Quote:
Originally posted by Hugh R
Creosote soaked railroad ties as flooring? No thanks.
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The wood used commonly for rail ties was a hardwood, whatever was available in the region. This could be oak, an open grain, or beech, a closed grain, just to name a couple of examples. Creosote does not penetrate very deep into hardwoods. If you skin them, there will be plenty of well preserved virgin wood inside.
I have worked with some ties for landscaping and found that they were some of the toughest timbers I have ever tried to cut. A Sawzall was worthless. Had to have a large circular saw with a lot of set to the teeth. Inside, they were light colored. Any odor would leave the wood if it was stacked spaced for a time, which one would probably want to do before final planing.
The floor featured at the top of this thread is outstanding. But, the installation method is even better.