Jaybird VuCE

I am currently replacing a carpeted floor with an engineered wood flooring system. The engineered floor planks are 3" wide and need to be glued or nailed, I am considering gluing them down. However, there are plywood clips that protrude into the floor profile. How should I handle the clips, any suggestions? I was thinking of a thin plywood layer on the subfloor with the clips notched out, but that is a lot of work.

glennjanie

Hello Jaybird and Welcome to the Forum:
The plywood clips are a substitute for the tounge and groove method of keeping the plywood from moving between the two pieces in the space between joists. This is usually a treatment for roof decks. If your subfloor is 3/4" thick and the joists are spaced on 16" centers, I would take a side-grinder and grind the exposed tops off the clips. However, if your subfloor is thinner or the joists are spaced wider, you may need a complete new subfloor over the existing; use 3/4" tounge and groove underlayment grade OSB glued and screwed down. (Glue the T&G also.) Now you have a slick, smooth, strong floor ready for anything you wish to cover it with.
I found years ago that builders were adding the layers of subfloor together and claiming nice, strong floors. For instance I was in one house where the builder used 7/16" OSB and covered it with 5/8" particle board and claimed to have a floor over 1" thick. The particle board is not designed for structural use and the thin OSB is like walking on cardboard. I wish you well with your project and ask that you post back with pictures to let us know how it went.
Glenn

Jaybird VuCE

thanks glenn, you posted some good ideas.
Jay

Square Eye

Grinding the tops off of your clips could weaken your floor considerably.
Builders who use clips on the floors usualy intend to use carpet and don't have to deal with your situation.
If you want to notch out small recesses in an underlayment, or thin plywood, a cheap router like the Black and Decker sold at Wal-Mart will speed you up considerably. Buy a good carbide bit, 1/2" straight cut with a 1/4"shank at Lowe's or The Depot, Skil has inexpensive carbide bits at Lowe's.. Just set the depth on the router to less than the thickness of the underlayment, mark your clip locations and make your cuts. It will still take time, but less than a chisel and knife. A little patience and time invested will give you a much better floor than a quick fix.

Welcome to the forum!

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