Hello,
I've got a 1913 Foursquare home with a large front porch in need of redecking. Currently, the deck has tongue and groove hardwood strip that is painted. I want to replace this with the same type tongue and groove hardwood flooring, probably red or white oak. The porch is open on the sides but is covered with a roof. I would like to stain this new porch a medium brown with a satin or semigloss finish. I also considered prefinished hardwood floors but am told that these are mostly for indoor use. A few questions:
Are there prefinished hardwood floors for outdoor use? Not synthetic decking, as the historic district will not allow it.
What considerations should I have for the stain and the poly or varnish finish since it is outside?
Given that it is outside, should I prefinish (stain and seal) the boards in a more temperature controlled environment first, then assemble them?
Can I nail hardwood directly over the joists, as it is now, or should I lay down an underlayment, such as 3/4" pressure treated plywood first?
If I lay down underlayment, should I put felt under the hardwoods?
Currently the direction of the hardwoods is parallel to the long side of the house. Should I change orientation of the boards? For porches, I have seen them run perpendicular to the long side of the house. Is this generally accepted?
Thanks very much for your insight.
Scott
Hi Scott
Did you ever receive a reply to your questions or answer them through other means? I have the very same questions, as I am replacing the hardwood flooring on the front porch of our 1913 heritage home.
I am keenly interested in the response to two of your questions:
Can I nail hardwood directly over the joists, as it is now, or should I lay down an underlayment, such as 3/4" pressure treated plywood first?
If I lay down underlayment, should I put felt under the hardwoods?
Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob
Did you ever receive a reply to your questions or answer them through other means? I have the very same questions, as I am replacing the hardwood flooring on the front porch of our 1913 heritage home.
I am keenly interested in the response to two of your questions:
Can I nail hardwood directly over the joists, as it is now, or should I lay down an underlayment, such as 3/4" pressure treated plywood first?
If I lay down underlayment, should I put felt under the hardwoods?
Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob
No unfortuneately not...
I did decide, on my own to go ahead and put down treated plywood and felt. This to protect the hardwoods from moisture as well as I would like to run my hardwoods perpendicular to the main wall, rather than parallel to it.
What sort of hardwood are you using and are you painting or staining? If staining, what outdoor stain and poly/varnish have you found?
I did decide, on my own to go ahead and put down treated plywood and felt. This to protect the hardwoods from moisture as well as I would like to run my hardwoods perpendicular to the main wall, rather than parallel to it.
What sort of hardwood are you using and are you painting or staining? If staining, what outdoor stain and poly/varnish have you found?
Unfortunately, the plywood should not be there for an exterior job. All the moisture that gets blown in on this can seep through and be trapped on the backside, making it rot out in 2-3 years, depending on your climate.
white oak is rot resistant. Red oak is not - will wick water right in.
Clear verticalgrain fir or antique heart pine are the taditional woods for this
Tendura is a modern composite replacement that looks similar.
Ipe` ironwoods is becoming popular, but is harder to find in T&G than square edged. Itr is very rot resistant
Excellence is its own reward!
white oak is rot resistant. Red oak is not - will wick water right in.
Clear verticalgrain fir or antique heart pine are the taditional woods for this
Tendura is a modern composite replacement that looks similar.
Ipe` ironwoods is becoming popular, but is harder to find in T&G than square edged. Itr is very rot resistant
Excellence is its own reward!