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cinnamonsworld_gw

Wood floor and subfloor install after water damage - ?s

cinnamonsworld
13 years ago

Hi. We'll find out in the next couple of weeks the extent of floor and subfloor damage from a water pipe burst that warped our oak floors (visible water never made it inside the house, just under). The first step is a tearout of some of it for moisture (and any mold) mitigation.

We'll be having the wood floors replaced, and it's insurance-covered. Any experience with water that leaves a hallway looking like a terrain map, as to how the subfloors usually fare? What I'm getting at here is wanting to make sure that whatever needs to be done to rip out or repair and perfectly level the subfloor is handled properly prior to any attempt to install wood floors.

Separately, a few questions about hardwood-floor installation, above what I believe is a wood subfloor (above a crawlspace).

- We live in a somewhat humid coastal area of California. One flooring person I casually spoke with expressed concern about putting in new wood floors because of the expansion that happens ... even when letting the wood sit a couple weeks before install. Mentioned some kind of crawlspace fan apparatus that can be installed to regulate humidity.

- Recently walked through a rental house that had carpet atop a wood subfloor and it had kind of an icky hollow flimsy sound. Which made me wonder ... if you like that solid old-school-floor feel ... do you really need to go with thicker wood, like 3/4"? ... or is there a subfloor insulation or something that is what you really need to be considering instead? (We're leaning toward thick real wood stained in place. The wood currently in our house that we're replacing is what's called 'select or better' white and red oak from the 1950s.)

Thanks.

(I separately asked about dark hardwood-flooring recs at the link below.)

Here is a link that might be useful: My question on dark wood recommendations

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