I'm attempting to start my first hardwood installation project and I have a question. I want to install naildown white oak unfinished strips...I think 3/4"x2 1/4", the usual naildown strip size.

I'm on the second floor of my 1970's condo and the subfloor is plywood, assumably adequate width/type. Directly over that is the original oak parquet. It's that common style of small squares (about 5"x5") made up of 5 small strips in alternating directions....about 1/4" -1/3" thick. They are not attached to each other by wire or anything else and are glued down with what appears to be a very hard wood glue. The pieces are not coming up (I've glued down a few straglers in the past, mostly along the edges) and the floor is in generally good shape.

My question is can I nail down the new flooring directly over the old parquet? If so what type/lenth fastner should I use? I would take up the parquet but it would take forever (I've done a small section before) and the glue is so strong it brings up pieces of the subfloor or causes the parquet pieces to split so I don't want to have to do that unless it's nessary or someone knows a good technique or chemical that will help me get up the parquet without destroying my back or my subfloor.

Thanks for any help!!

That is the old 5/16" fingerblock parquet; very common in the 70's and 80's. If it is well bonded, you should be able to install directly over it using standard 2" long fasteners, staples or cleats. Sounds like an impossible task to remove it and save the subfloor. Thats why I do NOT recommend gluing directly to wood subfloors. Had it been installed over an underlayment, removal would have been much easier. As it is, I think you will be fine laying a new floor over that old wood parquet.

Hey, thanks for you help! Much appreciated!

This fingerblock parquet isn't consitered prized, is it? I hate to detroy a wood floor that could probably be nicely restored but I just don't feel like my recent renovation will ever look right without a nice strip flooring put in...

No, that flooring is not valuble or unique. Very inexpensive flooring and quite common.