Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Looking for Subfloor advice for Wood Floor

Hello, I have a question. I am going to lay a wood floor. My house is from the 20s or 30s so I have a nice pine floor and no subfloor. I am going to put oak over top and want to run the new floor in the same direction. Everything I read says to use 1/2 inch plywood subfloor. I would much rather use a 1/4 inch plywood on top of the pine because I do not want to lose the height on my floor molding (this I don't want to remove because it is orginial and attached to the plaster - I don't think I could make it look as nice).

Anyway, any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

1/4" plywood is useless Dan, and 3/8" is not much better for that purpose. Have you considered using the 1/2" plywood and a thinner 1/2" engineered hardwood? That is one good reason for using an engineered product.

Jerry, why is 1/4 considered useless?

Thanks for info.

Dan

Dan, for what you are trying to do the 1/4" plywood does not have enough meat in it to separate the two floors. Your subfloor is pine and not the most stable of woods. The NWFA says you can use a 3/8" plywood minimum, but they recommend the 1/2" I figure they are smarter than me.

This would work though, use the 1/4" plywood to keep the height at a minimum and install the new flooring on a diagonal. A diagonal will give you separation needed.

Jerry, Thank your for the explaination. It is greatly appreciated.