14" rough sawn pine flooring

[ktm250rider]

I had some pine sawn over this past weekend (10/4/2015) from pine logs that were cut and staked 3 years ago.  We were surprised that i had only one board with ants and non with any significant bore holes.  I have a small room id love to use these boards on.  The boards measure 1 x 14 x 16.  The room is only 12 x 15 so i have enough to do the whole room with no butt joints.  My father built his house 40 years ago and he has a 1 x 18" board that id like to use as well.  My first problem is i dont have a planer wide enough for these boards.  Id really like to use the full width but im not sure i want to hand plan on these boards (maybe a good punishment project for the kids over the winter!)
I suppose i need a moisture meter to check the boards.  Even though the logs have been down for 3 years, the pile was tightly stacked and the boards "feel" wet.  They are currently staked and stickered in my basement.
From the posts ive read, i should cut 3 grooves along each board on the "frown down" side of each board. 
Ill probably hand plane the edge of each board and expect gaps to form when installed.  Im going to use some square cut nails i got from cleaning out my grandparents barn.  Face nailed to the advantech subfloor over engineered I-joist framing.

My main question is can i install this floor this winter or should i wait another year since the boards were just cut?

[Banjo picker]

If you dont allow them to dry after sawing , you will have some BIG cracks.  it dont matter how long the logs have been cut with most species.  Banjo

[Den-Den]

I would expect them to shrink more than 1/2" while drying and for them to change in width by as much as 1/8" from season to season after drying.

[ktm250rider]

OK, thats kinda what i figured since the boards "felt" wet.  They should dry pretty well in the basement over the winter.  We heat with force hot air and the basement is always dry.  I sometimes have to store my splitting maul in a bucket of water because the handle shrinks.
Anything else i can do to the boards during the drying?

[beenthere]

ktm
Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

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[fishfighter]

OK, thats kinda what i figured since the boards "felt" wet.  They should dry pretty well in the basement over the winter.  We heat with force hot air and the basement is always dry.  I sometimes have to store my splitting maul in a bucket of water because the handle shrinks.
Anything else i can do to the boards during the drying?

Run a fan around the clock, blowing air thru the stack. Maybe even two fans.

[Roger Nair]

Ktm, drying rate will be governed by temperature, humidity and air circulation.  Since the wood is in the basement, if you can heat and dehumidify as well as circulate the air, you should be able to dry out the wood.  Caution, you can raise the humidity to mold and condensation producing levels when you bring fresh sawn wood into a closed environment, especially until the free water is removed.  Don't forget to end treat the ends with a wax emulsion.

[slider]

ktm 250 I did my house with wide pine boards and cut nails.My boards were good and dry when i put them down so they did not shrink much.Like you at the time i had no wide planer.I ran the edges with a mikita 4 in hand planer and just belt sanded one side.They came out quiet well.This house is over a hundred years old so using cut nails fit in well.Good luck.

[Piston]

The good thing is the pine will move a whole lot less than something like oak.  I was hoping to do some wide oak flooring which I had milled years ago, but with the amount that oak shrinks I don't think it is a good idea. 
I'd think after drying the wood really good over winter, and the minimal amount of seasonal shrinkage that pine gets, you would be able to have a really nice floor without giant gaps. 

By the way, are you a 2 stroke or 4 stroke kinda guy?  I have 250 xcw smoker, most fun bike I've ever owned.

[Brad_bb]

For flooring, dry it first.  Use anchor seal on the ends.  You want some airflow, but you don't want to try and rush the drying.  Slow and gradual preferred.  With the dryness of the winter, it will suck moisture out pretty fast down there. 

You can always put the floor down after it's dry and sand it with a floor sander to get the finish you want.  Just be careful as it's a soft wood.  Maybe one of those 3 pad random orbit floor sander rentals.  I've refinished Oak flooring with one of those sanders but never tried softwood.  If you want a more rustic look, just nib sand the top surface with the hand sander normally used to get up to the wall in a room(another rental) leaving the saw marks, but removing the raised fibers.  You could do a 2 stage stain to create a contrasting look if you want.  If you stain, do a test piece first.  If you get blotching(which you likely can with pine), use a blotch control product first.

[petefrom bearswamp]

My bedroom floors were put down in 1993, air dried W pine from 12- 14" wide.
They shrink to 1/8" gaps in the winter when heat is on and close to about 1/32" in summer.
All screwed up from under sub floor.
couple of squeaks have developed over the last 22 yrs.

[ktm250rider]

2 stoke all the way!  spent a good 10 years riding 300's in the woods until my kids got me going on motocross.   Now its a 250sx.  Those 4 stroke guys just dont know what they are missing.

Brought the boards to a local mill to have them planed, cost 100 bucks! When i checked a couple weeks ago, they were down to 10-12% on the moisture meter. 

Next question, should i tongue and groove them or just butt the edges?

[hacknchop]

Sqare edge t&g looks really nice    wider boards are not usually v matched but can have the extra v put in the middle of the board.I use just sq edge all the time and looks pretty good.

[shinnlinger]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,48122.msg696844.html#msg696844

[Raphael]

Since you're on a sub-floor there's no real need to go T&G but it is a bit easier to vacuum stuff out of the shallower gaps.

[shinnlinger]

I've been living with mine for a few years now and very pleased with it. 

[Banjo picker]

shinnlinger your floor looks great.  Just went back and read your link.  Banjo

[shinnlinger]

I'm about to do another floor with lessons learned from the first.   I'll post the steps. 

Dave

[AlaskaLes]

Looking forward to that Dave, We're planning on doing similar this summer.

[kantuckid]

2 stoke all the way!  spent a good 10 years riding 300's in the woods until my kids got me going on motocross.   Now its a 250sx.  Those 4 stroke guys just dont know what they are missing.

Brought the boards to a local mill to have them planed, cost 100 bucks! When i checked a couple weeks ago, they were down to 10-12% on the moisture meter. 

Next question, should i tongue and groove them or just butt the edges?

For true accuracy I suggest checking the moisture content via a weighed sample, that's been dried in a microwave before/after. I use a gun powder scale that weighs in grains, the weight basis matters not as it's the % that tells you what you want. I'm an age 72, life long woodworker, that has never owned a moisture meter.
I've done some wide board floors and the fact that oak's hard to get dry enough (w/o kiln drying) is very true but with pine it's easier-except for the powder post beetles and resin seepage issues that demand a kiln temperature.
The post above stating 1/8" of movement is less than I would say for the same width floor boards-based on my own experience. Drying that much wood in a basement-must be a non living area? HA!
A 14" wide board is too wide to T&G IMO, but to each his own on that one. I like to "ease" the edges on real wide floor boards with a sander for slight V-notch effect. I did two, under roof/outside, porch floors, in 1x6 Red Cedar recently. I air dried the wood to equilibrium (under a roof), then planed all bds on the "bad side"(I used all heart wood showing up) to 1" actual thickness, then ran one side thru a jointer, other thru a table saw, then lightly sanded the "good side" with 180 grit orbital sander while also hand sanding my top edges via eyesight only too create my "V-notch" effect. I placed boards using SS screws(cedar has acid plus floors in weather exposure too) and clamps. One has been in place for a year and looks great with zero joint cracks. I oiled using Olympic natural stuff from Lowes.
My pine experience says it matters greatly if the trees were felled in winter or summer but still expect some powder buggies and resin.