Floor prep two

Hello all. When it came time to start laying floor we were lucky that we had a mostly clean slate on which to work, at least upstairs. The previous owners had never done anything beyond paint the plywood subfloor.

One thing we did have to do was to undercut the door frames because we would be raising the height of the floor 3/4 of an inch at the thresholds and nearly as much with the rest of the floor. That required use of a manual or dremel saw. If you use a piece of scrap wood of the same height as you intend to install then that ensures you will create the necessary clearance. At the top of the picture you can see an installed threshold for the bathroom. (Pay no attention to the paint splatter. That happened very early on and is a good example of why you work ceiling-to-floor if possible.)

One thing that often gets overlooked is how much cleaning any job entails. Of course there's a lot after you start working (sawdust, etc.), but it's smart to start with the cleanest area because you'll rarely get a chance to get back under, say, a hardwood floor. Here's one pro tip for you. When using a vacuum, make sure you connect the hose to the intake port, otherwise you'll find yourself creating a dust storm. Not that we have any personal experience with this.

With the ground prepared we could lay down rosin paper, which helps with squeaks and blocks air and moisture flow through the floor (thank you wikipedia). It's about the thickness of construction paper, if you remember that from your grade school art projects, and comes in large rolls. A few well-placed staples and you're ready for flooring.

Downstairs we had an additional step. We had to raise the level of the subfloor to match the height of the vinyl tile in the kitchen because, as in the bathrooms, it's perfectly fine to leave vinyl in place if it's in good shape. Here we've nailed down 3/16-inch plywood to make up the difference.

Until next time.