On Feb 9, 11:37 pm, aemeijers wrote:
HeyBub wrote:
DairyGodmotherwrote:
HI group,

I bought a house built in 1925 which has oak floors. They are not in
the best shape, with cracks and weak spots (funny the home inspection
didnt really call it out as a problem). Additionally, it has been
refinished as many times as it can take so we are going to replace
it. There is no subfloor, however. My question is: could you have
the new floor installed right on top of the old floor (making it
become the subfloor) or would you just have both installed brand new?
Or just a new floor without a subfloor?

This is for two rooms on the ground floor that is over a basement.
Currently we hear the boiler and see through cracks, so I'd like
something very sound and as sealed as possible. Not married to any
particular type of wood so if one type is better I'd love to hear
about that too.

Thanks in advance to this very generous group!

Consider laminate flooring with a sound dampening underlayment. It can be
easily installed over your existing floor. Squeaks and "mushiness" should,
of course, be dealt with while you can access both sides of the floor.

Laminate is UGLY, doubly so in an older house- it just looks WRONG.
Can't say for sure without seeing it, but old floor would probably work
fine as a subfloor. Fix the squeaks and any mushy spots, and shop around
for a deal on real hardwood, preferably something narrow to fit with the
age of the house. I find it hard to believe there is NO subfloor, unless
the place had an abandoned remodel. House of that vintage would usually
have 1x4 or 1x6 plank, nailed at 45 degrees to the joists. OP, where are
you? There were different practices in different areas.

--
aem sends...

i dont like laminate either - though it technicaaly would solve the
problem. there is definitely no subfloor. we are in stamford, ct and
its a 2-story bungalow-type (thats what we would have called it in
california - i assume same here). it seems bizarre to me to be
walking on hardwood floor planks with cracks to the basement. i think
in summer when we bought it the cracks werent as apparent due to more
moistue. and like i said the inspector didnt call out any structural
problem i just dont trust it long-term now that i've lived here for 8
months and have a baby jusy jonesing to crawl in 3-4 months.