6 years ago. I moved out 2 years after I did it and it still looked great. The new owners of the apartment who are friends of mine said they get compliments on the floor all the time and that the floor is holding up well. I'm not gonna lie. It took longer than doing other types of flooring but it was more budget friendly and very satisfying.
Great idea!!
It looks wonderful 👏
Would look good in any room
The floor work you and your wife did is very, very amazing and beautiful and precise. I wanted to ask you what material you use to seal your shower from water. I would very much appreciate it if you could write me the name of the material and also the type of sealer you apply on top of the pieces of wood. Thank you very much
Well. We just bought our 2x4s , stain , glue and polyurethane. Wish us luck! It'll take a while . we have to rip out our kitchen. (Live out of boxes in there for a bit with the sink held up by some wood lol) lay some osb (oh which BTW is 33$ ... THIRTY THREE DOLLARS.. a sheet at our local lowes atm. SMFH. Got to have it. We are falling through the floor. Fine for adults..dangerous for our littles.
Good luck! I hope you love the results!
Excellent...well done!
I want to do about 750 ft2 in end-grain oak over 3/4" subfloor. I imagine I'll lay down some underlayment first. Also, maybe pour the poly on and spread it with a squeegee? Thoughts and advice are welcome.
Looks great, do you think cutting full length 2x4 in half and putting it down like boards would work??
Did a hole restaurant in end grain flooring with cork grout turned out awesome
Cork grout? I’m gonna have to look that up! How was it to work with
@@haighyvshaighy well not too terrible it’s almost like cork mixed with a heavy duty Elmer’s glue , make sure you have lots of clean water and sponges, you will have pieces of cork all over you lol , we used floor buffer with a sanding screen to remove rest of residue, very similar to grout
Hey! Cool idea! How is it holding up?
What about the small spaces in the corners of each piece? Did you fill that with the poly?
would the floor be too cold flooring a living room with a concreate underneath ? how thick the cuts should be to reduce the cold going thro ? or probably won't stop the cold anyway .. we live in a part of the world with cold winters lol Thanks for you video !
Great job, using a floor sander and sheep skin applicator would have saved soooo much time , however your end result was fab!!
Thank you, Paul!
This looks awesome! I have seen this a number of times over the years. I am moving soon and remodeling the location which I will be living. I intend on putting this type of flooring in with antique lumber I have from my circa 1863 house that was left in the garage from original construction. QUESTION: What is the benefit of brushing the poly on rather than pouring and squeegeeing in on? ...was the poly placed on the floor in (I believe you stated 4 coats) in order to fill in as a replacement for the grouting between wood tiles as well as to get the proper coverage thickness of said poly? Again, looks great!
There was no real super strong reason for brushing the poly versus pouring it. I just wanted to get good even coating.
That looks bananas dude! I’m wondering if epoxy would be a good sealant?
Hell yeah epoxy would be dope
How is the floor holding up after 3 years? Would you do anything differently?
i wanted to do something similar with fence pickets and maybe epoxy but my dad shut that down saying that wood is too soft?
Awesome floor ! And thanks for sharing. Can you tell me the type and model of your Dewalt miter saw ?
It is the DWS780. I just recently replaced it with the 12” Delta Cruzer. Both are fantastic saws.
@@TarshaHomestead Awesome reply ! Which one you like better ? I also see Makita has a similar setup.
@@chefgiovanni I prefer the Delta Cruzer, primarily because I like the slider much better. It feels amazingly smooth. Of course it helps that it has less depth too. The DeWalt was fine, but the Cruzer impresses me fully!
Nice job! Thanks for sharing. What grit sandpaper did you use and or recommend?
frankiesimo thanks! I just used 80 on the belt sander pretty quickly, then 120 on the random orbital sander. Seemed to do just fine for me, but I wasn’t looking for showroom perfection either.
@@TarshaHomestead Great! Last question. Did you have to fill in any spaces between the blocks? If so, with what? Thanks!
frankiesimo I think you definitely can, especially if this is a floor in a home. I would just be careful not to use something water based. I did not on my shop bathroom floor and I think it looks great
Is this feasible to applicate in a 16' × 80' mobile home?
