Construction question...(subflooring)

Richard · May 1, 2009

Here are some pictures to try to save me 1,000 words

Picture "F1" shows a window and scaffolding with a red circle. This window is going to be knocked out and widened to become a doorway into this kitchen extension. This means, it will be a high traffic area.

Note the red circle...though maybe not exact, it's close enough. There is a crack in the floor here. Seems it's made of some kind of chipboard (Advantech?).

1st: Is that an ok subfloor substrate? We used normal 3/4" plywood throughout the rest of the house so this is something I've not seen.

2nd: The flooring on top of this will be 3/4" x 6" T&G pine

3rd: There is a crack in this and since this is going to be a heavy traffic area, this concerns me a bit. (see F3).

Since this will have 3/4" pine on top of it, should I:

a) not worry about it
b) replace this sheet since this is a high traffic area and it's not worth any risk for giving way or perhaps floor squeeks because of this crack?

As I've since found out, my builder is new. I'm his FIRST remodel... he has built some new construction but as for an addition...I'm his guinnea pig. Also, the contractor himself is not doing ANY of this work, he's hired it out to a guy who's pretty good with wood so I don't have any issue with HIM.

The sad thing is, regardless of any conversation I might have with the wood guy, the contract is with the contractor so I'd have to go through him and frankly, I've come to be guarded with what he tells me on some things to the point that I'm not inclined to take anything he has at face value without further research.

This (floor) might not be an issue, so I'm doing my research prior to bringing it up with him.

Any thoughts on if I should replace it? BEFORE the final flooring goes down?

LD1 · May 1, 2009

Kinda hard to tell from the pics bit it looks like osb, which is commonly used as sub-flooring as it is a lot cheaper than ply-wood. Typical is 23/32 which is basically 3/4". I would replace the damaged peice just for peice of mind. 23/32 osb is usually around $10 per sheet in my area...about 1/3 the cost of plywood

scott_vt · May 1, 2009

Good Afternoon Richard,
I also feel that the damaged section should be replaced, that way you do have piece of mind ! Then your contractor will be installing 3/4" pine over all of that, that makes a pretty strong floor long as you dont have any elephants in the house !

As long as your floor joists are solid, which can be checked when the bad section is replaced, you should be good to go IMO !

Nissan197 · May 1, 2009

I would replace the piece also. Like others have said it will give you piece of mind. Just curious, is your builder screwing the subfloor down or just using nails?

RonMar · May 1, 2009

Well like my Dad tought me, you can do it right the first time, or you can do it again later... I find that my first instinct is usually the correct one, and if you are even asking these questions, you already don't think it is right. Trust me, you are really gonna kick youself later if that area of the finished floor develops issues.

Good Luck

2manyrocks · May 1, 2009

Easy to fix and cheap to fix now. Impossible to fix without tearing out your finished floor later.

Pop that sucker out and put in a new sheet.

PILOON · May 1, 2009

Locate the joists, generally at 16" center.
Drop the saw blade 3/4" and cut out the damaged area over the joists.
Since in the other direction there are no joists to attach to, slip a 3-5" glue strip of ply under and screw from the top.
Make a suitable patch and screw it in place using construction glue in a tube at all contact points.
Just as good as a new sheet!

radioman · May 1, 2009

I am gonna chime in with the others-

I betcha that if you cut the bad part out, you may be able to see the whole story before to move on. It may cost you money to fix it, but cheaper then dealing with the problem down the road.

studor · May 1, 2009

I am with the others as well but something must have caused it to split -- was somebody using it for something else before laying it or is there a high spot or something? I recently laid a floor thst had about a 4"hump in it for 10 years covered by carpet --- someone cranked a jackpost a little too much

regards

Richard · May 2, 2009

Thanks for the replys. Yeah, I am 'suspect' at this spot too and my gut says I don't like it. I was hoping I wasn't being too retentive.

I was also wondering should the entire 4x8 be pulled out or maybe cut a (for example) 3x3 that will be a subsection of the large sheet but still large enough to cover this break and fit onto some floor joists.

Interestingly, this might open up an opportunity for me. Unseen in the picture and not commented on... on the other side of that windoe is a floor register. The register would have been right in the walkway since the window will be removed and enlarged to be a doorway.

If we cut a section out, instead of the entire 4x8 sheet, I could make the section... how to describe this... I could make the section the 3x3 or what ever it needs to be as well as leave a tongue on one edge of it that is 6"x15" long (making that up) and this tongue would slip into the spot where my OLD register was and be part of the initial floor support for the hole that is going to be filled in there (we've moved the register)

I don't know if that makes total sense and that's ok... Thank you for your comments on this.

I was talking to the wood guy the other day and he said he felt our house would probably be the last time he partners up with the contractor. I can't say I blame him. He's a VERY detailed guy and does beautiful work. The contractor guy (mid 50's) left another career for this and has had his license for just over a year now. I'm not so sure he's too concerned about getting the details right as he is simply getting paid. I've seen him try to cut a couple corners that had I not had my own sense of awareness, might have eluded me.

I'm sure I'll be asking more questions here in the fairly near future as this job is maybe 75% done now and before I hand over the final payment, I'm already expecting to butt heads on a couple things. I've just been biting my tongue right now to give them (him) ample time to clear these things up without me saying anything so it doesn't look like I'm harping over their shoulder every 2 minutes. I actually believe that he thinks they're not an issue, or are done and I of course, happen to have a different point of view. Since the last payment is due on the completion of the job we will probably end up having a little "pow wow" as to what the definition of completion is!

Here's another question regarding this floorboard.... it's clearly cracked. I did nothing to cause that. I don't know if it was like that when they installed it (doubt it) or maybe they dropped some scaffolding and the foot caused that (no idea). Should I offer to reimburse them for parts/labor for this 'fix' or should I expect it to be taken care of?

right now, with the other things looming, I'm actually game to pay for parts/labor with the anticipation of using that later on when we get into defining the word completion.