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End Grain Wood Block Patio and Gazebo Flooring

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Posted by barry18325 5 (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 2, 06 at 10:53

My gazebo and patio areas are starting to shape up and I am contemplating paving. Clearing the way for drive and house, I have taken down some white and chestnut oak, some of which are 200+ years old but too low grade for sawing even. It would be a lot of work splitting them up for firewood and the result would be more firewood than I would ever need. Here is a nice narrative I found on the use of wood pavers: http://www.kaswell.com/ White Oak pavers would be lighter to work with than flagstone and if set on gravel would last a very long time. I guess they could be laid as rounds or trimmed to fit more tightly against one another. Any input maybe from someone who has done this?

This is a continuation of my other thread here:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/design/msg0611572213814.html?6

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RE: End Grain Wood Block Patio and Gazebo Flooring

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That is a fascinating narrative; I had no idea of the history as related there, nor any concept of the durability - if it's true, always taking a sales pitch with a little grain of salt.

But your post initially reminds me of an old thread on this forum... ah, just a quick search for the term "snot logs" finds it in no time! Apparently this is a term that has been used only once in this forum. I've linked to the thread below.

I think your idea of a gravel base (not round gravel, perhpas?) would be crucial to avoiding the slippery problem as well as other problems. And no doubt wood type also matters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Palm and redwood as pavers

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RE: End Grain Wood Block Patio and Gazebo Flooring

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Barry,
I had a customer who installed this type of kitchen floor. Beautiful! Would go this route if I were building another house. I watched the installers set this floor and asked lots of questions. They told me the end grain wood blocks should be square and of the same size so they will fit tightly together. If your wood is well seasoned and you have done some research on a specific sealer to use...yes, your idea should work. Think it might make more sense to install it on a firmly packed stone dust base. My major question to the Kaswell Co. would be a concern about wood being slippery when wet. That firm does outdoor installations so should be able to answer some of your questions. I would guess that the oak squares would have to be thicker for an outside application than for interior use. Think it might be best to construct the gazebo and gazebo floor first to see how the process goes before tackling a large patio.

Unless you have the equipment on site to cut wood blocks, you would have to weight the cost of having a sawmill cut them for you vs. using a commercial stone of some type. Lots of homework ahead for you. Interesting idea.

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RE: End Grain Wood Block Patio and Gazebo Flooring

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Thanks guys for the headsup regarding slippery surfaces. I am pretty good with a chainsaw and the cuts will not be smooth so I think this is worth a try. If the pieces are say 2" thick, a heavy hammer and an old dull butcher knife should make quick work of squaring up the chunks. A sturdy work bench at the site, some templates and a felt pen are indicated too. Regarding longevity, I would bet Oak, if kept away from the dirt, may almost outlast treated softwood outdoors. With the end grain exposed to the air the blocks will go down to around 12% moisture content quickly. End grain is just great for sucking up preservative too. The blocks should be set on for instance 2b stone so that air reaches the majority of the under surfaces of the blocks.

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RE: End Grain Wood Block Patio and Gazebo Flooring

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Finally getting around to making pavers. A thickness of 4" seems to work pretty well. I mark the sections using a square and felt pen and so far have cut some random squares and rectangles on the even 2 inches. The frozen sections don't split very easily but the dry sections cut to size easily with the machete-like tool fashioned from a 2' long piece of 2x1/4 mild steel. I plan to put 2b stone as a base under the pavers for ventilation.

If I knew how, I would post a picture of the gazebo here.

Barry

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