How to Convert Barn Wood to Flooring

There are also Internet suppliers of old barn wood that can be turned into wood flooring for your house.

1. Check for nails that might be embedded in the wood. Use a metal detector to find and remove all metal from the lumber.

2. Run one edge of the old barn wood through the jointer to establish a straight edge.

3. Run the lumber through a planner. Most old barn wood is a full inch thick. Plane both sides of the lumber down to a thickness of 3/4-inch.

4. Run the lumber through the table saw to mill it to the width of the flooring you want to use.

5. Run one side of all the lumber through the router table set up to cut the tongue of the floor. Rotate the board 90 degrees and router one end with a tongue also. Run all of the flooring with the good side face up.

6. Replace the router bit with the groove bit in the router table. Run the other side of all the lumber and the remaining end through the groove bit.

7. Stack the lumber with stickers between each row to keep the flooring from warping until you are ready to install it. Place a piece of plywood on top of the stack and weight it down with concrete blocks. This allows air to move around the wood and to air dry. The plywood top and concrete blocks keep the wood from warping as it dries.

Tip

Double check the lumber for nails. They can be very dangerous projectiles, and ruin blades and bits, if they are ran through power tools.

Warning

Wear safety glasses and a dust mask while working with the old barn wood.