Larch?

Evergreen Man · February 23, 2015, 08:06:34 PM

How would Larch hold up as a floor? I'm thinking of doing some T&G flooring, Pine is to soft for my application but I need something that will last under damp conditions.

pabst79 · February 23, 2015, 08:31:33 PM

I'm not sure how close it is in grain and hardness but my neighbor used siberian larch for flooring in his house, he claims its 50% harder then pine? It looks nice, he ordered online I think.

rooster 58 · February 23, 2015, 09:19:50 PM

Larch is very hard. However, in my experience with using it as t& g paneling, is that it can twist and warp significantly. I love the beautiful grain and colors of it though ;)

Evergreen Man · February 23, 2015, 09:52:24 PM

Quote from: rooster 58 on February 23, 2015, 09:19:50 PM
Larch is very hard. However, in my experience with using it as t& g paneling, is that it can twist and warp significantly. I love the beautiful grain and colors of it though ;)

I could do 4"X4' pieces and nail the hell out of it. That should keep it under control shouldn't it?

barbender · February 23, 2015, 10:28:22 PM

Quote from: Evergreen Man on February 23, 2015, 09:52:24 PM
Quote from: rooster 58 on February 23, 2015, 09:19:50 PM
Larch is very hard. However, in my experience with using it as t& g paneling, is that it can twist and warp significantly. I love the beautiful grain and colors of it though ;)

I could do 4"X4' pieces and nail the hell out of it. That should keep it under control shouldn't it?

No. :D When Larch wants to twist, it twists. I think you need to give a better description of what you are trying to accomplish, and what is causing the dampness. Larch can make really nice flooring, I would imagine you will lose a fair amount to twisting during drying, but whatever dries straight should stay that way.

rooster 58 · February 24, 2015, 07:26:10 AM

Also, larch is hard enough to be brittle; so over nailing could actually do more harm than good ;)

Evergreen Man · February 24, 2015, 10:01:15 AM

I'm putting flooring in our rental cottages, they sit unused and frozen thru the winter. And in the summer they get abused by the guests some of the cabins are buried in the trees and can be damp then there's water from doors and windows left open to the rain or wet swim suites left on the floor, wet dogs and any number of other sources.
The Boss is thinking he wants to do engineered hardwood because the click flooring we've been using hasn't held up to the water, he thinks the engineered will stand up to the water better than the solid wood.

Bruno of NH · February 24, 2015, 10:37:06 AM

I would use real wood.
I have seen larch used for porch flooring looked good .
Jim/Bruno

beenthere · February 24, 2015, 12:23:33 PM

Quotehe wants to do engineered hardwood because the click flooring we've been using hasn't held up to the water

Help me out here, how is "engineered hardwood" flooring different from "click" flooring ? Two different products I assume, but would be interested in how they differ.

mobile sawmill services · February 24, 2015, 01:47:36 PM

larch, used as flooring for decks and unheated buildings will last forever, I cut it, profile it, and fix it green, and have never had a problem, it is a very under rated wood, more a hardwood than softwood, cut it, dry it then mill it to your finished sizes and put your floor down, your problems will be over

Magicman · February 24, 2015, 02:18:02 PM

Hello mobile sawmill services, and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

How about adding your location, etc. to your profile and also telling us a bit about your sawing services.

AdirondackMill · February 24, 2015, 02:54:00 PM

I don't have a ton of experience with Larch but the stuff we have dealt with has always been pretty okay. Hard, twisty, and good looking. It kind of reminds me of Southern Yellow pine. I custom sawed and planed some for a guy to make a log cabin out of. He held onto the logs for a maybe a little too long before we got them but in the end it wasn't a bad looking house and we ended up selling a few to people who had stopped in after seeing it go up. I sold them dry EWP but it was that larch house that got them here. I've custom sawed, dried, and planed some 2" material for T&G Flooring that turned out really well. Every once in a while you would just get one so twisted out of shape you couldn't use it. Otherwise, great stuff in my limited opinion.

