Posted 2005-04-14 12:18 PM (#23836) Subject: best wood for floor?
Veteran
Posts: 113 Location: Lyons Oregon
I was going to pay to have my trailer floor replaced. I was quoted a price of $150-175. Then I thought "I have a drill. I have a saw. Why can't I do this myself?" What sort of wood should I use? There is a custom hardwood mill near me. Would that be better then wood from home depot? It will take 8 boards 76 inches long. The trailer repair place uses wider board which they say is better, should I do that? I thought I'd try to replace one board before plunging in to do the whole thing.
Posted 2005-04-14 3:29 PM (#23847 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 565 Location: Michigan
Your best bet is to use pre-treated lumber, the kind used for decks/porchs available at Home Depot, Lowes, and most lumber yards. This type of wood will hold up better to moisture which your trailer will be exposed to underneath the trailer, weather elements and from your horse's urine.
Posted 2005-04-14 5:45 PM (#23857 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
Don't tear apart the old boards. You can use them as a template for your bolt holes. I did the floor in my old 2horse bp and the hardest part was getting the old bolts out. I ended up cutting them and replacing them because they were rusted up. Couldn't get the nut off the bolt.
Posted 2005-04-14 7:49 PM (#23866 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 2957 Location: North Carolina
I've replaced a floor.
Becareful. While the treated lumber will resist decay, understand most of it is softwood. It is not as strong as oak. Look at how the boards are supported too. You might be able to just lay the new boards in or NOT. I had to cut a piece of metal out to get the new boards in, then weld it back.
Posted 2005-04-14 8:14 PM (#23869 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Veteran
Posts: 113 Location: Lyons Oregon
Thanks for the help. I will price oak. One trailer repair place said pressure treated wood is brittle and can shatter. It looks fairly straight forward, no metal edges come over the wood anywhere. Still, maybe I'd be better off taking it too the repair shop (Rusty Wheel in Scio Oregon)
Posted 2005-04-14 10:40 PM (#23874 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Regular
Posts: 67 Location: Central Ky.
Have you considered recycled rubber lumber?It provides better footing,some cushioning and should last considerably longer than wood.It's worth looking into,see www.rumber.com
Posted 2005-04-15 12:42 AM (#23878 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Member
Posts: 39 Location: Covington, Louisiana
One thing you have to be careful about with using the new composition (plastic & rubber) flooring material is that it is not as strong as "real" wood and requires more closely spaced supports than wood floors.
Posted 2005-04-15 5:38 AM (#23881 - in reply to #23869) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 455 Location: Ontario - east of TO
Originally written by cascadia on 2005-04-14 9:14 PM
Thanks for the help. I will price oak. One trailer repair place said pressure treated wood is brittle and can shatter. It looks fairly straight forward, no metal edges come over the wood anywhere. Still, maybe I'd be better off taking it too the repair shop (Rusty Wheel in Scio Oregon)
I remember my father replacing the floor in one old trailer - and he was told to use rough lumber... we also used rough lumber in the stalls (suspended wooden floors in stalls) it it held up very well - I think we got about 5-7 years, and that's with a horse standing and peeing on that floor for hours a day.
Posted 2005-04-15 7:34 AM (#23886 - in reply to #23869) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 2957 Location: North Carolina
Originally written by cascadia on 2005-04-14 9:14 AM
Thanks for the help. I will price oak. One trailer repair place said pressure treated wood is brittle and can shatter. It looks fairly straight forward, no metal edges come over the wood anywhere. Still, maybe I'd be better off taking it too the repair shop (Rusty Wheel in Scio Oregon)
I 'd like to encourage you to DIY on the floor. Don't take my comments as negatives, just advice for a good result. There's too many different trailers to make blanket statements as to what can be used for a replacement floor without seeing it.
I've never heard of treated wood as brittle. Just a comparison as in oak to pine.
Posted 2005-04-16 7:33 PM (#23947 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 2689
I'd look into SYP and rough sawn (full thickness) white oak.
I would AVOID anything "treated" for fear of slivers, bad enough in if you get them in your hands - think 'Puss Pits'. The only folk I know who have done this found the cross members to be badly rusted when they tore up the floor, decided on closer spacing when he replaced them - so budget for some steel work as well when you tear up the old floor. You probably don't need to space the boards for drainage, they'll shrink across their width anyway and open up.
Posted 2005-04-16 10:42 PM (#23956 - in reply to #23947) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 1416 Location: sc
Originally written by Reg on 2005-04-16 8:33 PM
I'd look into SYP and rough sawn (full thickness) white oak. I would AVOID anything "treated" for fear of slivers, bad enough in if you get them in your hands - think 'Puss Pits'. The only folk I know who have done this found the cross members to be badly rusted when they tore up the floor, decided on closer spacing when he replaced them - so budget for some steel work as well when you tear up the old floor. You probably don't need to space the boards for drainage, they'll shrink across their width anyway and open up.
reg,
what is SYP? and i dont understand the "slivers" ? the horse should be standing on a mat anyway and the treated deck material, that seems to be so popular, is usually pretty smooth.
