Original Pine Subfloor?
I just started renovating a brownstone and I would like to use the subfloor (yellow pine) original of the building from late 19th Century as the new floor. I would obviously insulate from below, between the beams, since the ceilings have to be replaced anyway. Any experience about that? I really like the look of…
I just started renovating a brownstone and I would like to use the subfloor (yellow pine) original of the building from late 19th Century as the new floor. I would obviously insulate from below, between the beams, since the ceilings have to be replaced anyway. Any experience about that? I really like the look of the original subfloors but I am concerned about the safety of not having more than 1 inch of subfloor. Actually, the top floor was already like that, the subfloor is the real floor and nothing else. I have seen that a lot on the 4th floor and even on the third, but never on the parlor. Any comments about your experience will be appreciated.
we bit the dust and put new floors on top with added support under neath. It was when my 18 year old lunged out of bed and when through the floor that we said no more. It was sad but my son is very happy.
Thanks so much RH-
Oops, sorry Greenwood. I sometimes forget that I post things and walk away.
My husband did the joists with my help. He didn’t jack the floors (just the staircase in those other pics). We sistered and also added parallel supports every foot or two.
We did lose some material, but it wasn’t crazy. If you have time to look over each board and cut them down, you will be fine. The floor was taken from the parlor and installed into a smaller bedroom and 2 hallways. We had 300 sq ft left over, which someone took to reuse, but that must have come from another room. Don’t remember now.
If you need replacements, M. Fine Lumber has reclaimed flooring or there are internet sources I listed here:
http://reclaimedhome.com/2007/09/12/reclaimed-flooring/
We use Desmond Harmon to finish our floors. He can also install and maybe even level. 917-642-2752
Good luck!
RH- just found the pics- looks like you sistered new level joists to the old saggy ones without jacking- am I right?
Nice dogs, by the way!
RH- We are going to embark on something similar– would love to get your advice:
Who did you use for the joist leveling and subfloor work? (or did you do it yourself?) What sort of material loss did you face with the old pine floor, and from where did you source your replacements?
Also- when you leveled, did you sister the existing with new level joists to raise the nailing surface? Or did you jack up the originals?
thanks-
We used our subfloor, but we carefully took it up, leveled the joists (there was sagging) and added a plywood subfloor. Love it, yes! But it IS soft. The beauty of that is that every new ding just adds to the antique character of the floor.
There are some before and after shots scattered around my flickr page…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/castleandkeep/sets/72157594378041657/
Long-leaf yellow pine has a hardness that rivals red oak. It is unlikely that it was used as a sub-floor in a brownstone. It was used extensively in Tribeca and other formerly industrial areas for floor joists that had to support a tremendous live load (cast iron machinery and the like). Your sub-floor is likely a white pine, pitch pine, or pumpkin pine (all of which are softwoods). A penetrating type of finish, like tung oil, will harden from within the pores of the wood- contributing to the overall hardness.
I concur. We lived in an apartment where the previous tenant had done a beautiful job pickling the floors – it was kind of white with woodgrain and chalky looking. Covered a lot of sins. But I was in my twenties with some interesting footwear and friends with similar inclinations. One New Year’s Eve party polished that floor off. It looked like gum on a subway platform when it was done – all chewy and dented.
That said, if you used the soft sub floor but then had large areas of carpets in the traffic parts of the space you might be able to pull it off. And make it no shoes. And probably no couches or chairs either ; )
We only had the subfloor, so that’s what we use. It’s fine, although it does scratch pretty easily. But we’re also a “no shoes” house–if you wore heels in the house, it would totally mess it up.