Q: In our lounge, dining room and hall we have hardwood parquet floors. The floors were installed when the house was built circa 1962. We have lived in the house for over 30 years and to the best of our knowledge all the above have been carpeted for decades. The parquet floor appears well adhered to the substructure, but there are sizeable gaps. We have been strongly advised not to put a solid wooden floor or a laminated floor on top of the existing parquet floor. Should we accept this advice and if not are there any things we should be aware of?
Wood Floor Installation
Hundreds of our Q&A on wood flooring installation.
Cleaning up grimy reclaimed wood (and not using a power washer!)
Q: I reclaimed 500 square ft of Douglas fir from an abandoned building. It has black grime in the tongue and groove. I’ve tried numerous tools and the best thing I have found so far is a toothbrush and elbow grease! Can I power wash it? If not, what do you suggest?
Can smell the tar paper left under new floor
Q: I removed two layers of vinyl flooring in my kitchen of an old house built in the 50’s. Only thing left was tar paper from long ago before exposing 1×6 wood planks. Rather than scraping the tar paper off, I had a wood flooring company install a new laminated wood floor right over top of the tar paper. However, my problem is I smell the tar paper (petroleum type smell) in the kitchen even though the new floor is laid. Will this smell dissipate over time?
Squeaking due to particleboard subfloor
Q: My floors are squeaking badly, so I removed the carpet that was in my hallway and the tile that was laid down in the front foyer area just inside the front door, and I also removed the second layer of subfloor (which believe it or not was simply particle board) someone had nailed on top of the original subfloor before they laid both the carpet and the tile. I’m now down to the actual subfloor. The house was built in 1967. I’ve gone and purchased screws and screwed it into the joists every 6 inches and the thing is still squeaking badly.
Does this mean I have to rip up the original subfloor and replace that? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Uneven transitions from board to board in new install
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: I’ve installed hardwood in my living room. There are some uneven transitions from board to board. How can I fix this?
Harder woods like maple less stable
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: My maple wood floor has developed a hump in the middle. It does it every year but a humid summer has made it a real hazard this year. Is this due to initially poor fitting, not leaving enough room for expansion? How can I fix the floor?
Removing glue on parquet and regluing elsewhere
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: I have a question that I was hoping you could help me with. I have removed a parquet floor from one room and want to install it in another room. This parquet is not T&G. It is 3/8″ single pieces. It all came up pretty easy with a thin layer of glue on them.
Is thicker engineered hardwood better?
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: I am considering buying engineered hardwood. My house is built on a cement slab. There are several thicknesses to choose from. Is it better to go with thicker variety assuming there is sufficient clearance? A: I would go with the one that has the thickest hardwood …
Installing railing posts on a hardwood floor
Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors: How do I install the hardwood railing posts to a hardwood floor after the flooring installation is complete? A: I wish I had a quick answer. Well, I do. You need a railing guy! Or, get a large dowel and sink it into the bottom of …