I've really got no-one else to blame but myself really considering I've got Queensland's God of Timber in the office next to me at work and I left it until today, the day I was supposed to order the floorboards, to casually mention over a glass of champagne at the Melbourne Cup lunch, that I was planning on using 180mm Spotted Gum floorboards.
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| What I really wanted my floor to look like. |
Apparently the wider the board the more likely the floor will "cup". Cupping in solid hardwood means the boards raise slightly at their edges making the hardwood flooring uneven across its width. The cause of cupping is an imbalance of moisture through the timber. Given our unstable climate - throwing itself between extreme wet and extreme dry - the potential of this occurring concerns me.
Narrow width solid hardwoods are always more stable and less prone to movement than wider width flooring. I've been advised 80mm boards would be the safest to use but I really want wide boards - the existing pine boards in are 150mm, so I think I will have to choose between 130mm and 150mm.
I guess erring on the side of caution would be sensible - but who says the girl who goes shoe shopping after four glasses of champagne is sensible?
Our old neighbours just built a new cape cod style house and have had problems with their wide floorboards doing what you are describing and they have only moved in 2 months ago. 150 is a lovely width too, our floors are 138 mm and we have been scouring the demo yards to get a pile of matching hoop pine to complete our lounge room when it gets extended by a metre. Good luck and perhaps wait for the champers to wear off before ordering! mel x
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