Hi All,

Glad to join the community! I wanted to know what the reason behind requiring the 90 degree laying of new hardwood. I’ve read everywhere that you must do this - if not, you must lay at least 3/8” plywood. Is there a reason behind this? And are there exceptions? I’m asking because I will be laying my 3 floor (I’ve lucked out the last 2 as the people either already had their original hardwood ripped up or they wanted it to lay the opposite way. The floor would go above the door jams with this floor if I lay the 3/8” plywood but the homeowner is dead set on the same direction as the original. I’m also not keen on ripping up the original as I assume that’s a ton of work.

Thank you for your help in advance!

Kevin

Installing a floor parallel to an existing hardwood floor complicates the environmental issues. The original floor may not be as stable as you need to keep from squeaking.. Do you know the nailing schedule for the old floor? You are trusting , or accepting the work done before. I it is fastened down well you should be able to trust it. Are you willing to take the risk?
If you can carefully remove the old flooring you may be able to re-use it. If you have a carbide tipped saw blade set to the right height and go slowly, you can cut the old flooring into firewood so it comes out easily. Add this to the cost of a new floor so you can make the client happy.

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your reply. Totally understand - though walking around on the flooring for the past few weeks, I haven't noticed any creaking or squeaking. Also, it may be important to note that the original flooring is the 2 1/4 inch planks. The new hardwood will by wider at 5 1/8 inch. Not sure if this makes a difference in this situation.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,
Kevin

Make sure the old flooring is fastened properly. You could check the nailing by using spherical magnets to see how many nails were used. To get the best holding power for a wood floor nails ought to be installed at a 60 degree angle. If this is a hand nailed floor the nails can skip across the sub-floor without penetrating if not nailed properly. If you notice looseness, at the butt-joints especially, you ought to use more fasteners.
If the "sub-floor" is fastened down well, the width of a floor over it will not be a problem.