That movement does concern me a bit. After a tiny bit of research I see that cottonwood and oak share the same property of "movement after drying" as moderate. I also have tons of ash available. It doesn't have nearly the character of cottonwood, but, is rated "low" for movement after drying. I guess I will reconsider my species. I still have a lot of choices.

Thanks for heads-up. I do appreciate it.

Holy cow !!! That is a lot of expansion !! And I am just guessing but with the end grain up you will have expansion in both directions of similar magnitude

Do you have any honey locust in your area? It makes beautiful, durable flooring.



I think the end grain on honey locust looks spectacular.

Keith

1/4" underlayment plywood and the glue used for parquet flooring and you should be good.

From Woodwork Details
Wood that expands and contracts due to changes in moisture content will do so along predictable lines. With a little bit of knowledge, you can predict the degree of wood movement, and take appropriate action to accomodate the movement. Wood shrinks most in the direction of the annual growth rings (tangentially), and only half as much across the rings (radially, or from the centre of the tree to the outer edge).

This is probably the reason work bench tops are usually made up of pieces that are laminated face grain to face grain. It allows for more changes in thickness and less change in width which could cause splitting problems.

Thanks, guys. This plan is starting to come together.

To address the expansion situation, here is the plan: I'll divide the area into three 8x8 sections each with ash "tiles", and a perimeter of commercial cork flooring tiles. The two end sections will be a basket weave pattern, and the center something a bit more elaborate, a starburst, or something.

The ash has a low expansion rate, and the cork is zero. Stained ash is nearly indistinguishable from cherry. So with the one wood I should be able to get the contrast I want.

The timbers from which I cut the tiles will be quarter sawn. That was the plan, due to the concern of splitting. It will also fight a bit of that expansion problem when set in different directions like the patterns I have in mind.

I agree that honey locust is beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have any in my woodpile. My woodpile comprises hundreds of cords of whatever the local tree services drop off. So, I have lots of choices, but, not infinite.

I look forward to seeing the completed floor. It should be beautiful when finished