painted hardwood subflooring as bathroom floor?


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Old 07-24-07, 05:08 PM
J
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Wink painted hardwood subflooring as bathroom floor?

Hey there,
I'm doing a renovation on a tight budget, and it has come time to decide what to do with my bathroom floor. I've moved the location of the bathroom, so right now, there is just hardwood subflooring in what will soon be the new bathroom. The person who lived here before me painted the subflooring already. I'm not a huge fan of tile to begin with and the tiles I do like seem to be out of my budget. I do murals for a living and came up with a really cool paint idea for the floor. I have no doubt that I can make it look great, but my question is - is it unacceptable to use the subfloor as my floor in the bathroom if it is covered in a few layers of paint and a few coats of polyurethane? I do plan to have large mats as well around the tub. No pets, no kids, just me showering, so the floor doesn't usually get too wet. Is there an issue just with the moisture in the air though? Please tell me if this is a bad idea or if it could work. Thanks!
 
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Old 07-24-07, 05:41 PM
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Advantech subflooring comes to mind. It is what we use in new construction as subflooring. It is tongue and grooved, 4x8x3/4" and has a wax like impregnation that repels water. We don't have to worry too much about rain any more if we don't have a roof on the first day of framing.
Now, the only drawback to that would be if your paint medium would adhere to it. It is possible for you to prime it with Zinser oil based primer and then do your thingy on the floor.
You should be able to seal the edges with a silicone product, and any seams you have to make, as water from a shower will find its way into any opening.
It is not going to look good at first sight, with all the imprinting, advertising and nail placement dots, so you will have your work cut out for yourself.
 
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Old 07-24-07, 06:59 PM
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me again

well, actually, I was hoping to use the hardwood subflooring that is already in the room to paint on. It is in very nice condition even though it is an older house - built in 1922. I will have a clawfoot tub and separate stand up glass shower enclosure with a plexiglass base.
 
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Old 07-25-07, 05:21 AM
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OK, you are saying "subflooring". Subflooring is not strong enough itself to hold the tub and all the other fixtures. You will need a layer of flooring on top of the subflooring. Maybe you already have flooring installed, and may just be mislabeling it "subflooring".
 
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Old 07-25-07, 05:56 AM
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thanks!

OK, that is good to know. It is subflooring that I have. right underneath it is the joists. I didn't even think of the strength issue. I guess I will have to go with some sort of tile then. Thank you!!!
 
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Old 07-25-07, 06:14 AM
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Is there any way to determine the the thickness of the subfloor? Is it fairly level/straight? I assume it is tongue and groove planks.
 
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Old 07-26-07, 10:45 AM
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hi there

The subflooring is tongue and groove, yes, and we have some areas cut out and it is very easy to tell that is is 3/4" thick. It is in good shape, not perfect, but almost completely level, yes. Thoughts?
 
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Old 07-26-07, 01:52 PM
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T&G planks for a sub floor is a bit stouter than the plywood/osb used today. If the joist spacing isn't greater than 16" I think you will be ok to paint and seal the floor. My only concern would be the tub - once full of water it can be quite heavy.
 
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Old 07-27-07, 05:46 AM
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joists 13"

the joists are 13" apart. i guess at this point I'm feeling a little worried about the weight of the tub too. The tub is 5 feet long and 30" wide. I would guess it weights around 300 pounds. Another reason I didn't want to do tile was that I didn't want to add any more weight to the floor. Who would I call in to give me an opinion on something like this? The floor seems very strong, but I don't have experience with this stuff. Thanks for your opinions,
 
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Old 07-27-07, 11:32 AM
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I'm no expert on floor loads but with floor joists that close together, unless they are undersized, I would think you would be ok.
 
 

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