Installing sub-floor

Know-How For Installing A Wood Sub Floor
By Russell R. Freeman
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Putting down a new floor, including the wood sub floor - either wood or tile - carries its own special brand of satisfaction. The job, once you've finished, is beautiful. Remember that this is definitely a part of the job you can look forward to - the thought may ease the humdrum routine of nailing, sanding, scraping, etc.
First and foremost, the underpinnings for a new floor are important. Contrary to what you might think, putting down a wood sub floor involves nothing more than a bit of straightforward carpentry.
A conventional wood sub floor is built with square edge boards. This is a pretty common lumberyard item. When you put down your money you'll either get Ix4s or Ix6s. If you buy what's known as number one grade, the lumber will be reasonably straight, not too beat up and without knots that affect strength.
Number two grade is not quite so elegant, a little harder to work with and quite a bit cheaper as far as the whole wood sub floor is concerned. Whichever type you decide upon, be sure to specify common grade lumber. If possible buy from a lumberyard that stores the stuff undercover so that it will be seasoned and dry. On no account should you buy wood sub floor boards wider than 6 in.
For greater strength, lay the wood sub floor diagonally across the joists. Where two lengths must be joined just butt the ends together, but make sure the junction is over a joist. Otherwise you may find yourself with a rather springy board here and there with the loose end flapping in the breeze. Leave space in between boards - a small amount of in. is fairly safe.
Nail the wood sub floor boards down solidly to each joist. Use two 10-penny nails driven through the face of the wood into the joist at each point. If you're the type who likes to wear both belt and suspenders, it's not a bad idea to buy rosin coated nails for this purpose. They hold like crazy.
Some types of finished flooring can go down over a wood sub floor of 3/4 in. plywood. Nailing this stuff to the bare joists gets the job over in a very short time. There is a special plywood now recommended. Three-quarters in. thick, it has a layer of tough hardboard laminated onto one side and is installed with this surface facing down. There's a reason for using it: over the years plywood can be compressed when it's used as a wood sub floor and the surface can become a little bumpy. The extra tough layer eliminates the problem.
Use 4x8-ft. sheets and be sure that the joints between the wood sub floor pieces fall exactly on the joists so that you get full support. Fasten down the plywood with rosin coated nails spaced about 10 in. apart around the rim of the sheet and in a line down each joist that the plywood covers.
At this point you're ready to install the finished flooring, but let's backtrack for a moment. Perhaps you already have an old floor in the room that's pretty well shot. Although it's beyond the point where it can be spruced up with scraping and refinishing, it's still sturdy enough to make a perfectly decent wood sub floor. What do you do in this case? You use it as a wood sub floor. Remember, though, a new wood floor is only as smooth and sound as the floor it rests on. For this reason tighten up all loose boards and eliminate squeaks.
Just nail right through the old floor - now your new wood sub floor - using 6-penny screw-type flooring nails. Countersink the nail heads a little below the surface. If the guy behind the counter at your local hardware store just shrugs his shoulders at the idea of screw-type flooring nails, don't despair. Buy rosin coated nails of the same size. They will hold almost as well. If there are any warped boards, plane them down until the surface is reasonably smooth.
Pry loose the shoe molding (it's usually just quarter round molding tacked into place at the joint between the baseboard and the floor) on all sides of the room. Sweep the wood sub floor clean and if the area is unusually dusty get out the vacuum cleaner.
You are now ready to fasten down new wood strip flooring.

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