DIY Plywood Plank Flooring

A simple project that can spruce up any room on the cheap!
This is designed to give a rustic finish to a room.
#flooring #plywood #plank

[@judichristopher4604]

Turned out BEAUTIFUL

[@jesus.maryandjoseph8880]

Looks nice, but all of the seams having the same pattern across the floor is a common error, even when laying laminate flooring. It would look even more like authentic hardwood if the seams, when the end of the boards meet, were staggered. Just a tip. Thanks for the video. 🙂

[@iasimov5960]

Looks nice. I'm in the process of installing a plywood floor. I cut the wood into strips of 3, 4, and 5 inches (3+4+5=12) which gives me eight sets of four foot flooring strips from a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I cut the narrow strips first, the medium strips second, and whatever is left is the wide strip.

[@HNXMedia]

Very nice! That is going to give an awesome layout appearance. You are going to love it.

[@dolphinliam888]

I'm doing all irregular widths and colours for an old english cottage look in my log cabin in the UK.

[@ddaynormandy290]

The place I bought had 2 houses. The smaller house 20x30 was used for storage. The old house looked to be in decent shape until I started working on it, turn out to be a complete gut job, did not find the other problems until I had put new sliding on. I was thinking about using plywood for flooring. Great video!

[@HNXMedia]

It is super simple and super cheap. I did a "One Year Follow-Up" video on this floor as well so you can see how well it has held up. I am in that room as I type this, and honestly, this floor looks better everyday. It ages very well. Peace and thanks for stopping by Dday!

[@jess-od9en]

I want this but burnt because it's so beautiful

[@HNXMedia]

That would take a considerable amount of time, but I absolutely think you could do it.

[@rickgiernoth4952]

I was thinking on doing a project using common board, kiln dried, premium. I picked that wood because I am going to run a blow torch over it to bring out the grooves. Hoping it doesn't bow up, expand and pray it looks as good as yours. Great work.

[@HNXMedia]

Damn, I would LOVE to see what this type of floor looks like with scorch marks! I have done that type of thing rehabbing axe handles in the past, but it never even crossed my mind to try it on a floor. That is going to look sweet! Next month will be the one year anniversary of this floor. I will be doing an update video to show how it has held up. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave an AWESOME comment and give me a great idea for future projects. Best of luck with your floor. I am sure it will turn out even better than mine! Peace!

[@washablejunk281]

Best looking subfloor I have ever seen

[@HNXMedia]

That is super kind of you to say! Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave an awesome comment! Next month (July 2018) I will be filming a "One Year Review" to show how well the floor has held up. Feel free to swing by for that vid!

[@dodgeramsport01]

I like this and I’m thinking of doing it to two rooms! I also like how the so called professionals say that you can’t do this or you can’t do that! Or that it won’t last blah blah blah! It’s a great looking floor and it’s real wood and looks 100 times better than the fake laminate stuff people pay $$$$$ for!

[@HNXMedia]

Throughout my life, I have found that "professionals" say "you can't" so that "they can" take your money. If you haven't already, check out my "One Year Follow-Up" video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo It has now been over 2 1/2 years and I am currently sitting in the room with this flooring. Looks as good as in the video and I have not put any additional sealer or work into it since day one. Thanks for the kind words and positivity. Have a great time doing your floor! Hope this helped. Peace.

[@Ritercrazy]

Nicely done.

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks. It has held up nicely going on two years now. Peace.

[@tracyk3567]

Good job. Way to beat the system.

[@galady8632]

Years ago I did a flip condo and used a similar process, except I utilized a blow torch to bring out the character in the plywood plus stain. I sealed it with semigloss Varathane. It was well received and the condo sold quickly. I do have a question. I am currently wanting to add wood flooring in my basement but I am concerned about the stability of wood glued to the concrete slab. Have you any experience or suggestions? (My plan B would be to have the concrete acid washed, stained and polished. Smelly and not cheap but doable. Of course I prefer wood.) Your work is indeed lovely. You should.be very proud! Thanks for sharing your technique.

[@HNXMedia]

I have no experience working with wood on a concrete floor (it would never be doable in my area, it is too damp and I am sure it would warp). I do not want to give any bad advice and steer you in the wrong direction. I would have to go with the acid wash where I live. I love the torch idea for the wood flooring! That is so awesome! Next time I do this, I am certainly going to try that! You have no idea how much your kind words mean to me. Thank YOU very much for taking the time to leave such a nice comment. Peace!

[@galady8632]

thanks!!!

[@mitchd949]

Looks very nice for such an inexpensive material. One issue I spotted: by doing your pattern of long, long, then short, it seems you're joint pattern is regular instead of random. Not sure if that was deliberate.

