Hardwood flooring over existing hardwood floor
My client wants to install prefinished 3/4″ “wide plank” or 5″ hardwood flooring in the living room, over existing narrow oak flooring. Foyer has been tiled and living room is carpeted “flush” to tile height. Homeowner does not know if living room floor is completly hardwood or might have 3/4″ Fir plwood in one corner from possible water damage.
My questions are: What direction should the new floor be laid, same as existing (length of the room) or 90 degrees to existing? Should I lay 1/2″ plywood and discuss engineered floor with Homeowner? Homeowner wants foor to run the lenght of room, which is the correct direction.
Replies
I'm giving this a bump, as I have almost exactly the same question. The one change is that there is an 3/4" of several layers of linoleum and similar floor on tope of the underlying pine T&G flooring.
Different answers.
To the OP, If you are going to lay plywood over the old floor, and then the new 3/4-inch hardwood, it doesn't matter structurally and I would lay it long ways. If the existing floor is sound, you should still be able to lay the new hardwood long ways.
Leegs, I would remove the sheet flooring, just to get down to the original subfloor to be sure it is really sound. Several layers of sheet flooring, could have lead to trapped water and rot that may not be apparent.
To both of you: the floor has a finite loading capacity. Just adding more on top of what is there can cause long term sag. Particularly in older homes that weren't that well designed to start with.
Leegs
Nailing into 3/4" of luan, masonite and lino is not exactly the prescribed nailing structure. At the least, use longer cleats or staples, which with movement might "hog" out the area around the fastener. Best lay down a thick slipsheet or tarpaper so movment doesn't give up perceptible squeeks.
I've run into thick floors over the years but your sandwich trumps them all I think.
edit: good thing you showed up, the old farmer hasn't been back. Another casualty of this forum's software...............
I've been researching a bit over the past hour (I read fast) and I'm really thinking that floating, i.e. prefinished tongue and groove, glued, might be the best solution. The combination of unstable sandwich over T&G 'subfloor' makes me too nervous.
Thanks
prefinished floating.............
are you talking a click lock engineered floor?
Kaars makes some beautiful product. Their click lock system is nice to work with. Not cheap.
You do need pretty flat though. No dips and rises, or your floor will flex which is not good.
No not quick lock, but rather regular T&G, glued together, and NOT glued to the floor. My thought is that in a kitchen, having a glued joint would be a good thing, in case of spills.