laying reclaimed parquet

[Timmo]

Ok, i've done my reading on this little project and would still welcome some advice.

The blocks are 10mm thick ( I will endeavour to remove as much bitchumin as poss) and it will be laid on 6mm ply, which is covering reasonably flat floorboards.

the room is 3m x 5m

My intention is to lay herringbone pattern starting on a line in the centre running down the length of the room.

I intend to start by fixing a set square and laying the blocks tight to this.
(does this sound reasonable?

My questions are;

do I lay one long continuous length and then lay the blocks to this line by line or is it better to spread the line out perhaps laying the blocks to cover a quarter of the room before moving on to the next quarter.

when positioning the blocks do I keep to the centre line or just keep the blocks tight to each other.

many thanks in anticipation

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi Timmo

It works best when you start with one long line of blocks in the pattern and then work 'up and down' this line - effectively filling in one side of the room before you fill in the other side.
With reclaimed blocks you will notice that the 'line' will go at some points and you'll create gaps. Try to avoid to forcefully 'correct' this too much - by pushing blocks back etc - , you'll only end up with large gaps appearing further down the line. Just try to keep a close eye on them, try to minimise it and use wood-filler mixed with saw-dust to fill them later.

Have fun, it's a real labour of love with a beautiful and rewarding result - but take your time!

 

[Timmo]

woodyoulike

Many thanks for your reply, just so i don't mis-understand your point, when you say the line will go at some point but don't push the blocks back, Are you saying keep to the centre line even if the blocks are wanting to take a diffent line.

Sorry for being a slow here
Once again many thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

It is very hard to describe on paper - once you're 'at it' it will become clearer.
When installing wood blocks in herringbone you always try to work as 'tight' as possible, but specially with reclaimed blocks (little damages, small differences in size) you will get gaps between some of the blocks no matter how hard you try to fit that block into the pattern.
Don't despair when that happens, it will. But just keep a close eye on it, make sure it is as tight as possible without forcing the blocks back into 'line' (if you manage to get one block 'behave' others will start to give gaps).

Hope this helps

 

[Timmo]

woodyoulike

Many thanks, it does help. Once again thank you for you advice

 

[Timmo]

I have laid 5 rows and true to woodyoulike's advice the line run off, worryingly so. If you imagine a slight arc this is how the line runs but the blocks are tight to each other. my concern is now that; on the inside of the arc laying blocks appears to follow the path. On the outside there are two spots whereby the blocks wont follow the line. They increase the gap with every block laid.

I have chosen to miss a few blocks out and start laying again, this seems fine for this row but I would guess this will happen for every row. any advice on how best to handle this

 

[WoodYouLike]

As long as the small part of the block (when installing a herringbone pattern) doesn't show a gap your pattern will be fine - meaning it is in 90 degrees with the other row. The problem could be differences in size between various reclaimed blocks.
The line going off could also mean the room isn't really square, so your 'middle' line isn't really at 90 degrees.

Hoe this makes sense, again this is difficult to explain on paper.

 

[Timmo]

Woodyoulike

Once again many thanks. I perfectly understnad what you mean and I suspect that the tiles are slightly different sizes so its no wonder it runs off.

Ill keep going and see what happens


regards