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unique problem with hardwood floor

4K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  jgipp 
#1 ·
Hi everyone! I'm new here and I have quite an odd problem. I am replacing the old hardwood floor in my living room at the moment and I have run into a couple of problems which I fixed but one that I am at a loss with.

The old hardwood floor seems to have been installed UNDER the walls, or at very least under the thick plaster. I can not pull the boards out from under the wall, no way, no how. They are stuck. So I figured I'd cut the boards as close to the wall as I could, but still leave them ending on a floor joist, just in case. I then laid 3/4" plywood thinking it would just level out with the old hardwood (I know it's 1/32" under 3/4" but I thought the underlayment would make up for that). That being done I have found out that my assumption was wrong. The hardwood is anywhere from 1/8" high to level with the new subfloor. I tried taking a belt sander to it but that just made it wavy, which doesn't really help things.

I was thinking of just layering up the underlayment, or using the sound dampener stuff for laminate flooring to try and bring up the wood I'm going to lay.

Any advise on this would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
#5 ·
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n313/whitey211/floor.jpg

Sorry it's not a very good picture but I think you can get the idea. It's like this the entire way around my living room and hallway (where I'm installing the new hardwood floor). Like I said it's about 1/8" difference. Could I use the foam underlayment meant for laminate flooring and layer it up a couple times? I think that could make up the difference in height but I'm not sure it would be a good idea.
 
#7 ·
I was thinking of doing that with a reciprocating saw and a long blade that I could bend slightly to go flush with the wall. The problem is I have a lot of doors to go around in the hallway. So what I was thinking was lay roofing shingles to cover the subfloor in the hallway since it's pretty narrow (less then the length of a shingle) and cut flush against the wall in the living room.

Picture of the hallway (with dog for scale...he just really wanted his picture taken). The living room is to the left, where the baby gate is.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n313/whitey211/hallway.jpg

Thanks for the help!
 
#9 ·
#15 ·
rent an edger

rent an edger from Home depot . And get a bunch of 36 grit sand paper ,Let the wheels of the edger ride on the flat part of the lower flooring . Then keep it moving as this is a fast tool , A belt sander is way to slow , Then turn it off the higher flooring to the lower flooring [while sanding ] Turn the edger off the higher flooring to the lower flooring as a test , DO NOT sand it this way , Turning it off is just a test to see when it sands flat , If the sand paper doesn't touch for a long gap then work the upper part more , then do a test turn untill it gets pretty flat , DO NOT !!!!! put a bunch of floating underlayment under the floor IF IT IS NAIL DOWN !!.If you are installing a floating floor You May get away with extra underlayment , But it will flex at the joints and MAY wear the lock joint out , If It is nail down and you bring in up with roof shinglles I think you could get away with it .,. I have done this in a low spot , But not a whole floor , tacomahardwoodfloors.com
 
#16 ·
Grinder

Diamond blade on a 3 1/2 inch grinder. We bought it for grinding flex off concrete, a 6 inch grinder proved better for whole rooms, but the small one worked pretty well for removing just enough doorjamb for tile, lot better than a doorjamb saw. Used it a few times for taking out some other wood. Smokes a bit, but does the job.
 
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