Can anyone share their experiences using poplar for flooring? I know it is used for siding and subfloors , roofs etc. But my concern is if it is suitable for flooring. Any opinions would be appreciated.
Dents easier than pine.
The poplar we have in New England is used for pretty rough service.I've used it for stall floors,trailer decking(well oiled)and pig pens.It is more dense then pine,so I think it might work well.Dr. Wengert might be along to tell you more.
The hardness of wood is measured by pressing a ball into the wood, and referred to as the Janka test.
A list of woods and hardness is listed here... but not poplar (assuming you want Yellow poplar) which is 540. And depends on which "pine" it is compared to as well... some are shown for comparison.
As well, the growth rate of different woods will have an effect on the hardness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_Wood_Hardness_Rating
as well as (which shows poplar)
http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm
It could work but it is really too soft in my opinion. Maple and oak are a much better pick.
also it can be blotchy when stained
We have made alot of t&g poplar flooring out of yellow poplar and have had great results from it to me it seems to be a little harder than pine and holds up real well put 4 coats of polly on it helps out alot to. We no longer use our trim shop but have calls all the time people wanting poplar flooring
Since the poster is from North Carolina, I would assume its tulip poplar and not aspen. They used to make flooring out of hemlock and white pine, when the rings were closer together. But, it didn't make a very durable floor. I'm not sure if tulip poplar would be a very durable floor, especially in a high traffic area. It may be okay in a low traffic area, but I would be afraid of some splitting, especially when nailing.
I can take you some pics of some that has been down for 20 years see if you like the way it looks
Birch, how did you control for swelling and contraction? Tulip expands and contracts more than other hardwoods, except maybe aspen, I believe.
Philngruvy, can you expand upon the floor use? Certainly we know that Oak and QS Pine would be much more durable, but for occasional, etc. use it might be OK.
I used flat sawn SYP for Cabin flooring and although it is really soft and dents, it will serve my purpose very nicely. I suspect that Tulip Poplar would have been harder than the flat sawn SYP.
I have a yellow pine floor in my old summer house. It was tongue and groove. I sanded it down and finished it. It looks good, but denting can be a problem. But, I wouldn't call it real soft. White pine with the wider growth rings is real soft.
The question that always gets overlooked in these discussions is "What do you want the floors to look like?" Are they going in a formal $500,000 mansion? Then heck no, DO NOT use poplar. Are they going into a rustic log cabin, where years of wear and dents will look charming? Then poplar will be a great choice!
You're probably not going for either formal or rustic, but somewhere in the middle. In that case, you need to understand that poplar is softer than most woods that are used for flooring. Dents and scratches and general wear and tear will happen much more quickly than with a red oak floor. If you are OK with that, then poplar will keep your feet from hitting the dirt under your house as well as any wood. If you are not OK with that and you want something that will look "new" for a long time, then you should consider other species.
Good summary, DL :)
MM
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I used flat sawn SYP for Cabin flooring and although it is really soft and dents, it will serve my purpose very nicely. I suspect that Tulip Poplar would have been harder than the flat sawn SYP.
Looking into a southern pine report, there is really no significant difference between radial and tangential hardness, in fact the average in the tests were that tangential (flat sawn face) was a slight bit harder than the radial (QS face).
Interesting, but those latewood bands in SYP are dense. ;)
http://www.jesscrate.com/pdf/southernpinestudy.pdf
And the hardness for SYP averages out to be 870 compared to Yellow poplar of 540, so some bit harder for SYP, with red/white oak being at 1360 (almost twice as hard as SYP and almost 3x harder than poplar.
http://www.fastfloors.com/article_100/Janka-Hardness-Ratings.htm
True, but between the growth rings, flat sawn SYP can be rather soft.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/DSCN1145.JPG)
Of course flat sawing spreads the growth rings out further so it sorta evens things out.
The hardness of Poplar would be fairly even across the entire board since there are no "growth rings" to speak of.
We have sharptooth aspen here and have used it both as sub floor or sometimes as finished floor staining it with good results.Sometimes you need to save some money.As far as the constant expansion and contraction we always use a v match profile for flooring and flush match for subfloor.