engineered hardwood floor over old hardwood floor
Hi everyone
My house needs a big renovation, and i am planning to change the floors.
I am planning to put new engineered hardwood floor in the hallway, new carpet in the bedroom and living room, and new tile in the kitchen.
current situation: There are solid hardwood floor in the living room, bedroom, and hallway. The hardwood floors are level and plumb to each other in these three areas.
i have attached some pictures here.
Question 1a: After installing the carpets in the living room and bedroom, the carpet itself would be half an inch higher then the hallway(without the new hardwoodfloor on the hallway). Should i place the new hard wood floor over the old hard wood floor on the hallway? or should i take away the old hardwood floor and rise the subfloor a bit higher ,then put the new hardwoodfloor on it.
Question 1b: should i use those interlocking-edge hardwood floor in this project?
Question 2: The other problem i am facing is that i have a water tank heater in the hallway. should i leave the old hardwood floor pieces alone around the heater? and glue new pieces on it around the heater?
Question 3: The other reason why i want to rise the subfloor in the hallway is because i want to put tile in the kitchen. Right now, the kitchen's floor (without cement board and tile) is level and plumb to the hallway. And i believe after installing cementboard and tile in the kitchen, the floor in the kitchen would be atleast 3/4 inch higher than the hallway.
so overall, what i am trying to achieve here is that i would like to keep all the floor at the same height as much as possible.
Thank you for reading this.
Any help would be great.
Comments (14)
somuchto1earn
8 years ago
weedyacres
8 years agoRelated Discussions
100+ year old hardwoods need replacing--engineered vs hardwood
Comments (4)Wood vs. Engineered Wood? No contest in this case. If the home was built in 1905, put real hardwood in. This preserves the integrity of the home's building materials. Plus, as you can see from the age of these floors, higher grades (i.e. thicker) hardwood can be sanded several times; you usually don't get even one chance to sand engineered wood. The hardwood layer at the top of this multilayered product is simply too thin. Level Floors and Subfloors There are ways to level a subfloor, ranging from replacing parts of the subfloor with thicker or thinner sheets of plywood (or planks, see below), to pour-on leveling compounds that harden to make the entire floor level. What you use to level uneven areas depends on what the subflooring is. If it is plywood or concrete, the compound works. But more likely with this home, on floors at or above grade, there will be wood planks laid at a diagonal across the floor joists. So in your home, the layers were probably joists first, then subfloor planks of wood, then hardwood with tongue & groove joints. You cannot effectively use a pour-on leveling compound on a plank subfloor, as there are cracks between the planks. However, you can lay a new hardwood floor directly on a wood plank subfloor as long as those planks are sound and relatively level. Replace individual planks that have been damaged by water or insects, are otherwise compromised, or even missing (it happens!), with either new planks of lumber, or with plywood of the same thickness as the planks. Any lumber you install, for either the subfloor or finished flooring, should be brought in to your home several days prior to installation, so the materials acclimatize to your typical interior temperature and humidity. Unlike for ceramic or porcelain tile, the subfloor does not have to be perfectly level. And unlike vinyl sheeting, planks or tiles, the hardwood won't "telegraph" minor differences in height, and minor surface irregularities, so the subfloor doesn't have to be absolutely perfect; it should be sound, strong, uniform and essentially level. Your flooring contractor can give you specifics on what upgrades your subfloor may need once the original hardwood is removed. Joists If the floor is significantly not level in parts, or if certain areas feel spongy when you walk on them, I recommend you have your flooring contractor, a home inspector, or structural engineer inspect the subflooring and especially the floor joists. You don't want to invest in a new floor, only to have it become damaged because some joists weren't attended to. Transitions Transitions (a.k.a. thresholds or molding) between existing rooms and the new floor ought to be made of the same wood and same finish (stain, polyurethane, etc.) as the new flooring you are putting down. As wood ages, the finish becomes darker, so trying to make the transitions match the finishes of existing floors is very difficult and not recommended (what will match those floors right now won't match later after your transitions age up a bit). Eventually, the transitions wouldn't match either the new or the old floors! Transitions come in four types: reducer (when the two floors being joined are of different heights), seam binder (when the floors are the same height, and the boards from each are very close to one another), T-mold (when the two floors are the same height, but there is a crack between the two rooms' flooring) and stair nose or stair edger (when the flooring needs to curve around the front of a stair's "tread"--the flat part of a stair upon which you tread!). The transitions for your particular project can be ordered when you order the hardwood, so make sure to include measurements for those doorways/entrances. The contractor can tell you if he/she anticipates there will be a height difference or gap between the floorings, which would require those particular transitions. Dry Air Concerns Consult a local lumber supplier or flooring contractor familiar with your local climate conditions to discuss finishes or other tips for keeping your wood floors healthy in the dry winters. Sounds wonderful! Have fun!...See Morehardwood vs engineered hardwood vs vinyl?
Comments (9)Definitely choose wood. Vinyls are great, however, for resale value, wood is the absolute best ROI especially for the main living areas. You can choose an engineered or solid- whichever makes most sense. We are able to provide engineered HW that can be sanded and refinished just as many times as solid. If the wear and tear is something you are worried about, consider choose a floor that has a reclaimed look with a strong grain pattern and saw markings that can hide many of the scratches and discrepancies that will happen over time. If that specific design isn't your style, consider a light color floor. Oiled floors are a decent choice because fixing superficial scratches are relatively easy. Oaks are good because of their graining and if kept a light color- will be able to disguise many of the scratches. You can ALWAYS sand and refinish your floors a few years down the line if needed. Plus, when you go to sell and the floors have been lived on- they can be sanded and finished for the new buyer. A vinyl floor will need to be replaced. Hardwood is more expensive at the moment, but they actually end up paying for themselves years down the line with the proper care and maintenance. Or you can choose wood in the dining and great room and a tile in the kitchen. SJ McCarthy has a good recommendation for hickory and oak. Another option is Character Maple(make sure it is hard maple). If you really want to be bold- go for Brazilian Pecan. :)...See MoreCan I float 3/8" engineered hardwood over solid hardwood?
Comments (1)Go for it. I would throw down some 3mm or 6mm cork underlay down (it floats just like the hardwood) and then float the hardwood. Use a high-quality joint glue on the hardwood and you should be fine. Besides...if it gives up the ghost in 10 years, would you be upset?...See MoreEngineered hardwood over hardwood
Comments (0)We have red oak floors covered with carpet in our living room in our 50 year old ranch. That room opens up to our dining/kitchen area which is sheet vinyl on a subfloor (placed over old vinyl.) We were wanting to do glued down engineered hardwood over the entire area and the hallway. The guy who measured said we could put a subfloor over the hardwood to bring it up to the level of the vinyl. Sounded easy. Now the installer says we need to remove all the old hardwood and vinyl and do new subfloor over all of it. Who is right? Is a floating installation an easier/better option?...See Moreweedyacres
8 years agoglennsfc
8 years agoglennsfc
8 years agosomuchto1earn
8 years agosomuchto1earn
8 years agosomuchto1earn
8 years agoweedyacres
8 years agosomuchto1earn
8 years agoweedyacres
8 years agosomuchto1earn
8 years agoweedyacres
8 years agoDo you have a close-up photo of the edge of the hardwood before you put the plywood down? It looks, from this photo below, that there's something supporting the hardwood flooring. But i can't tell if it's a perpendicular joist or some 1x6s or something.
Another reason I think you've got a subfloor is that the plywood you added is lower than the rest of the floor, so it means the total thickness is >3/4".
Did you/can you pull up a board in the hall to see if it's got a subfloor under it or if it's directly on the joists?
weedyacres