Fixin' to lay about a 3x4 foot landing with red oak hardwood i have created myself with a pen knife, bic lighter and a #55 stanley plane. (and if you believe that.....) Actually, my question is, do I need anything between the oak and the OSB subfloor? I plan to tongue nail it with my 16 ga finish nailer.
thanks
Need to, no of course not, should you, probably yes. Just tack down either one of the many special purpose flooring papers, or you could just use a piece of roofing paper. It will help to keep the floor quieter.
I'm not a pro in this area, but Tom Silva of Ask TOH stapled down a layer of flooring paper underneath the wood flooring. He has a video on line of the installation. JoeG
Unequivocal, no further questi !ALWAYS PUT A MOISTURE BARRIER BENEATH A HARDWOOD FLOOR INSTALLATION!
IOW, it's mandatory. :)
There are several different papers and foam underlayments available depending on the type/technology of hardwood and what you're putting it on. Some have vapor barriers, some do better on uneven subfloors. All of them will quiet down the creaking of the floor from differences in expansion/contraction and simple rubbing together when walked upon.
A specialty flooring store should be able to recommend the correct one for your specific application.
thanks for the reply. I won't be going to the flooring store. I have stated that i'm putting red oak over osb, so i didn't think there was any missing information. I could add that I've already doused the flooring with boiled linseed oil 50/50 with thinner.
thanks for the reply. Looks like I'll be procuring a small amount of something for underlayment.
Information missing:
- What is the OSB covering? Concrete slab? Basement? Crawl Space? Bare dirt?
And why would you douse the flooring with BLO?
scott
You probably want something under it to control moisture from below and muffle squeaks a bit. A fairly standard, and inexpensive underlayment for hardwood is rolled roofing felt. I would hate to buy a full roll for this size but it will probably only cost $15-18 ............. unless, like me, you have a half used roll buried in the shed somewhere.
Also, a regular flooring nailer with "Christmas Tree" flooring nails will provide a tighter attachment. Again, kind of expensive to rent unless someone you know has one. The 16ga nails will be a little light for a surface that gets a lot of foot traffic.
RonB
A scrap of linoleum would work well.
basilisk
it's a raised (15") landing at the foot of my stairs. 2x4's and 2x6's underneath and then the main plywood floor. All my red oak gets BLO first. As suggested in THIS group. And i love the result.
THAT, i have. Thanks for the suggestion.
It will see very little traffic, but i am considering hand nailing with
6d or 8d finish nails after predrilling.
BLO does provide a nice appearance but it, itself, won't hold up to foot traffic for long.
I am building a little rocking doll crib for a friend to give as a gift. I gave it a long, wiping wet coat of BLO instead of stain. The color is somewhat similar to natural stain, but the grain character is much more pleasing - at least to my eye. But now I am adding 3-4 coats of wiping poly and I might top with a coat of wax.
RonB
oh, i guess i should further explain. It was recommended i use the BLO to bring the red out and pop the grain. Then it was suggested to use wax free shellac to seal then poly. I have experimented and am quite impressed with the results. I've got a board laying on the floor where it get all the household traffic i've applied BLO, then a quick once over with the 220, two coats of wax free shellac, then 220'd it, and applied FIVE coats of oil based poly floor finish with a quick 220 in between each of the coats. It is down right beautiful.
I'm saying that a call to a flooring specialty store with this same information might yield good results. There is new stuff coming out all the time that could save some time and/or money and give a better end result than the old red paper that seems to be the old school standard. Of course, the old red paper under solid hardwood might still be the best thing.
You want something to pad and allow slide between the hardwood and the subflooring. Do not use anything that functions as a vapour barrier. You want your woods to be equal moisture content to minimize unequal moisture expansion and contraction in an attempt to eliminate as much popping and snapping as possible. Cupping is hard to stop on a hardwood floor with unequal moisture from top to bottom, also.
Fixin' to lay about a 3x4 foot landing with red oak hardwood i have created myself with a pen knife, bic lighter and a #55 stanley plane. (and if you believe that.....) Actually, my question is, do I need anything between the oak and the OSB subfloor? I plan to tongue nail it with my 16 ga finish nailer.
thanks
Need something with a barb on it.
16Ga will likely end up squeaking, badly, after woods of unequal expansions age.6d or 8d finish nails after predrilling.
I always use lithium wheel bearing grease as a decoupler from the subfloor. If I'm out of the grease, I use some of my lithium meds mixed with Vaseline. It works nearly as well.
And I use HFT's -red- finish nails. They're slipperier & prettier.
(oh, darn. I'm 23 days late.)
-- Believe nothing. No matter where you read it, Or who said it, Even if I have said it, Unless it agrees with your own reason And your own common sense. -- Buddha
are you thinking ring shank? I don't really remember seeing any finish nails with ring shank. But I haven't looked yet.
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