Posted 2005-04-16 11:23 PM (#23958 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Member
Posts: 26 Location: galveston,in
I would put in good treated 2x6"if thats what fits in your trailer.As you have lots of moisture in the horse area and the floor is exposed to the elements.
I have treated 2x6 on my deck over trailer i hual tractors and backhoes on and i have had this trailer for 8yrs since new and havn't had aboard crack or "shatter".Since on average the floor bracing is closer together on a horse trailer than my deckover and i haul more wieght that a horse ways on it treated wood be fine.
Yes rough sawn oak would be the strongest ,but i dont know if its available to you.
Posted 2005-04-17 8:37 AM (#23961 - in reply to #23956) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by chadsalt on 2005-04-16 10:42 PM
Originally written by Reg on 2005-04-16 8:33 PM
I'd look into SYP and rough sawn (full thickness) white oak. I would AVOID anything "treated" for fear of slivers, bad enough in if you get them in your hands - think 'Puss Pits'. The only folk I know who have done this found the cross members to be badly rusted when they tore up the floor, decided on closer spacing when he replaced them - so budget for some steel work as well when you tear up the old floor. You probably don't need to space the boards for drainage, they'll shrink across their width anyway and open up.
reg,
what is SYP? and i dont understand the "slivers" ? the horse should be standing on a mat anyway and the treated deck material, that seems to be so popular, is usually pretty smooth.
Sorry, Southern Yellow Pine (SYP).
I guess I haul the mats out a LOT and wash underneath them. I try to avoid pressure treated lumber wherever possible, ONE festering sliver wound is far too many for me. I hadn't considered wood floors with rubber mats over, maybe seen too many trailers with just wood and the drainage gaps between the boards.
When I wrote "white oak" I meant oak truck flooring, it should be fairly low priced and is very tough.
Posted 2005-04-19 12:36 PM (#24029 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Member
Posts: 9
Location: MN
I've redone a number of trailers. rough Oak is the only way to go. However (there is always a however) If the wood has not been dried, it will shrink. You need to keep that in mind. The last stock trailer I did the Oak shrunk enough over a year that I had to add another 2x6. Also, many backyard saw mills cut Oak to actual dimensions instead of dimensional dimensions. (wonder how many times I can use the word dimension in one sentence). This can cause problems if your trailer has channels built to only accept boards that are 1 1/2 thick.
Posted 2005-04-21 11:25 AM (#24110 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 366 Location: Albany, Oregon
We don't have much white oak out here...I learned that building a sailboat in my younger years....It resists rot the best in the oak family, we have lots of red oak but it rots fast! Pressure treated is made out of hemlock (out west) ....they call it hemfir...not real good for a span type floor application! Knowing the area we live in I would use good ol douglas fir (the second choice for white oak) we have lots of it! Rough sawn would be fine. There are probably some mills in the Lyons area you can have it cut from a curred log that is dry. You don't want green wood!Maybe even soak it with boiled linseed when you are done. White Oak is supper IF you can find it dry and the size you need.
Posted 2005-04-21 11:30 PM (#24150 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Member
Posts: 39 Location: Covington, Louisiana
One caveat on using pressure treated wood is that early in 2004 the chemicals used in pressure treating wood were changed to eliminate arsenic containing preservatives. The chemicals now being used are much more corrosive to metals. We are being advised to use stainless steel screws, bolts and other fasteners when working with structural PT wood. If you do use PT wood in your trailer floor it might be worth while to put something between the wood and the steel supports to prevent direct contact and slow down any corrosive effect of the chemicals. In replacing the floor in my trailer I'm using strips of neoprene on top of the metal supports and in the channels the sides and ends of the boards rest in.
Posted 2005-04-22 9:48 AM (#24169 - in reply to #24110) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1011 Location: Oregon
Originally written by xyzer on 2005-04-21 8:25 AM
We don't have much white oak out here...I learned that building a sailboat in my younger years....It resists rot the best in the oak family, we have lots of red oak but it rots fast! Pressure treated is made out of hemlock (out west) ....they call it hemfir...not real good for a span type floor application! Knowing the area we live in I would use good ol douglas fir (the second choice for white oak) we have lots of it! Rough sawn would be fine. There are probably some mills in the Lyons area you can have it cut from a curred log that is dry. You don't want green wood!Maybe even soak it with boiled linseed when you are done. White Oak is supper IF you can find it dry and the size you need.
