Goin to war with my FLOORS !!!

[Dreamscape]

Hola amigos

I've been beating my head against the wall in frustration as to what i'm going to do about my Intake and exhaust situation which will both require lots of hole cutting , both of which in hardwood floors ...

I was wondering on what you guys think are the best ways to repair these floors when I move ...

 

[marley1]

cant go into the dry wall? drywall is much easier to repair then wood would be i imagine.

 

[2buds]

Use dryer vents on the outside walls and cut the holes in walls. I hate cutting a floor too. Just couldn't do it, I want drains in the floor so bad but I hate to cut a floor. I feel you man, good luck with your decisions. Can you open up the drywall and cut down through the bottom plate( between the studs) for the walls. Then when you get done/move/whatever you just put a piece of drywall up and no one sees the hole/s going under the house. Good luck, measure twice, hit the bowl, measure 3 more times, walk in a circle remember what you were doing, hit a bowl, measure 3 more time then cut. Tell no one!

 

[Dreamscape]

Well ... the thing is ... i'm cutting into a ceiling which then goes into a floor of the room above and the other hole for the intake is going to go into the floor below and I dont imagine there is that much space between walls that I could run 6" or 8" ducting inbetween walls and THEN pentrate the floor ...

 

[MTF-Sandman]

Do you know what style of flooring it is and what the underlayment is?

It might be easier to just pull out a few boards where you want to cut the hole and then when your done with the place, just liquid nail those boards back over the hole in the underlayment...

 

[2buds]

MTF's idea of pulling some floor boards rather than just cutting holes is a great idea. Use a piece of plywood caulked in place over the hole to cut your holes and put your screws in. If you need to put it back pull up the plywood, the caulk is easy to scrape up, snap your boards back in and move on.

I'm not stuck on the wall idea just want to add they sell duct adapters at lows and hd that will take a 6 or 8" round duct and turn it rectangular or square, of various odd dimensions. (3" x 10" or something like that) Pre-made, just slip the duct over and clamp it. For the room above are you just gonna blow the exhaust into the room or is it gonna be ducted outside or where is it gonna have its final exit point? You can install a fancy floor vent above if you just need an exit point. Run up into the area between the ceiling/floor, turn 90' run a few feet then 90 up out of the floor. Paint the inside black before installation to keep light from passing through the duct work. Just ideas, hope something helps you come up with a solution. I'm guessing it vents to a storage room or something not a bedroom or used room in the home??? It may not make it as efficient but it is called flex duct, you can squish it and squeeze it to fit between the ceiling and floor but you are in for some serious headache work. I wish you much patients. When you figure it all out, write it down and sleep on it before you start cutting. Peace!

 

[Dreamscape]

MTF and 2buds ... thanks for the ideas,

Its hardwood floors and i'm guessing the ceilings are plastered drywall.

With the "remove a few boards" do you mean to cut them only as large as I need and then remove them or just find the full length of the board and take the whole thing out? Each floor board is a different length also. For removing the boards , what do I do - just grab a crowbar, find the nailed point and pry it up off the floor ?

Also - 2buds - those "take a round duct and turn it rectangular or square" sound aweomse but what about going through multiple floors , what would I use for inbetween the floors would I grab the round ducting, attach the square one, then attach a small piece of the round to fit in between the floors and attach the top end to another square one ? I'm thinking those might only be good for your final exit - which in my case would be an open attic ...

 

[MTF-Sandman]

I was referring to removing the entire board so that you can replace it later...but it looks like you'll have to replace it since removal requires cutting 1 board up to get it out of the tongues and grooves. Either way, you're gonna need to replace them eventually.

This link should show ya how to do it better than I can explain...

http://pages.areaguides.com/ubuild/PunchReplacingHardwoodFloor.htm

 

[Dreamscape]

fucking beautiful Sandman

 

[2buds]

That rocks Sandman, great diagram.
As for the duct questions, I would suggest doing as i do man, head down to lows or HD or your local all in one hardware store and ask for the duct work department. Go with a notepad and a pencil and look at what you can get your hands on to get some ideas. If you have multiple chain stores, check them both, one will carry what the other doesn't. Mine sells sheet metal pre-bent that snaps together and forms rectangular duct that would fit in a cavity like you have between the ceiling and floor. There are all sorts of different size adapters from round to square to rectangular, 4", 5", 6", 8" 10" round, square, flex. Go see what you can get, measure a few things and then go look at your space and see what you think may work. Its all about fabbing it when you build a grow room. Use what works for you. Its hard to visualize your project tonight but I bet if you go look at teh different adapters you'll get some ideas for sure!

Peace

 

[TokeD]

i always like to use the back corner of a closet that has carpeting, pull the back corner of carpet up and drill, when your done, place a thin bored over your duct hole llay the carpet back. when your done nobody will ever know.

 

[Ono Nadagin]

cut your hole and save what comes out use as thin a blade as you can to cut it out(jigsae or sawsall)

then when you want to put the boards back in you can use liquid nails to glue some thin strapping to the back of the bit you cut out... let the strapping run about 1-2" over each edge, then screw one long screw just barely into the cut out bit to act as a handle

feed the cut out bit into the hole where it can be moved around behind the opening you cut

apply liquid nails to the strapping where it overhangs from the back of the bit you cut out... then use the screw you put on as a handle to pull it up tight into the hole you originally cut it out of ... then use small screws to drill through predrilled holes in the existing floor or ceiling next to the hole your now trying to fill in and into the strapping you glued onto the back of the bit that you cut out and are now trying to put back in... this will pull the bit you cut out and are trying to put back in up tight agaisnt the flor where you dont have to hold onto the screw you used for a handle so you can remove it


in 3-4 hours when the liquid nails is dry you can remove the screws you used to pull the patch up tight out and fill the holes they made as well as the one made by the mandle with putty and then restain or paint


Hope this makes sense... if it doesnts I can try to find a DiY page that describes it to ya

 

[Dreamscape]

Makes great sense ... thanks to everyone for their ideas and insights ... as a side note i've decided to say "fuck it" and go C02 with no intake or exhaust (except for the air cooled hoods) so i wont be chopping up my floors as of yesterday.

 

[TokeD]

the best option plan D sealed room co2 and ac unit. you'll love it. go with a generator.