I need advise on installing 6″ and 8″ wide river recovered heart pine flooring.Floor will be edge nailed with flooring staples. The board lengths vary from 5′ to 8’and they are t&g but not on the ends,square cut. The subfloor is advantech over 16″ engineered trusses laid out on 19.25″ centers. This floor is over a finished basement, boards will be laid perpendicular to the floor trusses. My question is what type of vapor barrier-rosin paper, 15 lb felt, 30 lb felt or none at all. Also should I biscuit the butt joints, face nail or not at all?
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Replies
IMO there has not been anything come along that beats the rosin paper. (this should get some response).
The width of the boards may be an issue if humidity is a problem in the area or part of the country that the flooring is being installed. In Florida, we rarely use much over 2" wide boards. Due to the humidity they will cup.
I put down 8" heart pine (not river reclaimed though). I stickered it for a month taking moisture readings until it was stabilized. I used 15# felt and spline jointed all ends. After a year I saw a little gapping, but they are disappearing again as the humidity increases.
Why did you use felt instead of rosin paper?
In the dozens of floors I've installed over the years, I've almost always used felt. I think it is more durable and offers more vapor/moisture protection than rosin. This has been discussed here in the past so if you search the archives you can here differing views.