Thanks for the video, the floor looks great! I've been toying with this idea for when we redo the floors in our bedroom. Just a few questions for you or anyone else who reads this: Any tips for installing this kind of floor in an upper story room with a plywood subfloor? It's not a bathroom so water isn't as much of a concern. Would you use a simple wood glue like Titebond as an adhesive? Some other type of generic construction adhesive? Would you want to put down some type of underlayment in between the subfloor and end grain? I'm thinking like maybe a cork underlayment floating on the subfloor with the 2x4 glued to the cork. Would that be stable and solid? I'm thinking if you ever had to remove the flooring it would be easier to accomplish than if it's glued direct to the subfloor. I love the look and the idea of this type of flooring, just trying to think through all the possible issues. Thanks in advance for any advice.
I would probably do plywood underlayment screwed down and then glue to that with an oil based adhesive. I would not use Titebond or another wood glue due to end grain not gluing up well.
This would go really, really well with what we want to do in the kitchen. We have a laundry/mudroom right off of it, to the back door, and this idea would look great combined with the different stain colors I want to do with the diamond-shape wood floor idea (and adding in some torched wood with that, too - another idea I just found) I also just found on here. It would complement that SO well! I could even cut and fit some of that flooring to match this, and do the torched wood look, too! Thanks for saving me a bundle AND making sure it's gonna be an amazing, one-of-a-kind floor!
That sounds like it will be incredible! Years later, this floor is still lookin’ good!
love the video is the floor still holding up and how long ago did you and your wife install the floor👍👍
We moved out of the home in April, and when we left it was still exactly like the day we installed it. Not one issue.
Would definitely use a trowel for the urethane
Вот все классно,а на какой клей приклеиваете плашки
looks great, but I'd never put a wood floor in a bathroom or kitchen. Tile for the win!
What type of wood?
How have the floors held up? Thinking of doing this in a loft
They’re holding up great so far!
Totally rad dude! A bit extravagant and time consuming for a shop though.
Thanks! It was worth the time to my wife and I, and that’s all that matters to me.
Cool! You guys have a ton of patience. I think I would go with a larger piece of lumber that would give me a bigger footprint. That's just me, though. Im a bit impatient.
It wasn’t too bad for such a small space really. If it had been bigger we might have needed 4x4s
@@TarshaHomestead
Nice job!
This came out great. Do you think it could be done with 4x6's? That way they would be more brick sized and fewer pieces.
I would imagine so. I don’t have any more experience than what we did in the video but it would make sense to me.
Thanks for your prompt reply!
@@galesgoats you bet!
I love the idea, it looks fantastic, and thank you for the video, I've a few observations (perhaps constructive criticism to be honest):
1: Are you not seriously concerned about water, or even just humidity making it's way into the wood and causing it to swell and buckle? I guess you could mitigate this by varnishing the underside first, letting it dry, then doing the rest of the project as you did it?
2: Are the corner gaps fully filled with varnish? I would imagine it would be a perfect place for water ingress to get to the wood underneath.
3: Did you consider using something like cedar, a large expansion gap all round (filled with cork perhaps) and letting the floor float?
Thanks, not trying to be rude (as another poster was), I'm watching this because I find the concept intriguing, and have been considering myself, but it didn't answer any of my concerns about the downsides of the technique.
Hi Sinule!
These are great questions. I am a little concerned about water, especially being in a bathroom, but I’m also weighing that with it being extremely cheap. If it doesn’t work out, it’s only my time lost.
I slopped the polyurethane all over and allowed it to flow into the gaps. I didn’t fully fill them, but certainly got a bunch down in there.
So far I do see some contraction in a couple spots but no expansion yet. Also, it seems to be doing fine thus far.
I didn’t consider cedar, but if you were willing to clean up it’s end grains I’m sure it would work well.
