I have a two part question, seperate issues but along the same line, material wise.
I have to rip out an existing porch floor that has what appears to be oak T&G strps, which look to be 3″. I will be removing the entire framing as it is totally wrong which caused the whole floor to sink about about a foot toward the front.
Once the deck framing is complete and is ready for the wood strip flooring, should the T&G just be faced nailed to the joists or should a layer of ply be laid over the frame and then be installed similar to how you do a interior install (floor nailer with staples)
(Part two)
Inside I have two rooms which have linoleum tile over the floors which are all pretty sound and in decent shape. Can I install new oak strip flooring right over the tile without having to rip them up. None of the existing tiles are loose or popping up. They appear to be glued down to the subfloor and would be a real chore to take up.
Mick
Replies
Exterior porch floor
Let me answer the first question.
In my area, T&G exterior flooring is FIr. I don't know where you live, but I think Oak would ber unlikely - unless that was the cause of the issue.
When I need to do this repair, I normally do all my exterior framing as required; then, protect the joists with a Vycor product (or whatever); then I lay Fir T&G nailing as if it were a regulat floor. I dislike nail holes in my faces, so I blind nail.
One precaution I use, is of course, coat all 6 sides.
As redoing the tile floor, others have more experience and better advice.
I'm in NY.
So your saying Dug Fir insaead the oak for porch floor? I cant tell what it actually is because existing deck wood is painted many coats. Just assumed it is oak.
as far as the vycor. I'm not familiar with that. Is that applied over each joist?
So what you do is blind nail at each joist location/
Porch floor
You don't lay over ply-sure way for the whole shebang to retain moisture and rot out soon.
Stainless cleats - blind nailed to the joists.
Run the boards away from and sloped downward from the house-allowing water to drain. Since you're reframing you should be able to accomodate this.
Seal all sides, cuts and edges b/4 you put it down.
Inside-you can cut the through the underlay and take it all up in smaller pcs. Set your circ saw to depth and do wear eye protection because you'll surely run through staples / nails . Cut up so you've got 3x3' pcs. Pry up, cart off. Is it reasonable to assume you've got asbestos tile or adhesive under there?
You could go over, but depending on the layers of underlay/tile/lino..........might help get your finished height down a bit.
Yeah, i didn't think laying ply would be the way to go, but wanted to ask.
How do you go about sealing all the individual pieces of strip flooring prior to install? Do you lay em' all out on racks or something? I barely have room to set up a work area in this particular location. Very tight packed houses with trees, bushes etc... all over. i would be worried about all the debris from the trees and so forth falling on the coated strips and making a mess. Also it's a lot of strips, probably would cover more space than the small yard itself.
As far as the interior flooring, yes i agree that would be the way to rip up the floor/tile, but i would rather not if the floor can be layed over the tile. I figured an underlayment and then going rihjt over it with the oak flooring. Do you forsee any problems doing this way. I don't want to compromise the installation, but i also don't want to do alot of "unnecessary" work/cost if possible. BTW,height is not an issue.
Is there a better choice of T&G to use on this project than oak strips? The porch is totally covered if that makes a difference.
Mick
Sealing all sides. Buy preprimed (tho I think many times it's pretty sparse). Or figure a way to do enough to lay in one day, spend the remaining couple hours (?) and coat some more ready for tomorrow. Treat cut ends as they come. Don't do this and you'll regret not having done so. Debris or premature problems.
Interior. I wouldn't go over but I'm not you. If you do, I would still screw all the layers at one time to the joists b/4 proceding. Customers hate creaks. Screwing down the subfloor will help minimize them. I would not install yet another layer of underlay. Put down felt or rosin paper as a slip sheet and go to town.
Oak? Interior fine. Exterior...............is it white or red? White oak seems to last (old stuff did, new stuff-jury still out) as window sills, thresholds, trim.............centuries if maintained. Never gave it a thought outside on a porch floor. Beats me.
Red? I wouldn't. Doesn't seem to have what it takes. Quickly and easily turns black when introduced to moisture (put a potted plant on it and water . Watch in horror as the stain appears in a few days. Don't know what that has to do with it, but I've never seen red oak (nor white for that matter) as a porch floor.
Fir, there's also treated southern pine, ipe' , some mahogany's (no experience with them, tho the samples look nice), a few brands of pvc (AKEK) tho not paintable-few colors. These all look like the traditional porch floor.