hidden nail profile floor boards

[irwing]

I'm just about to mill a large cypruss tree into floor boards. What is the maximum width permissable for a floorboard with a hidden nail profile? I've heard that if the boards are too wide, with the low number of nails used, the boards can bow up etc. When wide boards were used in the old days the nails were driven through the top about 25mm in from each side then puttied over - no problem with poping up.

Cheers
G
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[KevM]

Australian Standards specify 85 mm so cut your green timber to oversized 100mm wide.

cheers

Kev M

[E. maculata]

I'm loathe to state this as I usually toe the conservative lines of our tried & trusted Aus Standards, but.............................it is White Cypress? I'll assume it definitely is, therefore shrinkage will be minimal, and potential movement is one of the lowest you'll ever encounter in a non engineered timber. Therefore this is what my gut tells me, that if any Aussie timber could be sucessfully SN profiled & used in over 100x25 nominal, cypress is it.:o

[Larry McCully]

I'm loathe to state this as I usually toe the conservative lines of our tried & trusted Aus Standards, but.............................it is White Cypress? I'll assume it definitely is, therefore shrinkage will be minimal, and potential movement is one of the lowest you'll ever encounter in a non engineered timber. Therefore this is what my gut tells me, that if any Aussie timber could be sucessfully SN profiled & used in over 100x25 nominal, cypress is it.:o

[Larry McCully]

A couple of years ago, i repaired a 150 wide board in a old queenslander in Townsville, I didnt realise untill i extracted it , that it was secret nailed with a bullet head nail. Since then i have seen a few of them, espeecially in old pestige homes. The boards were flat and in exelent condition. Bearing in mind that Townsville has a high humidity rate, and yet the boards were ok. IN all the years to follow i have secret nailed boards more than 100 mm wide with good results. The difference is that i make sure that the timber is emc'd and that installation is perfect. Cupping comes from the presence of moisture. If i go on site and i see boards cupping, then i investagate where the water came from. I allow the boards to settle in its installed state for a couple of weeks while the other trades do their thing, by that time it has done what it is going to do and it is safe to sand and coat. I have had not one come back at me, as a matter of fact i have had rave reviews.