From an environmental point of view, wood as a building material is the most favorable for humans. A wooden floor is not as hard as a concrete floor, and this is beneficial for the musculoskeletal system. It is a kind of insulation. It is durable with proper waterproofing and is not difficult to install. But still, it should be installed under the supervision or with the participation of an experienced craftsman.
Will need
Materials:- old canvas fabric;
- river wet and dry sand;
- remains of pine logs;
- clay solution
The process of laying a floor made of wooden paving stones with artificial aging
To prevent the paving stones from spreading later, it is necessary to securely frame the site of the future floor in the form of a concrete foundation or massive stone blocks.
We fill the area with fine gravel, level it and cover it with old canvas fabric as a kind of backing.
We cover the area with slightly damp river sand without large stones, level it with a rake until a layer about 5 cm thick is obtained everywhere.
Using a cross-cut saw, we cut “pancakes” approximately 9 cm thick from the remains of pine logs, mark them in width by 9 cm, and split them into squares and rectangles, minimizing waste. We correct some bars with a hatchet to obtain smooth edges.
We lay wooden paving stones on the sand with overlapping joints. We compact each laid row by tapping with a hammer on the side edges towards the already laid paving stones, first pressing down with our feet the compacted and already laid blocks of the adjacent row.
We use additional bars to fill the edges.
We knock down each block of the row with hammer blows from above, which makes the floor stronger. Fill the gaps between the outer bars and the foundation with clay mortar, leveling and compacting with a trowel.
To artificially age and reveal patterns on wooden paving stones, we burn them from above with the flame of a gas burner. This releases resinous substances with an indescribable aroma.
We pour a small amount of dry sand onto the surface of the wooden paving stones and distribute it with a broom over the entire surface, which, by filling the cracks and crevices between the paving stones, makes the floor more dense and stable.
After all the manipulations, our wooden paving stone floor turned out to be not only durable and beautiful, but also noble, as if it were at least 100 years old.
