Hardwood floors over old pine

We are contemplating hardwood floors in an 1860 house we are renovating. It currently has two layers (1.5 inches total) of pine floor -- the rough-sawn subfloor covered by painted pine boards. Everything sits on 2 x 8 joists (older style) set 30" OC.

I'm planning on tearing up the top layer of boards and putting down

3/4 T&G flooring (Advantech). But I'm worried that the amount of flex (bounce) in the floor from the widely spaced joists will cause problems down the road.

Has anyone here tried anything similar? What luck?

Thanks,

John

Reply to
jgold723
Loading thread data ...

jgold723 wrote on 29 Dec 2007 in group alt.home.repair:

The flooring manufacturer will have something to say on this subject.

30" spacing is very wide. If you don't follow the manufacturer's recommendations, your warranty is void. Check the box instructions and the web site for requirements for joist spacing, underlayment thickness, and smootheness.

My main task is usually to make sure the subfloor is smoothe enough. The requirement is usually less than 1/8" to 1/4" variation in six to eight feet. You might have to leave both layers in place and put 3/4" plywood on top.

Call the manufacturer. You have an unusual situation.

Reply to
Steve

if you are going to take up one layer, u might as well take up both layers and add more joists so u can keep level transitions in and out of other rooms

Reply to
jmhartle

What's the dimensions of the present versus the proposed? Is it T&G or simply butt seams? What about the thickness of each layer?

If the 1-1/2" is two 3/4" and the hardwood isn't some manufactured product for which I have no information for on stiffness, hardwood such as oak will be as, or stiffer than pine. If, otoh, the top level is 1" and the underlayment is only 1/2" (which would be most unusual for the age if it is original), then you would be removing material.

Unless the existing pine is in really bad shape, you might consider simply refinishing it as being more in keeping w/ the age of the house.

--

Reply to
dpb

Reply to
jgold723

Reply to
jgold723

Ah -- that's the rub here. The manufacturer doesn't say anything about joist spacing. And for subfloor, all they say is a minimum of 5/8 CDX plywood. When I quizzed them via email, they said the 1.5 inches of old flooring "technically" met their requirements.

And I suspect that if the boards separated, they wouldn't h> jgold723 wrote on 29 Dec 2007 in group

Reply to
jgold723

You may be cutting serious value of the house though. If the house has any historic value, new floors would trash it.

Rather than think about short term gains, think about long term satisfaction.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Do what you want, of course; but I'm personally very much prone to retain the "old" in old houses. What about turning the top level over to the under side rather than losing all that history?

--

Reply to
dpb

And, btw, as another way to restore such vintage places -- in Lynchburg, VA, did these routinely of old antebellum houses in downtown during revitalization.

Rather than sand in place which often would require far more material to be lost or difficulty, since we were doing bare-wall restorations anyway, we would take material such as this to a commercial shop w/ a thickness sander. W/ one of these dudes, it's a snap and working individual pieces is more material-saving than the whole floor. Some distress and marks are "character", not defects, also...

Where are you located? If anyways close by, I'd take the material you don't want in a heartbeat... :)

--

Reply to
dpb

I owned a house built in the 60's that had floor joists 48" oc! It had a 1 1/8" fir plywood subfloor and had slight bellies between the joists, but not too bad. I went over it with 1 1/2" strip oak and it turned out great. In your case I'd be a little concerned about the two layers of 3/4--though I really couldn't say for sure either way.

1 1/8" t & g plywood is readily available. You might consider that.

Manufacturer's warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Reply to
marson

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.