Blue pine flooring supplier/sawmill

pigsticker · October 06, 2018, 04:58:59 AM

Hello all,

I have done some research and resolved that this is a great place to come to for advice. I want to install blue pine floors and started another thread about installation, but I want to know if anybody is aware of close suppliers that sell T&G of blue pine for flooring that would be the closest to my location, as I will have to go pick it up. I live in Minot, ND and have found places in Colorado and western Montana but most seem to be about 12+ hours away. Any closer places that sell the material at a reasonable price that I can get to quicker? Billings, Sheridan, Black Hills? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Also, what is a fair price to pay for this type of product. And should a person be looking for a certain type of specie of wood that is better for this type of installation? So many questions I know...but I sure would appreciate any help and advice!

47sawdust · October 06, 2018, 06:27:21 AM

You might be able to have it shipped cheaper than a 12 hour,or more drive.The reason I say that,I had a tractor forestry winch delivered to me by Land Air freight and there was a skid of pine on the truck.Minnesota,Wisconsin and Michigan would be worth a look.Lots of blue denim pine around.I've sawed more than I wanted from logs that sat too long.

Best of luck and welcome to the forum.

Chuck White · October 06, 2018, 06:42:42 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, pigsticker!

Bruno of NH · October 06, 2018, 07:09:16 AM

Before I bought my sawmill
I had a very large skid of soft curly and wormy maple flooring shipped to NH.
I did pick it up at the trucking depot.

goose63 · October 06, 2018, 09:53:36 AM

Welcome to Forestry Forum pigsticker you make 4 of us here in N.D. I'm 65 Miles south of Fargo

Magicman · October 06, 2018, 10:15:26 AM

The beauty of blue stained lumber would be in the eyes of the beholder and whether a supplier would stock it might be iffy and possible very expensive. My thoughts would be to buy the rough sawn lumber and then have it dried and milled which still could be expensive.

I used blue stain lumber for both wall paneling and flooring here: Cabin Addition in General Woodworking

barbender · October 06, 2018, 01:36:30 PM

It's around commercially. There is an outlet about 100 miles from me that sells blue pine paneling, they get it from out west somewhere. A decent lumberyard should be able to track some down. You will likely have a harder time finding it milled into flooring though. I love the look, but pine is too soft for flooring, IMO. Maybe in a loft or something, but in a main living area it will get chewed up pretty quick.

pigsticker · October 07, 2018, 01:27:56 AM

Hello all, thank you for the warm welcome. Barbender, where are you located that its available in the general area? That is also a concern of mine, that pine is soft. We are putting this into a summer cabin so the plus is that it wouldnt see year round use, but still, gouges and things can lead to splinters I'm sure. I just think it would be such an interstingly beautiful floor.

LeeB · October 07, 2018, 05:32:29 AM

Not all pine is the same. Southern Yellow is actually quite hard.

WDH · October 07, 2018, 07:46:12 AM

I sell a lot of it, but it is blue LobloLLy pine, not lodgepole pine like out west. SYP in the South has been used for floors since wood floors were invented.

customsawyer · October 07, 2018, 07:54:07 AM

I make some and sell it. Mine runs $2.15/sf. It's difficult to keep in inventory as you only get the blue when the tree gives it to you.

barbender · October 07, 2018, 08:09:12 AM

Pigsticker, I'm in northern MN. These southern guys are right, southern yellow pine is much harder than any northern or western pine species.

Bruno of NH · October 07, 2018, 09:14:59 AM

I have installed many SYP floors
They are hard

henry-sawer · October 07, 2018, 02:44:37 PM

I've got lots of great info of this site, thank you all.I have lodge pole pine flooring thru out 3/4 of my house. It holds up good with poly varnish and not to much dirt on shoes. Its been in 20 years and getting ready to replace some in dinning/living room.

pigsticker · October 08, 2018, 03:43:22 PM

So can one find Blue Pine in the Southern Yellow Pine species? If so, anybody have any connections?

ljmathias · October 09, 2018, 08:47:13 PM

Actually, the hard part is to NOT get blue stain down here. Let it stand dead a while or lay on the ground a week after you cut it down, and it often will be stained. I've had better luck trying to figure out the best combination of harvesting and storage methods to get clear, non-stained hard pine. Made some doors for my daughter and SIL's stables and they turned out fantastic- log was from a tree knocked down by Katrina way back when, then I managed to trim off the bark on the sawmill and store the 12X12 cant till this year- dry as a desert and lots of sap inside to give it a range of brown and yellow colors. Anyway, good luck on your quest.

LJ

Magicman · October 09, 2018, 09:13:53 PM

Quote from: pigsticker on October 08, 2018, 03:43:22 PMIf so, anybody have any connections?

It appears that you have assumed that Blue Pine is something that is readily commercially available. Not so. Most Blue Pine is beetle killed and commercial sawmills (here anyway) will not accept logs from dead trees. Reason, they have no way of determining how long it has been dead and it's quality hence it is refused. With large timberland holders such as Weyerhaeuser, etc. it is simpler for them to lay a few acres on the ground and push it into a pile to try to isolate/contain the beetles. Same with National Forest situations.

Yes, there are some specialty lumber sellers that might get a handful and market it as "Denim Pine" with a huge markup. I would recommend Googling "denim pine", etc.

Southside · October 09, 2018, 09:54:28 PM

Sorry to tell you this but the time to get blue Southern Yellow Pine was this past summer, the heat and humidity we had down here was making lumber stain fast. Just yesterday I ran the last denim pine I had through my moulder into ship lap for a customer. He was going to paint it so the stain was not a negative issue. It left this morning. If you have the luxury of time you could probably get a decent deal next summer if you were to place a standing order with a producer ahead of time.