showcrop
Well-known Member
I started this project probably 7-8 years ago by adding beams in the basement of my 130 year old house, and I have been at it in stages ever since. The objective is a new tile floor in the kitchen which has been linoleum over 1/4 luan over two very worn and termite eaten layers of pine since we bought the place in 1989. The main obstacle has been the humps in the floor. I wouldn't worry too much about valleys, but humps can be an obstacle to a good tile installation. I have been adding support to the beams which are on 2' centers, and have split at their ends. A few weeks ago I took up most of the plywood, then later both layers of board in one high area. A few days ago I removed most of the nails that were holding the boards down. They were hard to locate let alone pull because they are 12d counter sunk and rusty finish nails. Today I tackled the boards at another area of a really bad hump in the area in front of the sink. It is 1.5 inches high, or it was.
The first pic shows the termite damage in the subfloor under the upper layer of pine.
The second pic shows where I have removed more of the top layer of pine and a few square feet of the lower level. Where the level sits there was a big hump and it is now nearly flat. It turned out that the reason for the hump was mostly just the dirt formed by the termites years ago before they were exterminated. Now that I know that the beams really are as level on their tops as they are on their bottom sides, I know that they will be a suitable support for the 3/4 T&G Advantec new subfloor after I take all of the boards up. Cement board over mastic will go over the Advantec which will be glued and screwed. All of the cabinets will come out. Let me repeat that there have been no termites in many years.
The first pic shows the termite damage in the subfloor under the upper layer of pine.
The second pic shows where I have removed more of the top layer of pine and a few square feet of the lower level. Where the level sits there was a big hump and it is now nearly flat. It turned out that the reason for the hump was mostly just the dirt formed by the termites years ago before they were exterminated. Now that I know that the beams really are as level on their tops as they are on their bottom sides, I know that they will be a suitable support for the 3/4 T&G Advantec new subfloor after I take all of the boards up. Cement board over mastic will go over the Advantec which will be glued and screwed. All of the cabinets will come out. Let me repeat that there have been no termites in many years.