[@HNXMedia]

Glad you mentioned that! Yeah, I kind of thought about that a little, but here is my thought process: I made exact room measurements and wanted as little waste as possible, so I didn't want to "randomize" the cuts too much (or I thought I might have ended up going back to the store for more wood and ending up with "left-overs"). I was able to do the room with only 2 sizes of boards which made the cuts super simple. It did, in fact, create a "pattern." However, this is in my office and I kind of liked the way the pattern turned out. If I was doing a larger room like a living room, I would have definitely "randomized" the cuts a lot more. I will be doing an update video on this floor at the "one year" mark to show how it has held up. Can't beat it for the price! I hope you come back for that video in June/July. Super big thanks for watching and leaving an AWESOME comment to spark a good discussion! It is something folks need to keep in mind when doing this project. If you try this project I wish you the best of luck and feel free to ask any other questions that come to mind. Peace!

[@mitchd949]

Thanks for the reply. Nothing wrong with making patterns in the joints. In fact, if you made all the boards the same length you could have all sorts of pattern options. Nice work!

[@averteddisasterbarely2339]

​@@HNXMediayou could have just left the planks all long, that way when you get to the end of each run you use the cut off to start the next row, say it's about 8+ inches or so...then use the next full length and repeat ! It's a great way to use almost all the flooring and it's very random

[@Kman.]

Having varied lengths altogether would have further enhanced it. As it is, you have matching lengths every few rows. Also, varied widths would be awesome too, with some let's say 7" wide...some 5", and some 3" or s/thing along that order. Great job overall!

[@HNXMedia]

You are correct. If I had it to do over again, I would have varied the lengths a little bit. Never even thought about varying the widths. That would have given it a cool, creative, vintage look. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave an excellent comment that truly adds to the discussion/project. be sure to check out my "One Year Follow-Up Video" to see how well this "cheap" floor has held up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo

[@Kman.]

@@HNXMedia The varied widths along with the varied lengths simply break it up more as you know which adds more dimension to the room and you wouldn't focus necessarily on defined rows as easily, and give it a much more natural look, but again... what you did looks very nice. Nothing to be ashamed about with what you did my friend, nothing at all!

[@goldfishking5465]

Any update on this floor

[@HNXMedia]

I did a "One Year Update" here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo If you are sincerely interested, I could shoot another update video. It has been 4.5 years since I installed this flooring and it is holding up beautifully. This is my home office floor and probably the most "travelled" floor in the entire house. It is also where one of my dogs spends 80% of her time. I have never resealed it or anything. all I do is vacuum and sweep a couple time a week.

[@strong_voice_of_truth]

What stain did you use?

[@rjravaz]

awesome!

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Check out our "One Year Update" video and see how the floor held up to daily use: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo

[@BestAccessDoors]

Great work! Are you going to be doing more videos like this soon?

[@jimmyburke845]

Looks good but the seams are suppose to be random.

[@HNXMedia]

Yeah, I thought about that when I started, but for ease of cuts, I kept it simple and only used two different lengths. This is in a smaller office with a few rugs, so you don't really notice the seams in "real life." You only notice the pattern with the room completely empty. I am going to be doing a follow-up video in July (2018) to show how it has held up. This is the room that my turbo-trainer is in, so it gets heavy, daily use. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a great comment!

[@wolfy1]

So do you just expect the poly to fill in all the gaps between boards?

[@HNXMedia]

Wolf House No, the gaps between the boards remain. The poly is just a wood sealer, it is not thick enough to fill the gaps. I guess if you bought a higher quality poly, you might be able to fill the gaps. So far, this floor has held up perfectly and looks as food as the day I put it down (with zero maintenance except sweeping it). Peace.

[@wolfy1]

@@HNXMedia doesn't it bother you that the gaps fill with dirt? Drives me crazy on some wood floors I have in my house. I'm filling them in with putty.

[@HNXMedia]

Wolf House It is very funny (to me) that you mention this. It actually does not bother me because it reminds me of the floor in my Grandmother's house from when I was little. The wood floors in her house always had these types of gaps. I would stretch out on her floors for hours reading the "weird" stories in the old Weekly World News tabloids. So, as strange as it is, the small gaps in my office floor are a source of oddball nostalgia (dirt and all). Having said that, I totally understand why you would putty them :)

[@tracyk3567]

Sawdust and varnish can be used to fill the gaps.

[@judichristopher4604]

That is so smart of you to Stain them BEFORE you lay them down... then you can do another coat after they're down on the floor...

[@HNXMedia]

Yep, and I did not have to mess with it once it was done.

