Maximum width for non-glued solid white oak flooring?

[kooshball]

According to the National Wood Flooring Association, any wood flooring (solid or engineered) over 4” in width should be glued as well as nailed / stapled. With this being a general statement, I wonder if certain species and cuts would be tolerant of wider widths before needing to be glued.

For cost and future serviceability reasons I want to avoid glue for my hardwood install. These will be going on top of advantec subflooring which is over a sealed, insulated and climate controlled crawlspace.

That said, what are the opinions on using solid white oak in slightly wider widths (5”-6”) without glue? Am I asking for trouble or would white oak’s inherent stability allow for a wider floor to go down without glue?

Thx!

 

[Bill Clemmons]

A good portion of our house has 5", solid, 3/4", T&G white oak flooring. It was nailed/stapled, but not glued, almost 22 years ago and we have had no problems. It expands/contracts with seasonal humidity, as you would expect solid wood to do, but no cupping or buckling. It is on a subfloor over a crawl space.

 

[kooshball]

A good portion of our house has 5", solid, 3/4", T&G white oak flooring. It was nailed/stapled, but not glued, almost 22 years ago and we have had no problems. It expands/contracts with seasonal humidity, as you would expect solid wood to do, but no cupping or buckling. It is on a subfloor over a crawl space.

That sounds promising! Thank you.

 

[ScottM]

A friend installed wide board flooring and had a mess. Sorry I don’t recall the exact width or type wood. What happened is he installed it in the winter and when summer hit it buckled. I think he actually installed it to tight. Make sure you follow the instructions to the tee.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

A friend installed wide board flooring and had a mess. Sorry I don’t recall the exact width or type wood. What happened is he installed it in the winter and when summer hit it buckled. I think he actually installed it to tight. Make sure you follow the instructions to the tee.

Scott raises a good point. I remember they brought the flooring into the house and let it sit (acclimate) for a couple of weeks before installing. By that time the HVAC was working so the wood matched the indoor climate of the house.

 

[Charles in Richmond]

I think avoiding glue is a poor idea. Glue is easy and cheap insurance. I always put it under wide plank floors, Never had an issue.

 

[kooshball]

I think avoiding glue is a poor idea. Glue is easy and cheap insurance. I always put it under wide plank floors, Never had an issue.

From what I am being quoted isn’t cheap at all. If I skip the wide plank, the money saved on glue and labor pays for site sanding and finishing labor. I’m just trying to go as wide as possible without glue.

 

[kooshball]

As an update, I gave NWFA a call to discuss their generalized recommendations for when to use glue and they actually said that 5” and below will be fine without glue (vs. the 4” previous recommendation).

Looks like I am going with 5”, character grade white oak!

 

[ChemE75]

FWIW, I’ve owned a couple of mid 1800s houses in VT and ME. Both had a good number of original or very old wide plank floors that seemed perfectly fine other than worn somewhat. None were ever glued. None were tongue and groove or even shiplap. Most all were set with cut nails. I finished a floor for a bedroom that had a renovated loft with standard osb subfloor put down before I bought it. I used a lift of 1x12 pine seconds I got for nothing at a local mill that periodically gave them away. I used cut nails like the other old floors and it was perfectly fine for over the 20 yrs that we used it as our bedroom. Not oak, but at 11.25” wide, certainly susceptible to movement.

 

[kooshball]

FWIW, I’ve owned a couple of mid 1800s houses in VT and ME. Both had a good number of original or very old wide plank floors that seemed perfectly fine other than worn somewhat. None were ever glued. None were tongue and groove or even shiplap. Most all were set with cut nails. I finished a floor for a bedroom that had a renovated loft with standard osb subfloor put down before I bought it. I used a lift of 1x12 pine seconds I got for nothing at a local mill that periodically gave them away. I used cut nails like the other old floors and it was perfectly fine for over the 20 yrs that we used it as our bedroom. Not oak, but at 11.25” wide, certainly susceptible to movement.

Another positive datapoint! Thx

 

[ChemE75]

Another positive datapoint! Thx

Anecdotal, not scientifically proven. But seems like you’ll be fine if the assoc gave their approval. I suspect the size recommendations are chosen conservatively to protect both installers and customers.