Hi all,

Well I've been researching to the point I'm burning out. My previous post "Oregon Humidity and Subfloor questions" has more detail of you're interested. Pete has been a huge help! Like to get a couple other opinions if possible.

Trying to choose a floor for approx. 500 sq ft which will be in LR, Kit. and hallway. Trying to spend no more than $10 installed. I don't want the cheapest, don't need the best. My issue is Oregon humidity and a damp crawlspace in the rainy season which is, well its Oregon so often except for summer. That is not uncommon here. There is a thick vapor barrier down there and a sump pump. Subfloor is 2 x 6 T&G (aka: car decking) on 4 x 6 beams which is very common here. Existing floor is solid 3/4 x 5 1/4 T & G pine so because of transition heights the new floor cannot be over 3/4 inch either.

The new problem is the beam (which runs perpendicular to the subfloor) is where the floor is humped up. When I put a 6 foot level on it its like a seesaw and there is almost 3/4" ht difference so this will not be able to be addressed by grinding it down because you would eliminate the T&G part of the subfloor. We've had 1 guy come out to take measurements and work up a bid that we should have next week. He mentioned cutting the post down 1/2 to 3/4 inch to bring the beam down. I went under there and looked and its not undoable but maybe more than I want to tackle. I assume its probably is more than a flooring installer would do?

In an ideal world I could take a flush cut saw and cut the bottom of the post down 3/4" and not disturb where it is toe nailed into the beam. But the post is sitting on what I assume is a j bolt because I could feel it between the bottom of the post and the concrete footing when I fished a metal ruler between it. So obviously when they drilled the hole in the post they did it exactly (meaning no inch or so gap above the j bolt) That means it will have to be cut at the top of the post which is more difficult and probably best left to a professional. I could not do this until the current pine floor is demoed because lowering that would cause it to buckle.

Argghh, getting frustrated. I'm getting another installer to come out and give me a bid next week so we'll see what he says. Maybe its just not realistic to have new hardwood floors. It seems like it all is just to complicated. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? Does this all just seem to crazy cutting down posts? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Karen

Cutting one post may not solve your problem. I use a hydraulic jack and take the weight off of the post after pulling nails where I am to cut. There may or should be a gusset at where the post supports the beam to keep it in alignment that should be re-attached. I have estimated the shortening of the adjacent posts and had success making a hump like you have disappear. It helped to stack many bags of concrete over the beam for the weekend before they were used for other work to help the floor settle down before the new floor was installed.

Thank you Pete,

Good to hear from someone who has actually done this. I think I will have to deal with 4 posts in total although the one I mentioned is the worst at 3/4". I won't know until existing flooring is removed. Noted about using concrete bags to weigh down the beam. While I don't have any call for concrete work in my near future I can use sand bags as we use those for traction in the winter or in the garden.

There are no gussets on my existing posts although it may be prudent to put some in if I am able. I'm assuming you are talking about the post brackets that are shaped like a U facing up with the same U shape on the opposing side facing down. I'm not sure if those can be put on after the fact without jacking the floor up to accept them. Obviously I won't be able to toenail from the beam down into the post after I cut the post so will use screws instead. I will say the posts are perfectly straight and haven't appeared to twist or move in the last 40 years so thats good.

What did you use to cut the post? Its hard to get a nice level cut with a sawsall and it might be a tight fit with a rip saw but I'll have to venture back underneath the house to check it out.

Glad to hear this doesn't sound like an insane idea cutting posts. I'd rather a professional do it but not sure this is in the scope of most flooring installers?

Thanks, Karen

While cutting posts is "incidental" to floor laying and finishing, not many will have the experience or confidence to propose the work. It will be a guess as to how long it will take and what tools will be necessary. It would seem that cutting the post would be easy, but it is necessary to have a hydraulic jack to take the weight off the post to keep a saw from binding. I would recommend putting a 6 mil plastic sheet under the area where the work is to be done, for comfort reason, but at the same time covering the whole under area is a good idea to keep moisture down, overlapping the edges of a 10 foot wide sheet cut from a 100 foot roll.
The gussets are only one-half inch plywood triangles that are nailed to the edges of the beam where the posts intersect using 10d nails every 2-3 inches along the edges of the triangles that are made from rips about 12 inches wide. Nailing to one side of the beam/post intersection should be enough to keep the posts aligned if the house ever shifts off the foundation.