After having a number of execs come out and have a look at the house gymnasium ground to find out what the issue was, all of us appeared to agree that there was injury to not solely the hardwood flooring, but in addition injury to the subfloor. Everybody appeared to agree that there’s no manner the ground could possibly be that badly broken, with such extreme hills and valleys within the ground, with out the subfloor additionally being affected.
So think about my shock after they took up the hardwood flooring, and I noticed that the subfloor was really in fairly good condition for a 76-year-old home.
The subfloor was precisely what I had anticipated. It was comprised of random widths of lumber, from 1 x 6’s to 1 x 10s, with tons and many knot holes. However there was no injury in any respect. Nothing was warped, and there’s not a single little bit of water injury wherever to be discovered.
As I suspected, there wasn’t any sort of moisture barrier on this room. That’s an actual thriller to me. Why wouldn’t there be a moisture barrier between the subfloor and hardwood flooring in there? I do know for a reality there was one (tar paper) between the unique flooring and the subfloor within the hallway. I do know for a incontrovertible fact that there’s tar paper between the unique flooring and the subfloor in the lounge, entryway, and music room. So why was there no tar paper in right here? Was the flooring on this room changed in some unspecified time in the future, and so they forgot to switch the tar paper earlier than putting in the brand new flooring?
There have been solely two small areas within the room that had a moisture barrier of any form, and that’s as a result of I put them down. First, there was this small space within the entrance to the room. When the wall with the door was moved additional into the hallway, that created an extended entrance into the room, and I needed to fill in some hardwood flooring. Earlier than I did that, I put down some tar paper. However that solely prolonged about three toes into the room.
After which I put down some Tyvek paper within the closet space earlier than I put the flooring in there. I didn’t use actual flooring in there, although. I used leftover MDF to fill in the place there was no flooring. However that labored out tremendous due to the moisture barrier.
I used to be additionally very curious to see what the subfloor would seem like underneath that one ground board that gave the impression to be deteriorating over time. This ground board was such a thriller to me. It wasn’t termite injury. There’s no proof of any termite injury wherever. So what was it? Water injury? Some kind of unusual fungus? I don’t know what it was, however it was inflicting this one ground board to show to mud.
I forgot to get an image earlier than they introduced all of their instruments in and positioned them alongside that wall, however there was no injury to the subfloor underneath that board. I couldn’t consider it.
So after all the flooring was taken up and cleared out of the room, I had a couple of minutes after I doubted the plan to take up and change the subfloor. No, this subfloor isn’t what’s used in the present day, however this factor has withstood 76 years. And 76-year-old lumber is complete totally different factor from in the present day’s lumber. It’s tougher and stronger and simply total higher.
However ultimately, I made a decision to stay with the unique plan and have the subfloor eliminated and changed. I don’t like being wasteful, and I don’t like redoing issues of this scale only for the sake of redoing them. (This goes far past simply repainting a wall, and creates an entire lot extra waste.) However my important cause for sticking with the plan is in order that we are able to have an insulated ground.
Since this room goes to be our remaining and ceaselessly bed room, I need it performed proper, and I need it to be as cozy as potential. So I would like insulation underneath the ground, and the one manner to do this is to take up the subfloor and change it. Our crawl house is manner too cramped to get insulation underneath there every other manner.
And actually, it will be good to switch this lumber with all the knot holes with one thing extra stable.
This subfloor not solely has a number of large knot holes, however it additionally has some fairly vital cracks.
A lot of the cracks haven’t affected the integrity of the boards…but. However I simply don’t like the concept of getting these large cracks within the subfloor. This one particularly runs proper by way of the center of the room.
There’s actually just one space the place a crack has compromised the integrity of the board, and it simply occurs to be proper right here on the doorway to the lavatory. In order that’s not good in any respect. I can really really feel it give somewhat bit when step on it, and it now not sits flush with the board subsequent to it.
So ultimately, I made a decision to maintain with the unique plan and have all of it changed in order that we are able to have a comfy insulated ground and a extra stable subfloor with out cracks or knot holes. I feel that when winter will get right here, I’ll be glad I made a decision to stay with that plan.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and adorn the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