[@skenney8325]

Was this on wood or concrete? I want to paint the wood, I wonder if I could get away with cheaper plywood. But I'm going in on concrete slab. The 4" boards are beautiful!! Great job!!

[@HNXMedia]

This was put down over a wood subfloor. Three years on and it still looks as good as the day I put it down. Thanks for watching.

[@chasingchains]

SKenney - How did you put your plywood down over concrete?

[@gombert07]

Did you have a sub floor.. or was it concrete?

[@HNXMedia]

I had a regular plywood subfloor. I had put down 1/8 lauan board many years prior (when I put down the tile that I removed during this video) because I like having a nice, smooth surface when I put down any flooring. A smooth "starting surface" makes this project even easier than it already is. But, to answer the question, it was plywood, not concrete (first floor, over a basement if that helps). Good luck. Thanks for watching.

[@queenbeethatme1009]

Plywood os not chesp anymore. 1 4x8 board is 32.00 and 1 gal of minwax polyurethane is 47.00 at lowes. A small room would tske at leadt 6 boards so about 200.00 then the stain, 47.00 and the poly. 47, and the nails, 7.00 So about 300.00 to do a small room. Cost more if using thicker boards, or oak

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. However, the wood in this video is still $17.98 a sheet at Lowes. I only used a quart of stain for less than $10, but we'll call it $10 (I had an additional 1/2 a quart on hand before I started). Two cans of poly at $11.98 each, we'll call that $12 each. HF nails are currently 5000 for $12. All for a total of roughly $153.88 ($163.88 if you had to buy two cans of stain). I guess it depends on where you live and what the prices are in that locality. I know some p,aces get more for plywood, but in this video, we are not using OS board. That stuff is far too thick and far too expensive. I will be doing a follow-up video this July at the "1 year" mark to track wear and tear. Please check that out!

[@queenbeethatme1009]

HNX Media Maybe at your Lowes. Not at mine. BC faced 15/32 plywood is 31.99 a sheet. I am near Branson in the Ozarks. Lowes pricing differs from place to place. I bought the BC sanded this year to box in trusses. 31.99 per 4x8 sheet. Thank you very much. For my project. That was 14 sheets and 14. 8 foot 1x6. Just for the trusses. I have over 1200 sq feet to floor. I was thinking of using a better grsde of faced plywood. Hete, if I use oak, each plywood sheet is 52.99 at 15/32 and almost 65.00 per sheet for 3/4 inch. If I use 3/4 inch pine it is 40.00 for 3/4 inch, 31.99 for BC 15/32 pine. But the faced pine is from Georgia Pacific and is stamped on BOTH sides (only one faced side). Thst wood is SO damaged and pockmarked it is a disgrace. Full sheet birch is not available here. I am not using OS, the prices quoted are what I just got through paying last month for BC faced pine. Plywood is still much cheaper than other flooring but in Southern MO, it is still expensive. I wush I could screen shot one of my receipts. Go to the Lowes site and out in the Springfield, MO or Hollister,MO Lowes and check out those prices. I saw the plywood for 23.00 but when I showed those prices to my Lowes, they said ,that is not the pricing for our area. So that was that. 1 quart of stain? 1 just planked a 1200 sq foor vaulted ceiling. 2 gallons of stain. 3 gallons of minwax water based polyurethane. 400.00 for just the stain and top coat. Planks were over 1500.00 counting the waste, which was a lot.

[@HNXMedia]

Friend, you are choosing the wrong plywood. You want basic 1/2 inch, not OS,15/32 or any other dimension. Just simple, 1/2 inch plywood (not sanded or finished). Less than $20 a sheet. Best of luck with your project.

[@queenbeethatme1009]

HNX Media read again. I used bc not os

[@judichristopher4604]

@@HNXMedia I'm confused... I thought in the video you said it cost around $80. to do this... and in this comment you say it cost about $163. .... Which is it??? that is a big difference...

[@ronaldlariosa2671]

Hello😝 ❤❤❤❤❤

[@judichristopher4604]

Did you GLUE them down to the sub board? If not... why not?

[@HNXMedia]

No glue. I just used an air-nailer. Glue makes it too much work if I (or anyone) every wanted to remove this flooring. Going on two years now and looks as good as new. Check out our "One Year Update" video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo

[@roliepoliecolie2200]

😎😎😎

[@stevencarver9910]

Wow

[@BraxtlyTools]

Great vid. You could save yourself some time and give yourself more design freedom with a template tool! Emmy Braxtly

[@micahblack2371]

how much time in total do you have into that floor? im thinking about doing it but my time is limited.

