Conversation Between forsmant and Kludge

19 Visitor Messages

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  1. Yeah adding some support in the middle of the stair run would be a good idea. It will help make them sturdy.
  2. So you know how you like stair porn? If you looked at the stairs I have leading to the basement, I'd get stair scorn. ...

    Anyway, so we've got this stairway going to the basement and it looks pretty shabby. Allegedly it was put in just 10 years ago or so, but it's fucking scary. It's been in a dry environment and it cracks quite a bit when being used. It's got about 12' down (maybe 8-12' in length from first to last step) to go from the top stair and there's no support in between. The wood seems fairly solid -- it just seems like poor design to have these stairs unsupported. Should I consider something like trying to install columns or something to try holding it up? Won't help if a single stair gives out, but at least the whole stairway won't collapse.
  3. if you have any more questions send a private message so I can read the question while replying. My memory is terrible.
  4. I am not sure I completely understand what you got going there. You had 2 layers of wood flooring? I am not sure how good the base layer of wood floor would be with all those nail holes being filled with putty. But I know for sure it can be refinished and will probably look decent. Money talks....
  5. Generally there is one sub floor. There may be an underlayment or even two floors. That would probably lead to squeaking. As a carpenter I prefer wood, but laminate looks nice. Laminate is easier to install for the avid DIYer.
  6. Thanks, Travis -- I had to rip up a bit of the subflooring, and for whatever reason, there's a thick solid wood floor underneath maybe ~3/8" thick. I guess I'm going to tear up all the subflooring now and check out the uh... sub-sub-flooring. Amy already made inquiries almost right after I told her to refinishing companies about it - don't even know if it has water damage or what, and there's plenty of holes from where they nailed the subflooring to it. One company said they could refinish the floor, stain it (I think we have to purchase the stain or pay them a flat fee of $150), and use a proprietary solution to seal it -- that they could do two small bedrooms, a small hallway, and a 330 sq. ft. (of actual floor space) kitchen/dining room for $999 with a 5-year warranty - start-to-finish in 1 day.
  7. To put completely new laminate flooring in - which looks really, really, nice btw, and has a 25-30 year warranty - would cost ~$1100 to do just the kitchen, dining room, and hallway - and of course, it'd take way more time for me to do myself. Amy says "real wood" adds value to the home which the laminated flooring would not, but given the wood flooring there now's at least 50 years old, and there's no way I can imagine it looking as nice as the laminate we were considering, I doubt the claim's validity. You have any opinion on it? Desire for pictures, maybe?
  8. Screwing the floor down was the first step The next one would be to look for any rubbing against the floor joist by duct work or piping. If not then i would run a bead of construction glue along the floor to joist connection. On both sides of the joist. Good luck. Hope you are able to find the cause.
  9. Excellent.

    First question: I have a creaky floor, caused by minor water damage years ago. The subflooring is connected to the joists via nails, not screws, and I was told putting deck screws in along where the joists support the subflooring would (since it's binding it tighter to the joists) stop the creaking. I have done that, putting an additional screw in about once per inch, and the floor still creaks. Does this suggest the joists have give and are creaking?
  10. I have a bunch of general construction/remodeling questions. Will you try to answer them if I ask?
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