Redwood Flooring

I laid some redwood flooring in my hallway.  As this was really supposed to be more of a blog about the house I return to that purpose again and I am sure to meander away just as quickly.  I just have my hands in too much I guess...

Anyhow last year it seems I posted about this big old pile of redwood in Woodland Ca an old farming town off Interstate 5.  Next to a 16000 acre ranch I sifted for days on end looking to find anything to salvage.  Because the structure had long fallen there is little siding that can be claimed for lengthy pieces.  But I did find a decent amount of pieces anyhow.  I planed some boards and actually looked for imperfections in them as I have always liked those old New England floors that have missing knots, scrapes, and cracks.  I kept the flooring thick 3/4" as  floor the in the hallway is a bit crooked.  So after laying down some plywood over the red fir sub-floor, I ran the boards under the floor trim that I had cut first with a circular saw then chiseled out. Or I just used a japanese hand saw to remove the material.  I know that redwood is NOT the greatest choice for flooring, but pine is common and really as this stuff is old growth redwood it is pretty tough at times.  In addition my bungalow is built of redwood and red fir so it make sense in the mix of things and when I get to planing a large number of boards I'll finally get my front porch done with a great redwood frontage.  It is just so strange at how that being from a tree 1500 or so years old gives such a deep dark mix of colors.  At first glance you may think you are looking at Walnut, but the grain is so very tight that at close inspection you realize it is not so.

I have to do some more window work on the sashes today.  I usually break the glass, but the hardware store at 1710 broadway 95818 is a great source and a small happy hardware store.