Question regarding hardwood floor installation:
My subfloor has 1 1/8″ T&G plywood over 4″ x 8″ floor joists spaced 4′ on center. (I guess the inspector was on vacation when my house was built.) The floor does have a slight bounce to it when walked on. I have read “Don Bollinger’s Book, “Hardwood Floors, Laying, Sanding and Finishing” and he mentions installing an underlayment.
I was planning on installing 3/4″ solid Brazilian Cherry (with nails) with a layer of roofing felt under the wood. Should I install some type of underlayment or would it be better to install some additional support under the subfloor? I’m worried that an underlayment might raise the finished floor height too much. Maybe I don’t need to add anything.
Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks!!
Replies
Your 1-1/8" subfloor would be positively bombproof on 24" centers. I'd put in a second set of joists between the existing ones and go from there.
Formerly BEMW at The High Desert Group LLC
Bruce,
Thank you for your response. I have been waiting for the rain to stop before I crawl under the house. I had a question regarding pier blocks. Should I build a concrete base for the blocks or can I just place them directly on the soil? Any information you can provide would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!!
You should put the piers on a concrete foundation, and the foundation must be on undisturbed soil, below the frost line.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
What did I miss? You seem to have jumped a beat from flooring and underlayment with new joists right to piers on the ground. The joists should be hung from the perimeter and acrossa center beam if the span is great.
The suggestion for an underalyment is based on more typical frame materials and spacings. With 24"oc spacing, the 1-1/8" is fine, it would actually provide more strength than typical 5/8" plywood and 1/2" PB underlayment added together to give the same 1-1/8"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I was wondering about adding additional support to my subfloor. I need to lay hardwood and tile. I was thinking about only adding one joist for the hardwood.
What about for tile? My joist are spaced 4 feet apart with 1 1/8" plywood. I know that I need to add more support for the tile, but how much. Should I add a joist in the middle (@ 24" apart) or add two (@ 16" apart) between the existing joists?
What about engineered lumber? I heard that you should not mix engineered and sawed lumber together.
Thanks,
Henry
You better talk to the tile guy to determine that. You don't want any flex under tile whereas wood is more forgiving.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!