Burning Oak Flooring

[caber]

I have a pile of used oak flooring out back of the barn that I got for free out of a house being renovated - about 1000 sq feet of it. I picked it up 2 years ago with the thought of using it for flooring in the shop, but I just have not gotten around to it and that project is still years off. It's about 1/2 inch thick, 3 inch wide tongue and groove stuff. It's been out and exposed to the weather for 2 years and most of the polyurethane has come off. I'm wondering about burning this in the woodstove to get it out of the way. I can power sand off the remaining flakes of poly, but I'm wondering about any residual stains in the wood and the consequences of burning that.

Any thoughts?

 

[ScottF]

Alot of work but if you are willing to sand off any flakes I dont see any problem. Poly is a film finish and does not penetrate the wood very much at all. It mostly just sits on the top. Sanding will remove it all. I would burn it if it were I. One pass through a power planer would be a lot less work if you have access to one.

 

[fossil]

I burn a lot of scrap in my shop stove, but ordinarily I eschew anything with a finish on it or glue in it. However...if I had that stash of solid oak flooring, I think I'd make an effort to remove the finish as well. I'd do exactly as scott suggested, and run the boards through a planer. If you've no access to a planer, then the sander's probably the second best tool for the job. Rick

 

[gpcollen1]

You could probably get it off quicker with a planer if you have one.

 

[billb3]

Craigslist might be less work.


<< might

 

[Hanko]

Burn it

 

[mtarbert]

Try to be careful with burning old finishes. Some finishes that you least exspected contain Lead.Just err on the side of caution

 

[rich81]

plane and burn..... plain and simple : )

 

[KeithO]

I will admit that I burnt about 3 cubic feet of PU coated oak flooring scraps (what was left after the flooring contractor was done) in my non catalytic Morso and didn't notice any noxious odors or fumes whatsoever. The coating is very thin so there is not too much of that stuff on there. I couldn't use the wood for much else because most of it was marred by hammer strikes and the like.

 

[Redox]

I think the usual disclaimers about cat contamination applies, but I have burned oak scraps with some finish with no problems. I don't think I would load the entire box at one time, though. Mix it up and it shouldn't be a problem.

1000sf of 3/4" wood is about 1/2 cord. I'd think about it...

Chris