[janralix]

I have a 35 year old house & want to replace carpeting with 3/4" solid T&G oak hardwood (3-4"). The area involved is about 650 square feet (3 bedrooms & a hallway).

(1) The floor under the carpet appears to be OSB, but may be particle board. Whatever it is, it is on top of plywood & is very solid. Assuming (a) the floor surface is OSB, can the hardwood be installed (nailed or stapled, whichever is proper) directly on the OSB? If not, what has to be done to use the hardwood, or should I consider another wood flooring product? Assuming (b) the floor is particle board...same questions.

(2) Assuming I can install the hardwood directly over the existing floor, one end of the hallway (about 3.5' wide) will butt up against an existing slate floor. The problem here is that the slate is only about 1/4" above the sub-floor, so the 3/4" hardwood will be at least 1/2" higher than the slate. I know there are transition pieces, but are they available, & will they work & look well, for such a height difference?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Just Bill]

Over OSB, yes, over particle board, never.

 

[jomama45]

Like Bill said, & take a look at the subfloor cross section (at heat vent, stairwell, any other holes in floor) to see if the particle is just underlayment. If you have at least 5/8" ply under particle, remove it and have no change on height to the slate.

 

[janralix]

Thanks you two...that helps.

I have determined I have OSB over plywood so I'm assuming I'm good to go with the solid 3/4" hardwood.

Now, assuming I don't want to go to the trouble & expense of ripping out the OSB, I still have the issue of the hardwood being 1/2" higher than the slate it will butt against at the end of the hall.

My main question is now is that 1/2" transition too high to try to overcome with a transition piece? In other words, is a 1/2" height difference too much to try to transition with a 2" or so wide transition piece so as to eliminate any tripping point?

If it is, what other options, if any, do I have?

Thanks...

 

[DannyT]

i would make a transition piece out of a piece of flooring. bevel one side down to the thickness of the tile. if your hardwood runs lenghtwise down the hall you can make your transition piece so the tongues or grooves still fit into it. that is what i did at my sons house and it worked out great and it didnt cost me 20-25 dollars for a ready made transition. if the hardwood runs across the short dimension of the hallway just run the hardwood up to the tile beveling the last piece down to the tile.