The Forestry Forum

To all with experience...your recommendations/suggestions on black cherry flooring. Plan on building small cabin/home and will be sawing my own native black cherry before it all turns to red rot. Flooring to be quarter sawn six inches width at 4/4. Stacked in shaded areas and cured throughout summer. Thanks

If all you do is air dry it then install it, there will be cracks between the boards as it dries down further inside and shrinks. 

After it is planed stick it again in a warm place with good air flow through stack. When installed have no gaps. The day you sand the floor paint the first coat on then , not the next day, this way if it cups it will be in the right direction. Trust me, this tip makes a big difference especially on table tops.

My floor is flat sawn Cherry, 4/4 from 4 to 9 inches in width t&g and end matched.
Kiln dried put in tight.
Screwed from below so no fastening shows.
a few boards squeek but it is easy to ignore.
This was put in in 1993 and it still moves, but is pretty.

  I also have a cherry floor 2½ inch t&g and a wood stove. It gets small gaps in the winter but I still like it.  I will note that it darkens in time and if you move a piece of furniture or throw rug, you'll see a difference in color for a while but it does blend back in.

With cherry processing make certain you have dealt with powderpost beetles as they sure love cherry sapwood! As a fruit wood it will darken over time.