Hey guys. Long time reader, first time poster here. Im am doing some subfloor prep, and i wanted to confirm a few things before i actually start my install. Im laying half inch mohawk floating flooring. My subfloor on the second story is OSB, (not sure the thickness. house was built in 06 in cali). During prep ive noticed alot of the wood chips popped out of the osb, is it just best to sand those flat, or should i throw some kind of filler in them.

Secondly should i attempt to make one solid floor throughout the whole upstairs (3 bedrooms connected via a loft), or should i stop at the doorways for expansion and add a T transition piece?

thanks for your input guys.

As far as the loose OSB chips , I wouldnt be too concerned. I would pop them out with a dull scraper or putty knife. If you sand them, they'll still be loose. If you fill them, you will create more loose chips.

Floating installations require t-mouldings in doorways. Mohawk requires a t-moulding in any doorway or archway under 4'. Also they state any room larger than 26 x33 requires a t-moulding.

Thank you very much for your reply. I skimmed throught the instructions mohawk sent me and found a section that said a transition piece is required for any room bigger than 40'. I actually meant the chips that were already chipped out. I didnt notice any loose ones sofar.

a few more questions if you dont mind.

what is the maximum expansion joint allowed on that osb? I have one that is about 1/4 do i need to do anything with that?

I read somewhere (pretty sure it was hardwoodflooringinstaller) that it is acceptable to use the roofing felt to get the wood up to the height of a tile room. I have one archway into my master that i would like to do this to. Do I need to do the whole wall that ajoins that archway? or can i just do the archway?

Last one atm. I have one transition into my kitchen that is tile. It is about 11 1/2 foot long, the transition piece's are not that long. what would be the best way to join the two transitions? Scarf joint perhaps?

thanks again for your input.

Hey, arn't you the guy I came out to give a bid for last week and you asked me all these questions already? Now yer going to do it yourself and cut me out after I spent two hours with ya? shisssssh

ummm no.. IF you want i can provide you a picture of my house to prove you never been here.

also i note you say your name is in tucson, notice in my first post i said i was in cali.

I was just teasing dude.

OK I don't like transitions strips and just undercut deep, if there happens to be movement I tell ppl I will come back and cut the door open and put in a T cap, so far it has not happened. Knock on wood

A quarter inch gap is no issue IMHO, if you fill it then it could become an issue. Making a rap with a floater takes a very long and wide area so you do not get that trampoline effect. Cut transition straight so if it pops loose it's not a spike waiting to go through soembody.

t

what does this mean?

Are you saying to undercut my tile and run the wood under it, or or you saying you dont use transitions in the doors?

Well, I'm confused..... Their site says " Any room larger than 26 x 33 "
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e00 ... e00283bc/1

Im installing the uniclic engineered flooring and I actually had to ask them to send me the instructions in a pdf. I can scan it if you want.

You mentioned "Mohawk floating flooring", looks like they have two expansion specs, depending on the product.

Most people dont like t-mouldings in doorways. Some installers feel comfortable running the floor straight through, with no t-moulding, and allowing for additional expansion space under the casings/jambs, and adjacent walls. I will do this myself, depending on the layout, product, & baseboard thickness.

Ramping with felt is a trick used mainly on naildown installations, On a floating installation a ramp, ( usually performed with a patching compound ), must be very gradual, and "feathered out". Otherwise, the material will bounce when you walk on it.

When joining transitions...I usually join with a 22 1/2 degree seam, trying to choose the best grain & color to seam together.

I wouldnt worry about a 1/4" gap in a OSB seam, as long as it's flat.

Thats what I meant, what he said.

thank you both very much. looks like i'll just be using a reducer where that tile meets the wood then.

Do you guys usually put your subfloor within manfacture tolerance's or do you just make it perfectly flat?

Not sure what you mean . The flatter the better . At the least...Needs to be flat, within manuf. tolerance.

when refering to how flat it is. Mohawk says 3/16 within 10 feet. do you guys go beyond that as pro's or just within. To be honest I am not positive what they actually mean by that.. Im using a chalk line (when i have a second hand), or my four foot level to see how flat the floor is. I havent found any spots that are more than 3/16 of an inch obscure.. But there were some spots that were a bit high that i sanded down. on the edges of the room the floor seemed to slop off a bit, and i added #30 roofers felt.

thanks for your guys help. Im not much of a carpenter. I work on planes.