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Pat Gould
08-27-04, 06:58 AM
I pulled up 1/2 inch particle board subflooring to find out why my floor is sagging. The 1x12 pine board subflooring (diagonal to joists) seem to be find except for some sagging. I want to install 3/4 hardwood flooring, but feel I must correct the sagging before install 3/4 OSP T/G chipboard, felt, and then the HW flooring.
Would I be on the right path by using 1/4 plywood to build up the sagging areas before installing the OSB subfloor? Or should I look at putting in basement jacks to correct the sag? The second options seems extreme and would pose problems in the basement as cars are parked there.
Thanks for any ideas. :confused:
Pilot Dane
08-29-04, 04:28 PM
I think 1/4" and 3/8" would be a total waste of your money. I don't think it will have enough strength to bridge the sagging areas.

How far are your joists apart? You will probably need a subfloor material that is able to span that distance. You may have to go to 3/4" to get enough strength and provide something solid to nail your hardwood floor to.
Pat Gould
08-30-04, 06:43 AM
Thank you for replying. My joists are typically on 16" centers. There are some differences but most are 16". I have almost all the partical board off the subfloor. When I thought it was 1/2 ", it really is 3/8". Why skimp on this I don't know. But now that I have it off I'm happy that I plan to replace it with 3/4" t/g OSG. But I really don't want to put that down over the sagging areas with repairing those. Any ideas/solutions/suggestions on how to tackle the sagging areas are appreciated. I'm thinking floor jacks, but I really don't want to have to if I can do it another, more economical way.

Thanks.
Pilot Dane
08-30-04, 01:52 PM
It sounds like the subfloor is not your biggest problem. I gather that your floor joists are sagging. The repair will depend on how bad the sagging is and how "proper" you want to do the repair.

How old is the house and what are your walls like? When you jack a floor you run the risk of cracking the plaster/sheet rock and doors may jam. You don't want to create a new problem when you fix an old one.