I was looking at a 100 year old house today. The hardwood floors are
buckled quite badly. The floors are located above a crawl space with no
vapor barrier between the ground and the flooring. I'm not even sure if
there is a sublfloor at this point in time. I realize the first thing
to do to attempt to solve this problem would be to install a vapor
barrier over the basement floor to stop the moisture. I also realize
that the floor is not going to magically settle itself once the
moisture problem is solved since nails were likely pulled, boards
warped and whatever else. I'm wondering if anyone has had to deal with
a similar problem during a rehab of an old house and what some possible
solutions might be. I've heard about getting at it with screws from
underneath (if there's a subfloor) and/or nailing screwing from above.
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Geo.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I was looking at a 100 year old house today. The hardwood floors are
buckled quite badly. The floors are located above a crawl space with no
vapor barrier between the ground and the flooring. I'm not even sure if
there is a sublfloor at this point in time. I realize the first thing
to do to attempt to solve this problem would be to install a vapor
barrier over the basement floor to stop the moisture. I also realize
that the floor is not going to magically settle itself once the
moisture problem is solved since nails were likely pulled, boards
warped and whatever else. I'm wondering if anyone has had to deal with
a similar problem during a rehab of an old house and what some possible
solutions might be. I've heard about getting at it with screws from
underneath (if there's a subfloor) and/or nailing screwing from above.
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Geo.

A vapor barrier is the only practical solution for long term stability.

It may not be moisture from below. There is surely building felt
between the subfloor and flooring. That should be all the vapor
barrier you need. If the moisture is that bad in a 100 yr house,
the floor joists and subfloor would be showing rot. Do they?

I know of an old mansion here in the 3 million dollar category
with quarter sawn oak floors. Built by a lumber baron. Beautiful
floor. The new younger owner has them mopped with water because
some stupid shop teacher said she didn't want the floor to get too
dry. Last time I was there the edges were starting to curl but no
contractor knows as much as a shop teacher. G


"Charles Schuler" wrote in
message
wrote in message
oups.com...
I was looking at a 100 year old house today. The
hardwood floors are buckled quite badly. The floors are
located above a crawl space with no vapor barrier
between the ground and the flooring. I'm not even sure
if there is a sublfloor at this point in time. I
realize the first thing to do to attempt to solve this
problem would be to install a vapor barrier over the
basement floor to stop the moisture. I also realize
that the floor is not going to magically settle itself
once the moisture problem is solved since nails were
likely pulled, boards warped and whatever else. I'm
wondering if anyone has had to deal with a similar
problem during a rehab of an old house and what some
possible solutions might be. I've heard about getting
at it with screws from underneath (if there's a
subfloor) and/or nailing screwing from above. Any
advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance. Geo.

A vapor barrier is the only practical solution for long
term stability.

On 11 Oct 2006 15:43:23 -0700, wrote:

I was looking at a 100 year old house today. The hardwood floors are
buckled quite badly. The floors are located above a crawl space with no
vapor barrier between the ground and the flooring. I'm not even sure if
there is a sublfloor at this point in time. I realize the first thing
to do to attempt to solve this problem would be to install a vapor
barrier over the basement floor to stop the moisture. I also realize
that the floor is not going to magically settle itself once the
moisture problem is solved since nails were likely pulled, boards
warped and whatever else. I'm wondering if anyone has had to deal with
a similar problem during a rehab of an old house and what some possible
solutions might be. I've heard about getting at it with screws from
underneath (if there's a subfloor) and/or nailing screwing from above.
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Geo.

Well, all you can really do is try...
You might start by finding someone with whatever that
tool is to measure the moisture content of wood.

Then a vapor barrier and a dehumidifier,
followed by a session with some long flat
soft planks and an 8 pound mallet.

Is the floor buckled because the individual
planks are cupping, or because they've swollen
enough that they're popping each other out to
make room? In the latter case, a skillsaw cut
lengthwise in relatively inconspicuous places
may help. Or taking out every 8th plank,
forcing the rest into place, and resawing
the take-outs to fit.

Whatever you do, you're not likely to end
up with a ballroom quality floor.