new floor over old hearth stone problem
We are attempting to put in a new floor over pine subfloor planks. Everything is fine with the subfloor except the area near the old chimney. We are keeping the chimney in place. However, the hearth in front of the chimney is about 1/4 higher than the rest of the subfloor. Does anyone have any…
We are attempting to put in a new floor over pine subfloor planks. Everything is fine with the subfloor except the area near the old chimney. We are keeping the chimney in place. However, the hearth in front of the chimney is about 1/4 higher than the rest of the subfloor. Does anyone have any ideas how we can fix this problem so that we can lay our new floor over a level surface? BTW – we are putting in 3 1/2″ by 3/4″ maple.
Talking about saving. Save your strength. That stone is very heavy. So, if you a thinking of moving it in one piece, try to get a good estimate of its weight. The one in my house was a thick slab that had to weigh at least couple of hundred pounds. It was broken into pieces and then removed. Additionally, you will have a gap that will support less weight than the other areas of the floor. I would also, that into consideration when removing the stone.
thanks folks. My wife was talking about ‘saving’ the hearth stone and moving it into another room. That seems like a real pain, so I’m all for removing it by any means.
Also, I’ve talked to flooring experts regarding the subfloor situation. Some say it’s ok, others that it would be better to remove it and go plywood. The floor seems fine to me, it’s there (the plywood is not), so it’s staying. . . .
I’m sure a real flooring contractor would still advise laying plywood subfloor over the existing pine planks or even ripping them all up and laying a new subfloor on the joists. Laying this on top of the existing planks is going to give you problems down the road. Either way you have to bring down the height of the hearth.
Yes, just remove it and shim a piece of plywood to the height of the rest of the floor.
What is it? Concrete? And you no longer have a working fireplace, is that right? Why can’t you smash it up and do a new subfloor in that section only? On the other hand, it’s never a bad idea to put plywood down over subfloor, even if it is in good shape. But since it’s only 1/4 inch, that’s not going to work.