Flooring advice help need please

[chrisasst]

Alright, here is what I have. Very old house. I have these two room, one is right above the other. Right now the floor is T&G. Some spots I had to just remove some because it was not good. So I am thinking instead of trying to find some new T&G boards and patch it up that maybe I should just rip it all up and put ply wood down.
The lower room is right above my basement. Right now the floor is not level in some areas at all.
Also in the lower room there was some water damage and I am somehow going to have to rebuild part of a wall / window area.


What would you do?


Do I need some pics..

.

 

[Jags]

Yes, pics please. Repairing water damage can be a real pain. If I can make a suggestion, do what ya gotta do to get down to the bare components (studs, plates, joists, etc). Start there and build it back up.

 

[chrisasst]

this is the lower room where most of the problems are.
Crap, cant get those two pictures any lighter.

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[Jags]

Zoinks!! You gotta allotta stuff going on there.

Being that the T & G isn't an ornate part of the flooring and is simply a subflooring, my opinion is - it wouldn't bother me to pull it if it will make the whole job easier. As a flooring material it would typically have the joints staggered. As a subfloor it appears that they didn't care.

 

[Hogwildz]

Why not put T&G plywood over top of the existing? Or just patch in where the wood is bad and then plywood over that.
No sense making more work than need be.

The out of level floor may have issues beneath causing such.
Check all the floor joists and make sure they are not cracked, broken, sagging etc.
The floor can only be as level as the supporting structure below.

Be careful of the plaster in those walls, it may contain asbestos.
Walls look to be 2 x 4 construction. While you have them gutted, might want to consider building them out to 2 x 6 and insulating well. Will make a drastic improvement.

 

[chrisasst]

Why not pout T&G plywood over top of the existing? Or just patch in where the wood is bad and then plywood over that.
No sense making more work than need be.

The out of level floor may have issues beneath causing such.
Check all the floor joists and make sure they are not cracked, broken, sagging etc.
The floor can only be as level as the supporting structure below.

Be careful of the plaster in those walls, it may contain asbestos.
Walls look to be 2 x 4 construction. While you have them gutted, might want to consider building them out to 2 x 6 and insulating well. Will make a drastic improvement.

I am worried about the weak spots in the floor if I put plywood over top of the existing. Less work would definitely be nice. Just trying to do it so it is save and no one falls through.
In the bottom picture where that seem is, the part leads to the mud room. Looks like they poured the concrete higher than that floor so they just made a "hill" there. IDK, alot of things in my house I don't understand why they did it the way it is.

 

[Bret Chase]

I am worried about the weak spots in the floor if I put plywood over top of the existing. Less work would definitely be nice. Just trying to do it so it is save and no one falls through.
In the bottom picture where that seem is, the part leads to the mud room. Looks like they poured the concrete higher than that floor so they just made a "hill" there. IDK, alot of things in my house I don't understand why they did it the way it is.

unless you're putting ceramic tile on it... just go over the whole thing with 3/4" T&G Huber Advantek... and worry about it no further.

and btw.... you're house isn't *that* old.... at least you've got straight lath. half of my house had riven lath....

your pics do remind me of the dining room remodel... lol

 

[chrisasst]

What should I do with the 8"-11" gap between the floor and wall. I got to put something there to help the strength of any new floor right?

 

[Bret Chase]

advantek normally spans 16" with a 3/4 thickness. you do need to support the edge, and vacuum out all that debris. best case is landing it on the sill. the floor would be the strongest it has ever been.

I would also recommend a vapor barrier between the existing subfloor and the new advantek... or U/L plywood

 

[chrisasst]

What would you do where the "separation" / seem is where it is unlevel?

 

[Bret Chase]

What would you do where the "separation" / seem is where it is unlevel?

it all depends on the how/where/why on the lack of level. an old house is a piece of furniture, and must be treated as such. there will be places where it can be pushed back into place, and places it can't.

to really answer your question I'd have to see it with my own eyes... pictures can only tell me so much.