[@HNXMedia]

I bought all the wood, cut it all and stained it all in one day. I let the stain sit overnight to dry. I put it all down the next day (keep in mind I was using a pneumatic nail gun, so it went fast). I sealed the entire floor the same evening in two stages and let it dry overnight. In total, about 2 days start to finish, but I worked on it pretty much non-stop (Friday and Saturday). It took longer tearing up the old "stick on" tile floor than it did to put down the wood floor. Hope this helped and gives you some inspiration. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. You can also check out my "One Year Update" video I just posted this past July to see how the floor has held up.

[@nathanbennett9025]

1:18 oh wow throw it away

[@HNXMedia]

I know, right? It was sitting in the garage headed for the scrapyard and that is the actual reason that I used it. I also wanted to show that it does not take fancy tools to do this job (as long as you're safe and know what you're doing). Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment!

[@nathanbennett9025]

HNX Media haha yeah that's so true or even pawn shop tools work great and I like your idea of flooring I'm have to keep it in mind

[@The55gunslinger]

table saw . circular is hand held !

[@agentanderson1383]

so you glued it with Ketchup?

[@michaelallison2836]

do you remember the gauge of your nail gun, length of nails, and the nailing pattern you used? Thanks

[@HNXMedia]

18 gauge if I am not mistaken. One inch nails. The pattern was to put two/three at the end of each board (where they butt together) and then approx 8-10 inches down each side of the board. Hope this helps.

[@michaelallison2836]

@@HNXMedia it does, thanks!

[@pop4725]

did you nail both sides of the board 8-10 inches down or just in the center of the board, floor looks great

[@HNXMedia]

@@pop4725 Down both sides. Only nails in the middle at the ends, Hope this helps. Thanks for the kind words.

[@011CJ]

Sb floor ? Loked lie some nice hardwood .wasent old sub flor wasent plywood .i mayb wrong . Looksgood tho .lots of grain pattern

[@michaelbowers1902]

Is the lack of step staggered planks bothering anyone else?

[@HNXMedia]

Not sure, but the time saving of not having to calculate more "random" cuts allowed me to complete this project super fast. I also had zero waste doing it this way. Thanks for watching. Peace.

[@judichristopher4604]

Yeah, I have to admit it is different... I'd have to do it the old fashion way.. stagger the seams.. but it did turn out Beautiful.

[@dodgeramsport01]

Michael Bowers No! It's his house and his floor!

[@michaelallison2836]

Lol no, looks fine as long as the joints are staggered, and I would have better things to do than stare at a floor all day.

[@Peek4pony]

Wow, Looks Awesome and at that Price !! I know its only ply but is it somewhat hard-waring or is it very soft and mark easily ? But at that price who cares I guess. Awesome Floor and instructional video !! Thanks !!

[@HNXMedia]

For the price, it cannot be beat. This is in super high traffic area (my home office). Several of my videos since last July were filmed in that office and you can see how well the floor has held up. I even have my turbo trainer set up in that office, and even with working out in there, the floor is still in great shape. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment!

[@indigoearthangel888]

Love it

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks! I did another video showing a one year review right here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo and it still looks just as good 4 years later. I have never re-stained or resealed it to this day. This is the floor in my current studio which you can also see as the "background" for many of my videos. Heavy traffic area that I have also dragged all types of furniture across (bookcases, desks, tables, roller carts, etc.). I think even with the current high cost of lumber, this is still a cheap and easy way to do a simple rustic floor. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Peace.

[@doggiesarus]

I would never have known it was just cheap plywood if I walked in there.

[@HNXMedia]

THANKS! I want to do a follow up video this summer showing the floor after a year of heavy use so that people can see how well it has held up. I don't "baby" that floor at all. It gets is in a "well used" room (my office) when I do indoor cycling workouts and all sort of things. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment! Namaste!

[@judichristopher4604]

That isn't 'cheap' plywood, cheap plywood has knots in it.

[@dodgeramsport01]

@@judichristopher4604 Not true!

[@bloodeaglehohos7099]

good work.

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks! Hopefully the video gave you some ideas.

[@bloodeaglehohos7099]

@@HNXMedia Rehabbing a house from 1880 right now, need all the ideas I can get.

[@Beecozz7]

Nice!!!

[@HNXMedia]

Thanks! Hope the video helped or gave you some ideas.

[@donnale3881]

Looks great!

[@HNXMedia]

That's very kind of you to say. Thank you. The "one year follow-up" video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6OnZIaKr5p6qZo It kind of gives you an idea of how well it has held up over time. Super easy. You should certainly give it a try. Thanks for watching. Peace (and I love the avatar).