Replies

1. 
   RogerMartini | Jun 19, 2002 01:32pm | #1

   Makes a bit of a change, doesn't it?  Nice work.  What finish did you choose?

   Close enough for government work
1. 
   luvmuskoka | Jun 19, 2002 01:40pm | #2

   Roger, Thanks.

   This floor has 1 coat of Bona Seal and 3 coats of Mega semi-gloss, with a 220 machine sanding before the last coat. Being a top nail floor I couldn't get very aggressive with the sanding process. The material is only 5/16" and sanding too deep will take the nail heads off, ruining the floor.

   This is 300 sq.ft. of about 1500 sq. ft. of historic top nail.

2. 
   River19 | Jun 19, 2002 03:20pm | #3

   Looks real nice.  I like the boarder.....adds some interest.

   SJ

   Know a little about alot and alot about little.
1. 
   KenFishe1 | Jun 22, 2002 03:14pm | #4

   Rich:

   Forgive me if I got your name wrong.  Being in Florida one would expect we don't see many floors of that age.  How was the border attached? Top nailed too?

   Ken Fisher

1. 
   Floorman | Jun 23, 2002 12:41am | #5

   Ken,

    Have you ever installed a floating subfloor for a 3/4 nail down? If so, I have questions. GW

1. 
   KenFishe1 | Jun 23, 2002 01:43am | #6

   Hey Greg:

   Where have you been? I haven't personally done it but have known some to do it. What is it you need to know?  Maybe I can help.

   Ken Fisher

1. 
   Floorman | Jun 23, 2002 05:31am | #7

   What you talk'n bout bro, I was wondering where YOU went. This job I am on is 7,054 sf of 3/4 x 1 1/2 wide Common Red Oak over existing subfloors upstairs and floating subfloor over concrete downstairs. We used vinyl over the concrete first after $5K of concrete grinding to level, then volara foam. Two sheets of 1/2" CDX screwed 8" on center. We had to score the sheets half through the plywood twice down the length and three times across the sheets to make them lay flat. Then we put 15 lb. felt and started to staple with 1 1/2"s the 1 1/2 wide floor into it. The "problem" if I am having one is that if you leave an area of flooring that has been nailed down for a few days without continuing the install the next day,  is that it tends to drop down about 1/2" below the rest of the floor about a foot back from where you previously stopped. I am wondering if that is going to level out when I continue the floor at a later date, like a week or so. I have a few areas like this. The association seems to think that they will flaten out with some acclimation. It is not their #### though. I know that David Trodal does these type of installs in Montana, but I don't know how to get ahold of him. Also the floor seems to be lifting off of the floor down hallways and other narrower areas. I have a rep comming to see it on Monday. The owner of the house hasn't said a thing, That's Frank Sinatra.  Maybe this is just the way it is with floating subs, but I thought that it would lay flatter once the weight of the floor was nailed down. GW 

2. 
   KenFishe1 | Jun 23, 2002 05:59am | #8

   One and one half inch strip? Glad I'm not there...LOL.  I really don't know what to say Greg.  The only floating subfloor I've seen was two layers of 3/4" cdx, which adds ALOT more weight and no foam was used under it. What was the reasoning behind this type of subfloor?

   Ken Fisher..

   btw, check my pics out.  I feel like I'm the only one looking at them.View Image

3. 
   Floorman | Jun 23, 2002 06:16am | #9

   This is the standard method of doing a floating subfloor with the exception of the vinyl and volara foam. The standard is to screw 12" on center. GW

2. 
   luvmuskoka | Jun 26, 2002 05:37am | #10

   Ken,

   The old topnail borders were fabricated in shops. The pieces were cut out from patterns and glued to tambour cloth or canvass, folded up and shipped in wooden crates. Once on the job they were simply unfolded and nailed down. The field was then layed between the borders. Very few of these floors exist in any kind of usable form today. Most only have one good sanding in them as it's easy to begin knocking the nail heads off with an aggressive cut.

    I found out too late that a few hundred of these boxes were recently auctioned at an old wharehouse near Erie. The auctioneer had a hard time selling them as noone was really sure what they were.

   Rich

1. 
   KenFishe1 | Jun 26, 2002 06:01am | #11

   "The pieces were cut out from patterns and glued to tambour cloth or canvass.."  Sounds similiar to todays "web back" herringbone and similiar patterns that are glued to the subfloor.