[shaner123]

in my 1920s home we have hardwood thoughout.. the old floorboard subfloor runs the same direction as the hardwood flooring. at each joint in the subfloor i have a gap of about 2 to 4mm in about 50percent of the flooring (mostly in the high traffic areas). is this typical in older homes? i would imagne that if the boards ran perpendicular to the subflooring this wouldn't have happened.. but im guessing whoever built the place is no longer.. and probably not taking questions..

i know why this is happening.. but is there anything i can do to repair this without tearing out all the flooring and replacing the subfloor?

also.. if i have a loose or extra creaky board.. is there any method of securing it down? without major work...

thanks

 

[Ron6519]

The subfloor should not be going in the same direction as the finished floor. Older houses I've been in the subfloor runs diagonally accross the house so there's no conflict with the finished floor.
You'll need to remove the hardwood anyway. I'd just screw down the current subfloor and go over the top with a plywood. Then put the hardwood back.
Ron

 

[shaner123]

my subfloor IS going in the same direction as the hardwood.. its a problem.. i guess my home is unique.

im hoping to just pull up some boards. and repair under that area.. since most of the hardwood joints are in good shape about 85% of them are decent.. gapped where the subfloor boards are, but still decent.. its only a few areas in high traffic spots that are very problematic...

im really just curious if anyone has encountered this themself and what they did..


thanks guys.

 

[Jim F]

NOt everyone does things the right way in home building. I imagine it was more common for people to build their own houses back in the day without extensive knowlege of home construction. Home construction has become more of a science in more recent years. My sub is 3/4" tongue and groove running diagonally.

 

[Ron6519]

When the two floors run parallel to one another the subfloor movement telegraphs up through the hardwood. The way to eliminate the issue is to isolate the two floors. Since it's localized in your case, you might try screwing the subfloor down, really well to minimzie the subfloor issue. If you can, I 'd try to unitize the floor joists in that area by adding blocking between the framing members.
Ron

 

[shaner123]

thank guys

im going to pull up some of the worst areas, patch up the sub floor and then have a hardwood guy come in to reinstall the boards.

the previous owner of the house must have done some repairs. there are about 12 - 15 dime sized wood plugs in my hardwood.. i seems he must have drilled out a hole, screwed down the plank and inserted a wood plug.

it dosnt look bad, but, is this an accepted way to repair a board? it seems odd to me.

 

[Ron6519]

It's a simplistic repair by someone who didn't understand the whole issue.
Ron