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Solid wood subfloor

jwinko | Posted in Construction Techniques on March 24, 2010 11:32am

Hello all,

 

I’m building a new house in Houston, the dimensions are 35 X 80. The house will have a crawl space and I want wood floors throughout.  I had a thought that I could use 2×6 t&g (south yellow pine) for the subfloor and then sand and finish it when we were done.  But then I wondered about expansion/contraction.  The house would be sitting on this floor and the floor would expand & contract with the humidity changes.

Am I right in thinking that this is not a good idea, it would save about $2000 as opposed to an oak floor over plywood.  Hopefully someone had experience with this.  I have an apartment built over a garage that has a 1×6 t&g floor/subfloor and we have had no problems with that.  Many of the old houses used 2″ t&g as a subfloor and there was little problem with that.

 I am thinking that all wood floors do not abutt the baseboard as this is an invitation to having your floor explode.

I appreciate any input that you all might be willing to share.

Thanks

john

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Replies

  1. geoffhazel | Mar 25, 2010 01:51am | #1

    Go for a real floor

    It will save some money now, but down the road i see issues with resale value.    I've seen floors like that and I always think they ran out of money and skipped installing the real floor.

    Oak of course will wear much better than the SYP too.

  2. Marson | Mar 25, 2010 06:38am | #2

    You get what you pay for.

    I've had a couple of experiences with 2 x 6 decking.  The stuff we get is standard kiln dried framing lumber.  Trouble is, framing lumber only has to be something like 20% MC, while wood flooring needs to be something like 8% in my climate.  And even if that isn't a factor in your case, SYP moves quite a bit with changes in humidity, so you are likely going to have some pretty big gaps between your boards.

    Even though you are sanding it after building on it, you would still need to cover it during construction.  What if your framer needs to move a wall; what happens to the nail holes?  How are you going to keep drywall dust/mud from getting in the cracks?  What if someone drops a heavy object on it during framing?  What about protection from rain?  You better like funky.

    $2000 seems like small potatoes to me.  

  3. fingers | Mar 25, 2010 04:35pm | #3

    You might want to try and find Frenchy around here.  He built his house with wood from local sawmills as opposed to factory produced framing lumber.  I'm not sure how he did the subfloors (plywood vs solid) but his input may give you something to think about.

    1. calvin | Mar 25, 2010 07:26pm | #5

      Frenchy is sleeping with the fishes

      in other words he didn't make the transition nor did he turn up on any of the immediate alternative sites.

  4. User avater
    rjw | Mar 25, 2010 06:48pm | #4

    Not all wood species expand and contract at the same rate, and not all slices of the trunk expand and contract the same amount, and, I believe new lumber is said to generally have more expansion/contraction than old growth.

    Other than that, nothin' to worry about....

  5. Scott | Mar 25, 2010 07:36pm | #6

    If you're thinking about having the framing crew lay the T&G, I don't see how this is going to save anything. Compared with slapping down ply, which they are very fast at, they'll be asked to lay T&G, something they're probably unfamiliar with. I think this is a false economy, not to mention the future problems that others have mentioned.

  6. ThumbBanger | Mar 26, 2010 10:25am | #7

    I've done it

    on our summer home in NW Wisconsin.  Pine t&g 2x6 western pine, laid upside down so edges were square, chamfer underneath.  I laid it myself, 2000 square feet, glued and nailed over 2x10 I-joists on 2 foot centers.  Wore out one Bow Wrench.  Boy, is it SOLID!  Some routine damage during framing, graying from water damage, heavily sanded and grouted by a professional who then put down a water based varnish.  Very pretty in a rustic way, which is the general style of my DIY building.  No significant movent in several years of May to November living, but not heated in winter.  Sound penetrates loudly to the basement.

    Really a matter of taste and style.  This is a log home with pine panelled interior walls and ceiing.  If you want tight fit and finish, formal styling, you would probably want something else.  For me, savings in time and cost, lots of fun, wife cut and I nailed.  Did I mention that this is retirment project?

  7. beachcomer | Mar 30, 2013 03:20pm | #8

    Pine 2x6 T&G for both Subfloor & Finish Floor

    I too want to do the same floor. One builder is telling me he can do the entire 2000 sq ft for about $5000. Hafl the price of regular 1.685 T&G Ply with whatever on top (i.e. tile, carpet, laminate or hardwood). The technique is done just as you described and is done frequently in Galveston, TX. What's you take on the cost variable and would you recommend doing anything different?

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