Hickory 4", 6", 8" Pattern

Bentz34

Installing 1200sqft of 3/4" prefinished Hickory with a 4,6,8 pattern. This is a new construction.

1. Put down felt paper over 3/4" tongue and grove subflooring and nail?

2. No vapor barrier, glue and nail to 3/4" tongue subfloor?

Preferences? Thoughts?

the big 12 inch

Hire a good licenced floor contractor!!!..

Bentz34

Nothing against you as I am sure you are the finest floor guy in all the world but I have the gun the saws and the know how to accomplish this job as this is the 6th house I have built in the last 8 years. I have always done my own flooring. I was simply curious as to the opinions of others. My thought was that using the bigger 8" boards maybe glue and nails would be the way to go? Thanks for response it was very insightful and I certainly will think about going that route.............or NOT!

Bentz34

[quote=the big 12 inch;669661]Hire a good licenced floor contractor!!!..[/quote

I am a licensed and insured builder (Dan Bentley Builder LLC). What does being a "flooring contractor" entail? Did you send in a proof of purchase from Frosted Flakes to obtain this title? I don't want to get into a pissing match here especially with a guy by the name of the big 12 inch I was simply asking for honest advice. As mentioned I have done this several times before by laying felt paper and nailing, but never with 6" and 8" boards. I was simply wondering if gluing it down would be the way to go. I would appreciate an honest response.

Mike Costello

To insinuate that to become a flooring professional requires cereal box tops in a flooring forum isn't too bright.

Some of us here have been doing nothing but flooring for over 25 years and keep up to date on our certifications and manufacturor specs.

You say you don't want a pissing match? Well dont come in here and pee in our Corn Flakes then.

I would say you got sound advice Mr Builder, judging by the elementary tone of your question.

Bentz34

I appologize for my part in that and was out line. To be honest with you I don't think I could be labelled as a professional in anything when it comes to construction work as I have not been at it that long. Just a bad day at work is all and I don't kick my dog or beating my wife so I took out a weeks frustration one someone I didn't know. This site has always been a good source of info. for me and I certainly don't want to insult anyone. So, again I appologize to you and "big 12 inch". I mean after all with a handle like that I wanted to like the guy and instead I jumped on him. Back to my question though I would sincerely appreciate a response from someone out there like yourself or big 12 inch who have many more jobs under their belt than I do. I hope you can over look my pissing in the Corn Flakes as I am sorry and if I could I get you both a new box.
Thanks,
Dan

Mike Costello

Lol, fair enough then ,Dan. We all have bad days for sure.

Last time I did planks the size you are talking about I glued the entire job with Bosticks Best and had success.

I resist the urge to glue and nail. The wide width of your planks pretty much dictates the need for glue.

Just be sure the decking is something you can glue to and not Advantech or any other OSB.

A good exterior grade plywood would be the best bet

Bentz34

Thank you for your response. I guess my next and final question then is....... I do have 3/4" tongue and groove underlayment for flooring. Do I need to put something on top of that or can I go over it?

Mike Costello

Do you know what it is?

Bentz34

3/4" tongue and groove OSB. I am thinking of scrapping the idea of 4,6,8 pattern. As much as I like it I would save a lot of money going with a 5" board for the entire floor. As mentioned the flooring is 3/4" tongue and groove hickory. In your opinion would this be save to just nail?

Mike Costello

5"? sure you can nail that.

Cant glue anything to OSB unfortunately

ak_aiken

In my opinion I would never nail only to an OSB subfloor even though everyone and their dog does it and some factory reps will say that it is acceptable. Here is why I won't do it, try nailing a series of planks to OSB and then nail other planks to 3/4" plywood and try to remove, it is disturbing how easily the kleats or staples will pull out of the OSB, plywood is a way more solid installation.

My first recommendation in this case would be to add a minimum of 1/2" plywood over the OSB glued and nailed to the floor joists. If using 5" planks then nail away. I would also glue if using the wider planks.

2nd option full spread glue the planks to the floor spot nailing as necessary. I have seen the tearout of a hardwood floor that was glued over OSB that was sanded and cleaned prior to glueing. The tearout resulted in replacing all of the subfloor because it was destroyed during hardwood removal. (It was removed due to water damage) In short it held extremely well.

3rd option switch to an engineered hardwood and install it in a floating application.

Just my 2 cents.

ak_aiken

One more thought:
Hickory is allready a floor that is prone to creaking and squeeking. Expansion and contraction of the floor will be enought to loosen the nails/cleats if nailed only into OSB making the floor that much more likely to develop squeeks in the future.

Floordude

Using staples in OSB, is the way to go. Cleats pop right up with a kick, but staples, you will bust tongues off, unless your pulling right at the staple, carefully.

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Rkeister

For Solid wood you probably want to put down a layer of exterior ply over the T&G. Then you would do your nail down installation. If you are using 3/4" x 5" plus board widths I would recommend glue bands as well.

woodfloorpro

What NWFA has to say about 3/4 OSB is that it is an acceptable substrate but not a perferred one. Ideally the advice that has been given already is the best and if there are no height constraints with putting 1/2 in plywood down and if the budget allows for it than that is the best way to go. Nwfa says that plywood has better memory than OSB meaning that through the four seasons of expanding and contracting wood flooring will return back to its original state much better with plywood than OSB. That translates to in the long run you will see more hair line cracks with the OSB. In my neck of the woods OSB and like products are the norm and general contractors have a very good argument for wanting to use them. Plywood is much perfered by me but unfortunately we have to play with what we are delt with. So in conclusion nailing over a plywood substrate is perferred but nailing over OSB is an acceptable installation by NWFA standards. As with any plank flooring installations extreme caution should be taken reguarding monitoring all humidity levels in the subfloor, in the flooring and in the air prior to, during and after installation. Good luck Mike

mrwoodman

Want random, try 3,4 & 5". no glue required.

72chevy4x4

I'm just popping in reading this post and have a question as I've never installed anything wider than 3 1/2" plank. The mention to glue 6 or 8" plank-what type of glue is being used (typyically)? If a typcial wood glue (not polyurethane expanding), how is the glue applied? for instance, a 1/4" wide run down the middle of the plank??

Floordude

Some do a serpentine squiggle. Some do beads across the board every 4-6"
Some do beads down the length on both edges(near the edges) Some full spread using a trowel.

I use PL premium in the yellow tube.

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RhodesHardwood

Don't use felt paper and glue it and nail it.

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