the 'green' part gives me concerns when integrating it with a finished floor - specifically tying the floor surface together with the top surface of the beam. the green oak part makes me want to run far far away.

your clients are looking for 'rustic', right?





green oak will shrink, then shrink some more. and then some more. and it will twist. and check. i've built several porches with white oak, and a frame or two with red, and plenty of structures with RF dried red oak. i wouldn't use green oak for the design you are trying to achieve. i might be convinced to try it with RF dried fir.



you are looking going from green to 'interior of house dry' in the neighborhood of 5% radially and 7% tangentially. so depending on how those timbers are cut - 3/4" to 1" is possible.

Here's a great PDF from the UK. See page 23-24.

Red Oak

White Oak


So your flooring notch will have to account for minimal shrinkage along the length of the floor boards, but plenty of shrinkage across the top of that oak beam, and you will end up with gaps @ the floor / timber interface - more on the long edge to long edge interface, and less on the long edge to butt edge interface. and that flooring will most likely cup... so you'll want a grind well along into the process, most likely after you get a season or two of heating into the space.

DonP on the forums could probably elaborate much more...