45+ Laying Subfloor For Hardwood Floors
9/16" or thicker Floating Engineered Wood Floors can simply be installed directly on plank subfloor.The hardwood flooring must be installed crossing the subfloor boards (at a 90 degree angle). If there is any deflection in the wood plank subfloor when walked on it would be advisable to add an additional layer of 3/8" or 1/2" thick plywood. If you install wood flooring directly over an uneven subfloor, your new wood floor will be uneven as well. But if you cover the uneven subfloor with self-leveling compound before installing your wood flooring, your new floor will be even and level.
the current floors on the ground floor are really probably meant to be subfloors. they are soft pine and some of the boards have had to be replaced. i'd like to install new 3/4" white oak or hickory down there, but i've gotten mixed messages from different people on that. can i install hardwood over the wavy floors if we used shims to buffer.
Laying subfloor for hardwood floors. Installing New Hardwood Over Old Hardwood Floors. Installing new hardwood over older wood floors can be extremely time saving in lieu of removal that can become expensive, dirty, and even dangerous depending on how the original floor was installed.. For instance, I will look at much older floors that were nailed into floor joists before the widespread use of subfloors. Underlayments for hardwood floors provide multiple benefits depending on the material that you choose. They offer soundproofing, insulation, a moisture barrier and added comfort, while also helping to level out the subfloor. Plastic, foam, felt, cork and rubber are common choices. Once you know the slab is level and dry, and you have a moisture barrier in place, it’s time to look at basement subfloor options and how you’ll install your new hardwood floor. Three Basement Subfloor Options. A subfloor is the floor surface directly under the hardwood floor. The type of subfloor can determine how you’ll install the.
Laying a New Subfloor Over Old Pine Flooring. Pine offers grain textures and knots that create an interesting look on your floor. However, the wood isn't as hard as some other flooring choices. Nail-down or floating floors may be installed over existing vinyl as long as it is no more than two layers thick. Thoroughly vacuum the existing floor and use a long level and tape measure to ensure the subfloor is level within 3/16 inch for every 10 feet. Sand any high spots and fill the low spots with leveling compound. Hardwood flooring may be installed straight onto the subfloor, with only a sheet of red rosin paper intervening. On the other hand, the floors sometimes have more than three layers. A prime example: old homes that have been extensively remodeled.
2) Thickness: Usually manufactured in 4-by-8-foot sheets, plywood panels and OSB are acceptable subfloors for hardwood flooring as long as they are the proper thickness. Keep in mind that for mechanically fastened floors, OSB doesn't hold fasteners as well as plywood, so you need to use a thicker material to get the same holding power. It is best to use #15 felt paper as a moisture barrier between the subfloor and hardwood if nailing down, or between the subfloors if gluing. Drawings: John Hartman. From Fine Homebuilding #286. More about flooring installation. 11 Wood-Flooring Problems and Their Solutions – For flawless wood floors, avoid these installation and finishing. When it comes to hardwood flooring, the quality of the installation will be determined by the quality of many things including the choice of subflooring and the condition its in. Even the slightest imperfections in your subfloor can telegraph into the flooring and result in squeaking, buckling and uneven floors.
An underlayment is a necessity for any wood floor installation even on a plywood subfloor. The warranty may require it. The underlayment provides many benefits, including moisture protection, sound and thermal insulation and a cushion to make the floor more comfortable to walk on. Installing laminate flooring is a snap literally. A laminate floor is a "floating floor," meaning it is not fastened directly to the subfloor. It can be installed over any other tightly bonded flooring, making it ideal for retrofits. Hardwood floors do need a flat subfloor surface in order to prevent them from buckling after installation. Creating a flat subfloor involves lowering the high spots and raising the low ones. Each.
Every wood floor poses its own challenges, but installing one can be even more difficult if the subfloor has peaks and valleys. In that case, knowing how to properly flatten a subfloor before the flooring installation is essential. This job is a good example. The floor of any building or structure is its base and one of the most important parts, so when preparing to lay a plywood subfloor there are several things to keep in mind. The subfloor exists for two reasons, to add stability to the floor system and to serve as a base for the finished floor. A level and sturdy subfloor will also help to prevent the finished floor from moving or creaking. Only now is the subfloor ready for cement board underlayment. Laminate flooring: As with hardwood, laminate flooring is best installed on a 3/4-inch-thick plywood subfloor. If the existing subfloor is in poor condition, you will need to add a secondary underlayment of thin plywood over the subfloor.
Laying a solid-hardwood strip floor is easier and faster if you choose a prefinished product to avoid the extra work of sanding, staining and finishing. Installing Hardwood Floors With a few careful preparations, elbow grease and a weekend, you can have beautiful new floors. Hardwood floors are beautiful, last a lifetime, and are easy to install. With no special tools, you can go from subfloor to breathtaking in as little as a day. Before we get started with how to install hardwood floors, let’s cover a few basics. Hardwood vs. Laminate Wood Flooring. Hardwood flooring is solid wood, cut from the tree. Floating sub floors for solid hardwood installations generally consist of two layers of plywood, or allowing enough wood for a 1 ½ inch flooring cleat to hold effectively. Considering the fasteners are installed at a 45 degree angle or blind nailed, overall thickness required runs about 5/8 of one inch.
Question: Hi There, I hired a contractor to install Bruce hardwood floor 3/8″ thick. They were going to glue down the hardwood. They came & ripped up the carpet today & discovered that the sub-floor is very uneven, by about 1/2″ at certain point. Some area looks wavy. The subfloor is made of particle boards. Solid hardwood floors are suitable for installing both at ground level and above ground level, assuming the concrete is dry and that the right subfloor and vapor retarders are used. However, below ground level spaces can have problems with moisture. For these spaces, it can be better to use engineered wood floors instead. Right now, I have 3/4 TG hardwood, which is not in the best shape, over a 2.5" wide x 3/4" inch think plank subfloor, which runs perpendicular to the joists (2x10, 16 oc). Ideally, I would tear out the existing finish flooring, screw down the existing plank subfloor where loose, repair the plank subfloor where needed and then lay my new.
Here is the main issue....many vinyl floors (especially the "thin"/cheap one's) have issues with hardwood floor finishes. Some of these hardwood floor finishes will leach through the vinyl and stain them (and vice verse). We've seen vinyls have issues with staining from products left underneath. They don't like to "sit" on these finishes.
