I'm doing some work on the 2nd floor of a 1955 cape. The subfloor is 3/4" tongue and groove planks and there are 3/4" (maybe 5/8") fir plywood sheets installed over that. The sheets are... odd... They are a strange size (not 4x8), a couple look like they were stolen from the green monster, and they are very squeaky which I think is because they are very tightly butted against each other.
The room is very short already and I wanted to gain back as much height as possible by removing the plywood and installing hardwood over the planks instead. The planks under this sub-floor seem to be in good condition. They have minimal cupping. But some are installed a bit far apart from one another, and they are oriented the same direction that I want to lay the hardwood.
So here are the restrictions:
- I want as much ceiling height as possible.
- I want to install the hardwood the same direction as the planks
- I don't want to the floor to be as squeaky as it is.
So, should I:
- Just keep this floor and install hardwood over it (since I likely need some plywood subfloor anyway because of the orientation problem).
- Would using deck screws get rid of the squeaking, or is the problem because the sheets are installed too close to one another?
- If I remove the floor and install something else, can I use something thinner since I already have a strong subfloor (the planks)?
- Is it really a big deal to install hardwood over planks running in the same direction?