question about old hardwood floors

1552 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Ron6519, Apr 21, 2011

shaner123

Discussion Starter · Apr 19, 2011

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

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Ron6519

· #2 · Apr 20, 2011

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

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Ron6519

· #5 · Apr 21, 2011

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

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Ron6519

· #7 · Apr 21, 2011

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

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