I pulled up the carpet in my boy's room. The floor is not solid.?

Question

It's like floor boards laid at an angle and they have tiny spaces in between them. My intention was to have hard wood floors and throw a decorative rug down...what should be my first move?

Answer 1

Your looking at the sub-floor, In older homes it was common to lay planks at an angle to provide strength and durability. First thing is to make sure there are no sqeeks, walk on the boards (each one) thats over a joist, thats the wood beams that are holding up the floor. screw these down untill everything is solid and squeek proof, then lay down either some "Rosin paper" or "15 lb felt paper" over the sub-floor, i layer is fine, overlap it about 2 inches and staple, this provides a vapor barrier. Then lay your hardwood flooring over this, nail in place and your done. Hardwood flooring is normally 3/4 inch thick planks and comes unfinished or pre-finished. There are quite a few options, laminate flooring is easy to install and floats on the subfloor floor, no nails, no glue. You will need to put down at least a 3/8 inch plywood over the planks however to keep it uniform

Answer 2

What you are most likely describing is "diagonal sheathing". In the days before plywood this was used as the first layer of flooring on top of the floor joists. If you are considering 3/4" thick hardwood, you could probably go over the sheathing "as is". But the thinner types of hardwood floors on the market will require an additional layer of plywood. Check the manufacturers recommendations. The plywood should only be installed after the sheathing as been renailed securely and a layer of rosin paper or 15# roofing felt has been laid over the diagonal sub floor. ( This should eliminate squeaking.) Nail the plywood at 6" intervals with an underlayment nail. The paper and nails are easily found at any home improvement center.


Good luck
email me at [e-mail] if you have any questions.

Jim

Answer 3

Diagonally laid flooring was common when builders were actually laying good quality tongue and groove down while constructing homes. This is common, and it is probably tongue and groove planking. The spaces come with age ,and are the result of the moisture coming out of the wood,resulting in shrinking. This isn't a problem ,
Simple put down a layer of Louan, (a thin plywood) designed for underlayment of hardwood flooring, and acts as a good flat surface for tile also. This material will cover the gaps,and give you the flat,solid surface your looking for.

Answer 4

Sounds like tongue & groove subfloor or flooring. You should first make sure there is hard solid plywood underneath the T&G. If so, you can remove all the t&g and put in new thinner subfloor or use 5/8 if you need strength. You can also just put it over the t&g-problem there may be the door height's etc. Check! Then use floor leveling compound in the cracks, sand it all down (absolutely NO bumps) Check with level here and there, then lay your flooring. Sounds like trouble but worth it if it's your own home.

Answer 5

is the foundation solid? that is your first question. sometimes hardwood is laid on a diagonal for purely aesthetic reasons, so that is really not an issue to the life of the floor. the gaps come with age. if you want to keep the originals, you could see what a restoration expert says. a rug will help cut drafts some but you will still be losing heat and energy through the gaps, not to mention the creepy crawlies!

Answer 6

Tiny spaces will not cause a structural problem for the hardwood floor. You should use a moisture barrier between the hardwood and the sub-floor. I use #30 roofing felt.

Answer 7

Plywood subfloor. Then hardwood.

Answer 8

Get the hardwood installed and work from there.