Scottpat Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 OK a question or two for the group! Todays inspection (Beazer home) had a few issues with the flooring in the home. The joist system is a truss design that is 24"OC. It is covered with Norbord OSB that is 23/32" or 18.2mm thick with a Type 1 and PS2 rating. On top of the OSB, Bruce wood flooring has been glued on to it. The flooring has pulled away from the OSB in many areas around the home. From what I can tell Bruce does not require an underlayment. APA (folks who rate the OSB) do not require an underlayment. Norbord, the manufacturer does not require an underlayment for the wood floor to be glued onto. But, they all have a caveat in their guidelines that all floor systems are different and steps might need to be take to stiffen the floor, such as underlayment. The floor seems to flex in a few areas, but not all over. It looks like this has been part of the cause of the flooring losing its adhesion to the OSB. Has anyone ever seen something like this? I have seen glue down wood floors on slabs act like this but never one on a conventional foundation. I always see an underlayment of around 3/8" on OSB floors when they installed wood floors either glue down or nailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi, Underlayment aside, I'd be concerned that the Bruce floor needs to be able to expand/contract independent of another floor membrane that itself will have some movement. I thought Bruce was one of those floating floors that's secured with staples so that it can move around as it needs to. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Whitmore Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 I'm surprised that a glue down wood flooring material has pulled away from the subfloor, whether or not there was movement. It makes me wonder whether they used enough glue. They are typically supposed to glue the joints as well, which holds things together even better. I will never install a glue down wood flooring material again. That stuff sticks to everything, and does not seem to want to let go. The glue I used seemed to stay slightly flexible when dry, which may be what allows for the differential movement of materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted July 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi, Underlayment aside, I'd be concerned that the Bruce floor needs to be able to expand/contract independent of another floor membrane that itself will have some movement. I thought Bruce was one of those floating floors that's secured with staples so that it can move around as it needs to. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike They have a floating system also. This was typical engineered wood floor planks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 The books I have read and studied on installing hardwood flooring usually recommend that the subfloor be at least 1 inch thick. Depending on how the flooring was orientated, per the below information from Bruces web site, an underlayment is recommended. "When installing parallel to the floor joists it may be necessary to stiffen the subfloor system by installing an additional minimum of 3/8#8243; (9.5 mm) approved underlayment. Applicable standards and recommendations of the construction and materials industries must be met or exceeded" Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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