I have seen where people have used a wood glue, wood shaving mix to make a non-water-based grout, but I did a test of this on a scrap piece of wood and didn’t like the look. I would test that first before committing to it
@@TarshaHomestead really loved the video, and I am very interested how the wood has held up in the last year. I would love to do an entire house like this, but have been hesitant about the wet rooms and areas for this specific reason
Folks have been making floors like this for hundreds of years, and long before the advent of polyurethane. Relax; it’ll hold up just fine.
This may be a dumb question but if you soaked all the pieces in a 5 gallon bucket of poly before you install would that save time and material when you go to brush it on after the sanding?
I question the effectiveness of the adhesive to the wood.
Is 1/2” good enough or would you change it to thicker? I worry about the wood breaking. Thanks for your video and instructions!!!
1/2” was plenty for us going down on concrete. If we were going onto wood where it could move, maybe that would be different, but I’m not sure.
Oh! You’re wearing a Utah shirt. We’re in Saratoga Springs. My wife and I are studying to do exactly this type of floor.
@@JimJepsonthat’s awesome. We lived in Jacob’s Ranch in Saratoga, right behind the Maverik and the Fire Dept. for 4 years. We now live in Illinois.
👍👍👍👍
How is it holding up? Any expansion issues or cupping?
We just moved away in April but as of then, zero issues at all. Utah however is a pretty stable climate. Hot and cold swings but always low humidity.
It’s been 3 years! How is the floor holding up? Any shifting shrinking or swelling going on? Thinking about doing this, thanks!
We moved away last year and they were still great. Hard to say if they have held up, but I’m betting they’re still good to go. The new owners reach out to us from time to time and haven’t said anything.
Como se llama el. Pegamento
Did you remove the vanity? It looks like it, though I missed it in the footage.
I didn’t. I was lazy and “tiled” around it. I regret that choice.
@@TarshaHomestead my old pastor told me not to wallow in regret. She'd say "don't should on yourself, it doesn't wash off easily"
Next time. Learn from shortcomings. An old boss found out I rolled a bobcat face down unloading from a trailer. I admitted it and was ready for a pink slip. Instead he sa said "I don't mind mistakes, just don't repeat them."
I'm thinking bout doing this in my den kitchen and master bedroom but sand with them electric drywall sanders
A standup floor sander rental could be good too. We moved away from this home a couple years ago, but I didn’t do a super thorough sanding and they still looked great.
Well I'm gunna get them as level as possible before install so that drywall Sander be all I need. We are doing a diy budget thing here ya know 😂😂😂
Would you recommend this in a high traffic area , like a kitchen ?
well, similar constructions (coblestone-like cubes of hardwood facing upward) have been used for industrial floors in older days. still withstanding pallet trucks and forklifts. if too much wear occurs, you can sand it down several few times. usability of softer wood may depend on how much abrasive stress it's exposed too. Placed right behind a family home's maindoor with sandy garden pathway and wearing streetshoes inside vs. well cleaned 3rd floor backroom usually accessed with slippers or sox.
This is a very old technic.
The Romans were using it as well. For sealing, they were using tree pitch.
Old machine shops used this technique. The floor outlasted the rest of the building. Exceptionally durable, easy to fix.
How has the floor held up? Any cracks?
We moved away in April, but when we left it was still doing great! Haven’t heard any reports from the new owners.
Oh boy. I see and end grain backsplash in my future. Why settle for tiles?
That sounds amazing!
How dry should the wood be?
I’m sure this matters, but I legitimately used whatever scraps we had around with very little consideration to that. I think the biggest concern would be shrinkage as it dries, and expansion in more humid years. That said, we gave it no thought and had no issues.
Anyone considering this, I recommend a few changes. First, if you have a joiner and planer, get the boards to a more exact dimension so that you don't. have so many gaps. It will make a big difference. Those gaps between pieces are going to allow moisture down in between the wood, which is a recipe for problems, and eliminating the gaps will make it look professional. Also, don't use pressure treated pine. Also, don't use pine lol. It's very soft and susceptible to moisture issues, ESPECIALLY on the end grain. If it's only a few boards, get a hardwood from a lumber yard. This is a bathroom, so moisture is going to happen. I would make sure you did everything you can to eliminate moisture coming up from the slab in the form of a moisture/vapor barrier, which probably still won't totally eliminate the problem, then seal the top REALLY well.