Hubby works for a lumber mill. He said get douglas fir and make sure it is kiln dried. Having it kiln dried will help against warping from heat and moisture. It is what we used for our 3 rail fence 5 years ago, and the boards all still straight.
Posted 2005-04-22 2:16 PM (#24182 - in reply to #24150) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Expert
Posts: 1416 Location: sc
Originally written by Rander on 2005-04-21 11:30 PM
One caveat on using pressure treated wood is that early in 2004 the chemicals used in pressure treating wood were changed to eliminate arsenic containing preservatives. The chemicals now being used are much more corrosive to metals. We are being advised to use stainless steel screws, bolts and other fasteners when working with structural PT wood. If you do use PT wood in your trailer floor it might be worth while to put something between the wood and the steel supports to prevent direct contact and slow down any corrosive effect of the chemicals. In replacing the floor in my trailer I'm using strips of neoprene on top of the metal supports and in the channels the sides and ends of the boards rest in.
do you have any refernces to this fact? i would be interesed to learn more.
Posted 2005-04-22 7:59 PM (#24199 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Member
Posts: 39 Location: Covington, Louisiana
chadsalt:
Sorry to be slow in responding but I've been away from the computer most of today. I dropped by the local Lowes today and found a tear sheet from the Great Southern Wood Co which produces "YellaWood" the most popular Southern yellow pine pressure treated wood. It addressed fasteners for the new ACQ (alkaline copper quatenary) pressure treated wood. The link to the company site is below and from there you can link to a pdf document that lists specific companies and fasteners. Basically, hot dipped galvanized steel, some proprietary coated fasteners and stainless steel are approved. They note in a couple of places that stainless provides the best protection. I had been advised, as I wrote, that I should use only stainless steel fasteners for the trailer floor and any "structural" work. It appears that I may have overstated my earlier email but I think the person at the lumber yard that gave me that advice was just trying to give me the safest advice. One interesting point in the sheet is the advice not to let the PT wood in direct contact with aluminum because it apparently really eats aluminum. I realize that several of you are from the West where different species are used for PT wood but I think the chemicals are the same. I'll stop now--I'm too long winded as it is. Sorry.
Posted 2005-05-03 10:36 AM (#24634 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Regular
Posts: 55 Location: Kingston, Ontario
I have had many old trailers(steel) and had the floors replaced (by my husband who is very handy).... Never had any trouble doing it...
When you remove the old floor it gives you a good opportunity to closely check the cross supports.(for rust etc)...I think that most trailers with wood floors should probably have 12 " centers?(min)?....
re: pressure treated wood? Pressure treating doesn't mean "strenght"...I always went with hard wood (oak, ash or maple)and then treated it with a preservative myself...( strickly for protection against mosture)
Also, I continued to check the floor for any dampness / rotting on the edges.....then covered with rubber matting.
After carfully checking out the pros/cons of wood floor vs aluminum, I think for the cost, wood is more shock absorbant and easily replaced.....
Posted 2005-05-05 12:01 PM (#24756 - in reply to #23836) Subject: RE: best wood for floor?
Veteran
Posts: 167 Location: Monroe, WA
Got to put in my two cents here, a lot of people are saying they are using 2x6 Pt lumber - the biggest diffference in the weight factors hauling horses and hauling other heavy stuff (like hay, heavy equipment, etc) is how the weight is distributed and applied to the floor decking. Hay weight is spread out over a large surface, ie, many fewer pounds of pressure per square foot of deck. Rubber tire equipment has it's weight concentrated on the tire footprint, while tracked equipment again spreads it out - lighter footprint weight.A thousand pound horse puts all his weight on four relatively little round feet - all the weight concentrated on (often) ONE board at a time, and OFTEN between the steel supports. OK, so it's not all thousand (or so - we have one 1450 broodmare) pounds, but that's your horse's foot and leg that will go through the floor if it fails. We always ALWAYS go with 2x8 or 2x10 treated, high grade doug fir, with NO knots or voids to cause future problems. This is one time when you do select each board, and go with the best straight clean lumber you gan get. It needs to be heavy (not just wet), dense and near flawless.We also install extra steel stringers to support the wood under the places the horses' feet usually stand, as added security. Just finished up doing this to my faithful old 2-horse walkthru, getting it ready to sell. Whoever gets this trailer will have no safety issues with the floor!I've seen the remains of a leg that was dragged a few hundred feet before the driver (ahead of me, going up to branding) got the rig stopped - a rotted board end let go, the thin 1/2 inch mat tipped down under the foot and let the hoof slide through, then trapped it so the poor damn horse could NOT drag it back in before he was ruined. I hope I never have to see that again, or shoot another horse that is injured so uselessly.
best wood for floor?
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