Flooring question

Tom Niemi

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Plainwell, Michigan
Well my kitchen is down to the bare walls and floors, getting set to level up a low spot prepping to start the hard wood floor tomorrow morning. Decide to lay out a couple rows of flooring to aid in my visual on levelness. Then at the bottom of the box of flooring is the instructions so I take a look at them and there are the words I did NOT want to see....."DO NOT INSTALL OVER PRESSED WOOD OR FIBERBOARD" :eek::eek::eek: OK my sub floors are MDF ie: Fiberboard:bang: So what is next? Pull the entire floor up and put down T & G plywood? Put plywood over existing floor? Can I put hardwood over the MDF? Man I knew something would come up but.............DANG! So lay on the ideas, suggestions, Etc.

Thanks all

Tom
 
This seems to contradict what you just read....

"Then attach ¾-inch plywood or OSB (oriented stranded board) to the “joists” with 1-5/8-inch drywall screws for a tight, secure fit. Hardwood flooring can then be installed over the new subfloor using staples or nails, depending on the manufacture’s requirements."

Read more at Suite101: Wood Flooring: Benefits and Limitations: Some Flooring Types Work Better in Certain Areas than Others http://www.suite101.com/content/wood-flooring-benefits-and-limitations-a152200#ixzz11QkOexMH
 
I have never heard of not laying wood flooring over osb flooring. Over 80% of the new homes going up around here use osb sub floors and hardwood flooring goes right over it. I have installed many floors over the past 15 years and never had one persone complain of problems. The only time there might be a issue is if the floor been soaked by water. This will cuase issues with nails holding. This is why staples(extra length) come in handy.
 
Thanks Don and Al and your both correct. OSB is one of the acceptable sub floors on their sheet but my sub floor is MDF, wood burger, poor/no nail holding.
Well after stewing all night I have decided the MDF needs to go:( I have a laser level coming later today so when the MDF is removed I will level the floor and put a new sub floor down of either ply or OSB. Sure was hoping to be laying hard wood today.
 
Tom, Never seen MDF used for sub floor. If you are going thru the steps to replace it, then maybe you can shoot a line once the flooring is off and level the joist. Then when the sub floor goes back down it will be flat. Have fun.:wave:
 
Tom, Never seen MDF used for sub floor. If you are going thru the steps to replace it, then maybe you can shoot a line once the flooring is off and level the joist. Then when the sub floor goes back down it will be flat. Have fun.:wave:
Its most likely particle board Al, but hamburger just the same. It's half gone and crumbled in many places when pulling. Remove and replace was definitely the correct way:) Man this kind of physical labor wasn't made for fat, out of shape, old boys like me:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
I install vinyl tiles over a chip board and found out the hard way how many HIGH SPOTS the sub flooring had
 
Its most likely particle board Al, but hamburger just the same. It's half gone and crumbled in many places when pulling. Remove and replace was definitely the correct way:) Man this kind of physical labor wasn't made for fat, out of shape, old boys like me:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I don't envy you Tom...I'm hoping to walk upright again this week after putting down flooring last weekend. You've probably got two layers of particle board as it was used for quite a while for sub flooring, usually two sheets thick. :lurk:
 
SLC

I also have done this and it is just not fun. One thing to remeber, even after you put in a new sub floor is you may still have some areas that you want more level. HD carries self leveling compounds for wood and concrete.


Good fortune


JIM
 
Tom years ago we would use partical board for sub floors, but we would always put 1/2 ply first. so i'm guessing you will find ether 1 bys under that PB or 1/2 or 5/8 ply under it.
Now if i was doing this i would use sturdy floor in place of that PB.Check the thickness of a piece of the stuff you take out, if you can find a spot that ain't bad and get your self the same thickness sturdy floor. Sturdy floor is nothin but a good quilty ply made just for a 2 floor system. Just ask at your dealer and they should know what your talking about.
As i've never built anything in MI they might call it something else like ac ply or the like but it's the same thing. I've built homes in NY,PA,KY, TN, TX,and NM and in all them states we called it sturdyfloor. Hope this helped and if i could i'd come on over and do it for ya for free.:(
Steve
 
Its most likely particle board Al, but hamburger just the same. It's half gone and crumbled in many places when pulling. Remove and replace was definitely the correct way:) Man this kind of physical labor wasn't made for fat, out of shape, old boys like me:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I am a little late on this Tom, but I had to remove the 1/2" thick MDF they laid down in my kitchen (which had linoleum on it) in order to install my wood floors. Mostly it was because the height did not match up to the rest of the floor I was doing. Whoever had put the mdf down had glued and shot a zillion staples in it. I am not exaggerating. They must given this job to some idiot, as there was staple after staple. Combine that with the crumble nature of mdf and it was an ordeal. I had to use chisels to get all of it removed. It was brutal! I understand exactly what you are going through!!!
 
Thanks for the ideas all:thumb: been a busy day yesterday and today, pulled all the old sub floor and got all new laid today, actually finished up about a half hour ago. My wifey was a great help and stuck with me through out:thumb: Even Larry swung buy to check up on me and helped me by re wiring a light that I......AH.........cut the wire with my sawzall:p Thanks bud for holding the laughter till after you left:rolleyes::rofl::rofl::rofl:. And Jim welcome to the forum, good to have you:thumb: and yes I have a bag of self leveling compound just in case:) And pics will follow but I am worn out and am ready to rest up as tomorrow we start with the hard wood flooring:thumb:
 
I am a little late on this Tom, but I had to remove the 1/2" thick MDF they laid down in my kitchen (which had linoleum on it) in order to install my wood floors. Mostly it was because the height did not match up to the rest of the floor I was doing. Whoever had put the mdf down had glued and shot a zillion staples in it. I am not exaggerating. They must given this job to some idiot, as there was staple after staple.

Actually it sounds like it was installed right for lino. Glued and stapled 4" on center both ways.:thumb::thumb:
For carpet you could skip the glue and move the nails/staples out to 8" to 12" centers:thumb::thumb:
 
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Tom, flooring nailers do not go thru self lever to well. It will crumble and/or bend the nail. This why I always try to level the joist befor the sub floor goes down.
 
Actually it sounds like it was installed right for lino. Glued and stapled 4" on center both ways.:thumb::thumb:
For carpet you could skip the glue and move the nails/staples out to 8" to 12" centers:thumb::thumb:

I would have been ecstatic if it was only every 4". Try about every half inch along the joist line. In places he had about 6 staples per inch. I am telling you someone was bored or an idiot, maybe a bored idiot.
 
Tom, although I'm not familiar with the way you build your houses there, I've put some wood flooring here, and what we do here no matter if what is going to under it is concrete, chipboard, or whatever, is to put a sheet of plastic all over and then a sheet of about 3mm. (0.11"). That prevents any moisture coming up from the basement and absorbs any imperfections plus dampens the steps on it.

Obviously this is what we define as "floating" floor, and may not be what you are going to put at all.
 
Toni, here we have basements under the house. So Toms floor is probably spanned across joists that reast on the basement walls. We have a pad that can be put under the flooring, but i know for sure my idiots who build my house did not use it. Not only that they did not leave expansion room along the edges for the hardwood to move. So at times the oak lifts and bows. Boy for a new house we sound like the house of the creaking floors.

I am getting very close to the point of lifting everything up. :(

Toms right in doing it himself. At least he knows what hes getting.
 
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