Tongue and groove floor on porch
by Linda
QUESTION: I am replacing a pine tongue and grooved front porch floor. The porch floor is OVER an INSIDE basement room. (a work-shop is below the porch floor). Although the front porch is covered by a roof, it still needs to be waterproof as not to leak into my basement room. Can I use this type of flooring?
Thanks in advance,
Linda
ANSWER: Readers are most welcome to comment. Linda, thanks for visiting our site. You pose a very interesting question. I'm assuming it has not leaked into your basement room before with your existing tongue and groove flooring so I'll address my response based on that.
I always build on the side of caution so I'd lay down a layer of exterior plywood (1/2 or 3/4 inch depending on the height of your door, etc.) over the joists.
Cover that with roofing felt. Then I'd lay the tongue and groove over that. This may not be feasible due to your door threshold height, etc. I'd also use a good quality caulk between the porch flooring and your home's siding.
On the interior workshop ceiling, I'd insulate between the joists and then cover the joists with plastic for added insurance. Then drywall over the plastic.
Be advised this could cause moisture issues if water penetrated your tongue and groove as it wouldn't have anywhere to go. So make sure everything is laid correctly from the beginning to minimize any potential water issue. Moisture is your enemy so I wouldn't take any shortcuts.
Without being there to see exactly what you'd be dealing with we always recommend you contact a few local contractors and pose the same question to see what they would advise. We try to give you our best recommendations but sometimes it is difficult to be precise in most cases when we can't see the porch, porch foundation, or joists first hand.
If you replace your porch flooring, we would enjoy seeing before and after pictures. Please let us know how it turns out.
You may also enjoy a couple other questions we have been asked about tongue and groove flooring.
Enjoy your porch time, Mary and Dave
Click here to post comments.
|
