New hardwood over sagging floors?
Drew Avis
rooms, although the house inspector assured me they are fine. I'm
wondering what it would take to install hardwood floors in these rooms?
There's carpet there now - there might be pine planks underneath (I
tried lifting around a heating vent, but a layer of plywood has been
laid over whatever is there) as there are finished pine plank floors in
the hallway.
Would I have to lift up everything & lay new joists to get a level
floor? Or is hardwood flooring forgiving if I lay it over slightly
slopeing floors?
TIA,
Drew
Dave Winslow
For me, sagging floors are part of the charm of an old house. I would
consider removing the plywood and trying to use the old pine underneath.
They can look great painted, can often be sanded and refinished clear.
Good Luck, Dave
Drew Avis <aa...@Try.Andrew_Avis.AtHotmail> wrote in message
news:38BBDCF5...@Try.Andrew_Avis.AtHotmail...
PROSE
> > Hi folks, I just bought an older home (1870's). The floors sag in most
> > rooms, although the house inspector assured me they are fine. I'm
> > wondering what it would take to install hardwood floors in these rooms?
Well, how much are they sagging, and why?
Are they likely to sag more?
What, if anything, is under them?
(Like, can you put posts and a beam under them and jack the floor-joists
up level?)
Do you even HAVE floor joists? or half-round timbers?
I'd be tempted to lift at least some of the plywood and see what was
underneath
before making any major decisions.
--Goedjn
@pobox.com
Drew Avis
I can see the beams from the basement. There is one large beam running
the length of the house. Off that are many perpendicular beams. There
are a couple of posts already in the basement supporting the beams. I
can see the floor boards from below (laid over the perpendicular beams),
and they look like rough planks (pine?), about 2" wide. When I asked
the house inspector about the sag, he said it was due to settling, and
if I tried to jack the floor up level it would crack all the nice new
drywall some previous owner put up throughout the house. I'm fairly
certain the floors won't sag more - at least not quickly.
I guess I just want to know if I can put hardwood over a sagging
subfloor (plywood laid over planks?) or do I have to level the subfloor
first. ie - is there a "flexible" hardwood available?
Drew
PROSE
> drywall some previous owner put up throughout the house. I'm fairly
> certain the floors won't sag more - at least not quickly.
>
> I guess I just want to know if I can put hardwood over a sagging
> subfloor (plywood laid over planks?) or do I have to level the subfloor
> first. ie - is there a "flexible" hardwood available?
I don't see any reason why regular Tounge&groove oak floorboards shouldn't
flex enough to match a gentle curve in the floor, as long as you're careful
about fastening it down. That is, after all, more or less how wooden boats
are built. I wouldn't trust just glue though. Why not call the Flooring Mfg,
and
ask? It can't be an unusual problem. If the sagging is only on one axis,
lay the floorboards the other way, so that each board is strait, and they
fit against each other sort of like barrel staves.
Cambo
find out just how much sag there is and where it starts and stops. YOu
might be able to shim the floor in the middle with 1/4 3/8 ply if the
floor levels out on the ends enough. The more drastic measure would be
to use a self leveling compound in the sagging area then resheet the
floor with new underlayment. But do check with the flooring
manufactures as to how much gap you can get away with but do so after
you know exactly how much gap there is.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Mark E. Kominkiewicz
put down hardwood floors, but the plywood has some staining. I am afraid to
think the smell will still be there, only now it will have nice oak on top
of it.
The house is quite new (9 yrs). What can I do to get the stink out? I went
with an overnight solution of baking soda for pet odors. I will let you
know how it turns out tomorrow.
Bennet K. Langlotz
On a related note, the musical Cats is about to conclude its long run
on Broadway. It is expected that it will take 6 mos before they get
the smell out of the theater!
--
Bennet K. Langlotz
ne...@langlotz.com
Jay
>"Mark E. Kominkiewicz" <komink...@email.msn.com> wrote:
>
>>so I finally removed all the carpet and the smell is still there. I want to
>>put down hardwood floors, but the plywood has some staining. I am afraid to
>>think the smell will still be there, only now it will have nice oak on top
>>of it.
>>
>>The house is quite new (9 yrs). What can I do to get the stink out? I went
>>with an overnight solution of baking soda for pet odors. I will let you
>>know how it turns out tomorrow.
BTW, what did you do with the cats? Is it true they taste a lot like chicken?