We would like to do something with the old oak strip flooring in the living room, dining room and kitchen of our 1928 Baltimore bungalow. The floor in the kitchen is the most damaged due to years of trapped moisture under the layers of linolium. The other two rooms don't have any moisture damage but would need re-finishing. The oak strips are directly over the joists with no sub-floor which makes for a somewhat thin barrier between the basement and first floor. I am wondering if it would make sense to install new flooring over the existing flooring and use that as a sub-floor? In other words, why not pay to have new flooring installed instead of paying to have the old flooring re-finished and end up with a new wood floor that is twice as thick. Has anyone heard of, or thought of, this approach?

You probably do not have oak flooring nailed directly to the floor joists but more likely, some T&G softwood used as a subfloor. This was quite a common procedure during that time period. I would guess in Maryland, a more local softwood would have been used, like southern yellow pine. Here on the west coast, douglas fir T&G boards were commonly used as subfllors for decades. They were nailed directly to the floor joists and could serve as a finished floor if desired. Most often they were covered with some other floor covering, wood or lino.
In your case, you can lay an oak floor over your existing wood floor. Make sure the existing floor is secure and well fastened; possibly add screws from top to tighten up. It should feel solid. If not, you'll need to add plywood, 3/8" CDX minimum, 1/2" prefered. If nailing new flooring to the old, you will need to install the new flooring at 45 or 90 degrees to the direction of the existing flooring. You may not run a new floor over an old floor going in the same direction unless you install a layer of plywood in between the two floors.

Hi Gary and jgaeng,

I have the same issue in my home as jgaeng described. It's a 1929 or 1930 Tudor in northern NJ. I am pretty sure my ground level wood floor is nailed directly to the floor joists because where the seams are (some are needing repair or filler) I can see the basement lights coming through in spots. Also, some areas of the floor don't seem strong enough, in fact they give too much for comfort. As far as I know, there's never been water or moisture damage. I think the previous owners took up a floor layer that was over this wood. Can I repair the seams (filler) between strips (how?) and what type of support can I nail to the floor joists in the basement for support? My basement is unfinished. I am afraid of the costs of installing a new wood floor which would have to be done in three rooms.

Thank you for your consideration.
"T"