Some good points here, but I have a couple counters: pine is great because it’s cheap and readily available. If anything happens and one needs replaced, i can pry it up and glue down a new one. I can grab a 2x4 at a big box store and make a ton of blocks for super cheap.
The gaps were intentional as I had planned to make a wood glue and sawdust grout, but found it unnecessary (and not as visually appealing) once it was all in place. Also, gaps or not, moisture will get between the wood, it’s a fact of life in a bathroom. This is why I chose to let the polyurethane get down between them.
We’re about a year in and the floor has held up great.
Point is: you have some good suggestions, just have to weigh those with the goal here. The goal isn’t a flawless, expensive, uniform hardwood floor.
@@dropndeal go long!
Your first coat should been a sanding sealer . Poly could have been rolled to save time. Nice job though....
How is it going 3 years now?
We no longer live at that home, but last I spoke to the folks who bought it, it was doing fine.
Probably be easier to do the poly by just dumping some puddles out of the can and then brushing those out
I agree.
yep as a timber floorer,(for 40yrs) thats how we would do it using a sheep skin applicator
Is the floor straight?
Yes It is
@@TarshaHomestead thanks looking into creating the same but with 6 x 6 squares
@@milynciaedits that would sure make it go a lot faster!
Never mind,
How thin can these end cuts be? Asking because I bought a house with concrete floors. Previous owner tiled kitchen and bath and then laid 1/4 " plywood on the rest and tried paper bag flooring. Poor job putting down plywood, poor job paper bagging. Now I need a way to pull up and finish floors on the cheap..I'm old and on SS. The tile is 1/4", so whatever I do has to be 1/4" in order to be level. Any suggestions? Tiling the rest of the house is not in my budget. Unless there is absolutely no other option, I really dislike vinyl planks.
I don’t know that 1/4” would be thick enough. Even at 1/2” I did have some pieces of end grain that would split.
@@TarshaHomestead I've been away, just saw your opinion. My issue is that someone already put 1/4 inch tile in several rooms and using this method with anything thicker than that would leave the floors uneven. I thought it would be too thin, and you've confirmed it. I just have to save a lot longer and continue with tile. Thank you.
Killer
Pinterest got me here.
Well I need to thank whoever pinned me!
What did you do in the Air Force?
I was a 2E1X2 - An Electronics Technician on Air Traffic Control Landing Systems, Radios, and airfield Meteorological Equipment.
You still have a saw...... Hear, hear. Too easy to forget and lose a digit!
3 times as much
only a handsaw would have been slower, and you even have a tablesaw to do it the quick and easy way. i am shocked.
?
Just a thought: I think the organizing of the colors was a waste of time. I think if you shook the garbage can a few times and poured them on the floor, you would instantly have a random enough pile to just pick the pieces as they lie. By organizing them you now have to be consciously aware of your selection and then it will be less random than you intended. Again, not a criticism, just an evaluation.
That makes sense. I wasn't really going for totally random, as much as evenly distributed. Maybe the same could have been accomplished with a random approach, I'm not sure.
Watched the whole video... Trying to get an actual look at the finished product and nope... Just a straight shot of you sitting on it talking.
Thanks for nuffin
Read the whole comment... Trying to imagine what it must be like to be rude to people who did nothing to deserve your crap and nope... Just can’t be that miserable or entitled. You’re welcome for the free entertainment.
@@TarshaHomestead @Tarsha Homestead actually, would have been a great opportunity for you to take some constructive criticism. Perhaps you should actually show a final result, otherwise you're missing out on the large point of doing a tutorial video, and that's what it looks like when youre done.
I wasn't entrained was my point.... So....
Jay Compton “constructive” criticism looks much more like your recent comment. Provide a critique with a suggestion. Your first comment was snarky and rude.
I’ll take the criticism to heart.
I think you can do it yourself, just watch and learn from Woodglut.