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As part of my remodeling work I had to deal with the edge of a floor and the way it was intersecting with a stairwell opening. We would normally expect a sub-floor over joists and then a flooring layer on top of that.
In this case, the visible flooring was a charming, old, purple linoleum that had been there for many years. Under that was what we would, today, call a sub-floor. It is a 5 inch, pine, tongue and groove material. No grain figure at all, yet it was, apparently, the finished floor at that time. This house was built in two pieces. One in about 1885 and the other in about 1904. This that I am describing is in what we might term the new wing of the facility.
These boards are loose and unsuitable with respect to hoped-for structural integrity, so they must go. I will replace this layer with 3/4 inch plywood. The adjacent walls are finished, having been done quite a few years ago. As such, they effectively run under the wall. I have to cut them flush with the wall, so that I can fit the plywood right up to the wall, so that this new sub-floor can properly support the new finished floor.
The question: How can I cut flush with the wall. The only way I have thought of thus far is to use a reciprocating saw [Milwaukee Sawzall], working along between the joists on the wall that runs perpendicular to the joists. I could set my circular saw at 3/4 inch and run alongside each joist, and then cut out the spaces between with the Sawzall. I think I would have to chisel the pieces immediately on top of the joists. The other wall that runs parallel with the joists should be easier, allowing a continuous cut with the Sawzall, I hope.
People have been fond in the past of saying that they don’t build things like they used to. I think, very often, we are very lucky that such is not the case.
Any thoughts on this situation, regarding how to cut this layer out flush with the wall?
No surprise, this large, L-shaped floor is not totally level, either. At one end of the L, there is a run that is level for about 3 feet, then it runs uphill for about another 3 feet, and then it runs back downhill for the remaining 4 feet or so. You don’t feel these changes when walking on it, but a level reveals it rather dramatically.
I could do some shimming under the new sub-floor prior to installation, so as to level the entire run, but I would necessarily end up shimming the entire L-shaped hall up, a tedious matter, and also it would create elevation issues at various doorways, something I would like to avoid.
In this case, the visible flooring was a charming, old, purple linoleum that had been there for many years. Under that was what we would, today, call a sub-floor. It is a 5 inch, pine, tongue and groove material. No grain figure at all, yet it was, apparently, the finished floor at that time. This house was built in two pieces. One in about 1885 and the other in about 1904. This that I am describing is in what we might term the new wing of the facility.
These boards are loose and unsuitable with respect to hoped-for structural integrity, so they must go. I will replace this layer with 3/4 inch plywood. The adjacent walls are finished, having been done quite a few years ago. As such, they effectively run under the wall. I have to cut them flush with the wall, so that I can fit the plywood right up to the wall, so that this new sub-floor can properly support the new finished floor.
The question: How can I cut flush with the wall. The only way I have thought of thus far is to use a reciprocating saw [Milwaukee Sawzall], working along between the joists on the wall that runs perpendicular to the joists. I could set my circular saw at 3/4 inch and run alongside each joist, and then cut out the spaces between with the Sawzall. I think I would have to chisel the pieces immediately on top of the joists. The other wall that runs parallel with the joists should be easier, allowing a continuous cut with the Sawzall, I hope.
People have been fond in the past of saying that they don’t build things like they used to. I think, very often, we are very lucky that such is not the case.
Any thoughts on this situation, regarding how to cut this layer out flush with the wall?
No surprise, this large, L-shaped floor is not totally level, either. At one end of the L, there is a run that is level for about 3 feet, then it runs uphill for about another 3 feet, and then it runs back downhill for the remaining 4 feet or so. You don’t feel these changes when walking on it, but a level reveals it rather dramatically.
I could do some shimming under the new sub-floor prior to installation, so as to level the entire run, but I would necessarily end up shimming the entire L-shaped hall up, a tedious matter, and also it would create elevation issues at various doorways, something I would like to avoid.
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