For questions generally relating to the structure and construction of floors in buildings, including designs, materials, support mechanisms, load-bearing calculations, etc. For questions specifically about the top-layer covering of a floor (tile, carpet, hardwood) see the "flooring" tag.
2
votes
2answers
332 views
How can I drill through a Linoleum floor?
I would like a drill a hole through my dining room floor to run a wire. The floor is carpeted, so I pulled back the carpet in the corner to find an old linoleum floor. I attempted to drill a hole ...
14
votes
6answers
3k views
How do you reduce floor sound transmission?
How do you reduce the sound transmission through a floor? Using "green glue" between a couple layers of plywood subfloor seems to work well. Are there any other tricks or suggestions?
6
votes
4answers
340 views
What is the recommended technique for refinishing hardwood floors
I have old hardwood floors in my home that I'd like to refinish myself. I'm ok with all sorts of manual labor, but I'd like to know the preferred method for refinishing them without damaging my walls ...
4
votes
1answer
244 views
Options for Hardwood Floor Scratch and Gouge Repair
I have a 10 month old puppy who recently discovered her (apparent) love for the taste of wood putty. There was a rather large knot hole that had been plugged and finished in our living room floor that ...
4
votes
1answer
243 views
Crack spanning several tiles
I've got several tiles in my dining room that have a diagonal crack running across them. Since it's a pretty straight line across several tiles, I'm guessing it's a foundation issue. The room is at ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I do a minor grout repair properly?
I've got grout between some floor tiles that is cracking and coming out in small chips, over time. The tiles and remaining grout are otherwise in great shape. I suspect this is just a problem ...
2
votes
3answers
90 views
Timber Veneer Flooring?
We have existing polished timber floors, it is patchy (different parts of the house are floored with different kinds of timber) it also has a few gaps and holes. We are thinking of laying down some ...
6
votes
5answers
4k views
How can we fix bouncy floors?
Our floors are somewhat bouncy, especially in big rooms with long joists. I think that the main cause is that they used 2x8 joists on 15-20' spans.
We are going to replace/install hardwood in ...
9
votes
2answers
11k views
How do I fix a squeaky floor below my carpet?
I have a squealy floor below my carpet on the 2nd floor of my house. It sounds like the subfloor under the carpet is moving up and down a little and makes this awful load squeak when I step down on ...
5
votes
2answers
5k views
What are these spongy/soft spots on my hardwood floor?
The house I recently bought has hardwood floors, but I've noticed that some spots are spongy when I walk over them. There is visible downward flex in certain spots to an observer of someone walking ...
9
votes
4answers
541 views
How can I remove a single cracked floor tile?
How can I remove a single damaged floor tile without damaging the surrounding tiles? Is there anything that will help the replacement tile from cracking in the same way?
6
votes
2answers
426 views
Can I sand bamboo floors?
I have prefinished bamboo floors in the kitchen and they are not in a good shape. I was wondering if i can sand them. Somebody told me that i can't send prefinished floors (oak or bamboo), somebody ...
5
votes
3answers
719 views
What can be done to fix a squeak in stairs?
This might be better suited as a community wiki, what do you think?
My parents house has very squeaky stairs. The house is over 100 years old, so it's to be expected. What can be done to fix a squeak ...
7
votes
2answers
954 views
How can I stop new solid oak floor from squeaking?
really hope someone here can come up with an idea to get me out of this one:
I recently laid a new floor in my dining room, it's solid oak and it actually looks quite good considering I put it down!
...
27
votes
5answers
19k views
Should I use a subfloor for a finished basement's floor?
We are refinishing our basement and have not yet decided what to do for the floors. Part of the basement will be tile, and we are all set. However, the rec room side is going to be carpet. The ...
5
votes
2answers
196 views
What do I have to do to prepare my garage floor for paint?
I'd like to paint my garage floor, possibly with textured paint.
What do I have to do in order to get my garage floor, which is currently dirty and somewhat oily, ready for something like an ...
