How to protect flooring from steam pipe
I’m replacing a section of punky flooring in a 1924 apartment, and there’s a steam pipe that runs very close to the sub floor (basically touching it.) The original 1X4 slat sub floor was crispy, warped and failing. I want to replace it with a good plywood sub-floor, then install new oak T&G. Should I try to isolate the sub-floor from the steam pipe? How?
(This was posted in “general construction” also.)
Replies
Cookie Sheet
See if you can move things enough to let you put a pice of aluminum in there as a heat shield / dissipator.
Last one I did I used an old aluminum cookie sheet I bought at the thrift store.
Some cookie sheets are even double-thickness, kind of like what I was talking about in the other thread.
Even with some sort of heat shield, any space enclosed with an uninsulated steam pipe in it is going to dry the air in that space along with any materials that enclose it. Not that a shield would make things worse; I just don't see the advantage.
Your idea of using plywood for the sub floor is good--it will be more stable thru moisture cycling than solid wood, and since it does not have the gaps that the strips did, it will do a better (but not perfect) job of protecting the oak flooring laid over it.
Aluminum is a poor radiator - use that to your advantage. Use two layers of aluminum - not touching - to keep heat from radiating from one surface to the other.