Evergreen Man · February 24, 2015, 09:54:34 PM

Quote from: beenthere on February 24, 2015, 12:23:33 PM
Quotehe wants to do engineered hardwood because the click flooring we've been using hasn't held up to the water

Help me out here, how is "engineered hardwood" flooring different from "click" flooring ? Two different products I assume, but would be interested in how they differ.

I said "Click flooring" but I should of said Laminate flooring, it's basically pressed cardboard with a picture of wood printed on the surface. Engineered flooring is glorified plywood with a finish.

Evergreen Man · February 24, 2015, 10:10:45 PM

Thanks for the great info guys! ;D
I'm going to seriously try and talk him into trying some Larch. 8)

The only other wrinkle is if I'm getting the right Larch
I know it is sometimes called Tammarack. And sometimes Tammarack is called Larch. Is Tammarack Larch? or are they two different species and how am I going to know if the Larch he is trying to sell me is actually Larch? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

mesquite buckeye · February 24, 2015, 10:18:13 PM

Same thing.

If you want some real fun use black locust. That will outlast the nails. ;D

5quarter · February 25, 2015, 12:07:51 AM

He's not kidding...they really will outlast nails. ;)

barbender · February 25, 2015, 01:32:10 AM

Tamarack is Eastern Larch, one of several larch species.

Evergreen Man · February 25, 2015, 08:23:27 AM

OK thanks Bender! ;D
Unfortunatly no Black Locust grows around here :'(

SwampDonkey · February 25, 2015, 09:24:02 AM

There may also be differences in larch species. I know European and western larches are used in flooring. I find eastern larch around here grows in a spiral. You can see it in the trees, looks like a tightly wound rope over twisted. ;D

Evergreen Man · February 25, 2015, 06:26:14 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 25, 2015, 09:24:02 AM
There may also be differences in larch species. I know European and western larches are used in flooring. I find eastern larch around here grows in a spiral. You can see it in the trees, looks like a tightly wound rope over twisted. ;D

That makes me a little worried, I did some research and benders right, it's eastern Larch. I'll just have to go get a few logs and see how they look.

BradMarks · February 25, 2015, 06:38:36 PM

"Eastern Larch is called Tamarack", and we call Western Larch: Tamarack. Nickname is the same, so what is the difference between eastern and western? Not a test :P, just curious as I don't have experience with it. Out here western larch grows tall and straight, used in a variety of applications, including roofing shingles in the old days. Can't remember how much spiraling there is, I'll have to look during the next elk hunt.

SwampDonkey · February 25, 2015, 07:35:52 PM

Lots of larch around here, but very few use it for anything. I couldn't show anyone anything built from it even. In the land of maple and yellow birch, I can show you lots of stuff made from those....flooring, cupboards, furniture, looms.......... ;D I once visited a lot where there was a portable mill and across from it a stand of larch. I asked why not use the larch for a mill shed? I didn't convince the mill owner. ;)

Evergreen Man · February 25, 2015, 07:42:25 PM

The Eastern Larch is a fair bit smaller than the western. Other than that I don't know. The few "tamarack" we have on our property seem to be straight but we've never thought to put them thru the Sawmill before. We always assumed they were junk. ;D

SwampDonkey · February 25, 2015, 07:49:28 PM

I know some who have, and they stayed in the same stack outside ever since. ;D

barbender · February 25, 2015, 09:20:48 PM

I've sawn a bit of our local eastern larch- like SD said, it can have a tendency to grow with a spiral grain. That stuff tends to twist badly, I had some I couldn't saw a 2x4 out of- it moved so much on the mill I couldn't get a true dimension in any direction

However, I've also sawn some that didn't have spiral apparent, and it sawed out very nicely. I think the customer had me saw 1 1/2"x10" out of it for trailer decking, it was nice lumber. One other problem with tamarack- it tends to crack a lot when drying, it would probably be good to sticker it in a shady spot and try to slow the drying a bit.