How to repair this porch flooring?

[atgcpaul]

How should I go about replacing this porch flooring? This is viewed from the walkway as you're about to go up the steps. I don't need to replace the whole porch, just this section right in front of the steps which has the most wear.

Some concerns. I think my local lumber place sells PT tongue and groove flooring that matches mine. My concern is that they'll shrink after I install them. Anything I can do to avoid that? Just buy now and install a few months later?

How do I install the last board since it will be in the middle of the field? Rip off the bottom edge of the groove and lay it down or rip off the tongue? In both scenarios, you'll see a gap from the front.

I'll probably be hand nailing stainless steel nails or the recommended galvanized ones.

Thanks
Paul

[Stytooner]

I think T&G is a really bad choice for an open porch. It doesn't drain. I would replace the entire porch with something better. It will be costly, but will not need redoing in our lifetime.

[tfischer]

The remaining boards there are quite worn and nothing you do isn't going to look like a bad patch job. I'd bite the bullet and redo the entire porch floor.

[JoeyGee]

If you do want to patch and not replace, how about taking some boards from a less conspicuous spot and using those to patch in front of the door? That way, your new patch boards won't be as noticeable.

[atgcpaul]

Would love to replace the whole porch but it would just be too much money right now. It would be a pretty big job for me since it wraps around to the side of the house and technically challenging because part of the porch is screened in. Probably 60-80' of porch total. I would want to redo it in some kind of nice hardwood or a composite. The whole porch is covered by a roof and it is pitched so it's just the ends that predominantly get wet.

Anyway, this section is definitely the worst because of the traffic it gets and being a little more exposed. The other sections of porch have railings in front and they must help block that much more rain/snow. You don't see that dark to light band in the other sections and the boards are definitely not as badly checked. Yes, the patch will stick out but I can live with that. It won't be long before it weathers and dirties to the same color of the rest of the porch.

I'm just unsure of how to deal with the last few boards where new meets old.

Thanks,
Paul

[tfischer]

Well in that case I'd saw off the bottom of the grooved piece and lap it over the tongue of the first existing board you're going to save. Then after t's installed, you could glue a little piece in the front to hide the fact that it is missing.

My take on when things can't match is to make it look like that was your intent all along. That section is always going to stick out, even after it weathers, so why not make it stick out intentionally? Maybe paint it or something, centered on your doorway, so it looks like it's supposed to be an intentional path to your door.

I've never been a fan of a "patchwork" job but I think you can come up with something low-cost that would prevent that.

[JimD]

Paul,

Is the porch adequately pitched towards the ground? If it is, it should drain OK. If it isn't, I guess you could still put I some flooring but it won't hold up. But assuming you want to do this, I would check out the PT flooring available locally and see how dry it is. If it is about ~12% (a normal value for construction lumber) I would let it dry inside for awhile. That will minimize shrinkage. I've patched my oak floor in one spot and will soon do a couple more. I saved a bunch of boards from another part of the house for this so I have plenty of material. Anyway, the process is to remove what you want to replace - I would go all the way to the house if you can get boards long enough to replace them. Then you can face nail or nail through the protruding side with a flooring nailer - or a finish nailer. If you nail through the tongue, the nails do not show. I would match the rest of the porch with respect to nailing. Face nailing is easier but it also leads to decay. Maybe tongue nail towards the outside regardless. For the last board, you will have to cut off the tongue and possibly the bottom of the groove so you can insert the board. You may have to taper a piece depending on how things go. A minor width difference should not be very noticeable, however.

This isn't a bad job IMHO. I would think it's one weekend if you have the materials on hand and ready to go.

Jim

[atgcpaul]

Yes, I will definitely be replacing the boards all the way back to the house. I do have a flooring nailer but I'll see how I do by hand. I have never been great by hand (I'm a righty but I have always swung left and can't swing right unless the angle suits it) so I want the practice--yes, I'm a sadist. There are no obvious nails showing so I'm guess they went through the tongue.

OK, Jim, I'll keep your advice in mind.

I need to buy some siding so I'll try to get everything at once and do one delivery.

[JimD]

I installed 3/8 solid oak flooring on some stairs nailing by hand but I won't do that again. I drilled pilot holes and it went OK but it took a long time. A nailer (finish nailer is all that would work for that job) is just so much faster.

[LinuxRandal]

I would think if you ripped either the tongue or groove off, you wouldn't do it completely (leave the last six inches and push through).
That said, the old porches around here, have mostly been replaced since finding good (and relatively inexpensive compared to other options), pine flooring is harder to come by. Most that I have seen that look like that, you will find something under the porch that is part of the problem (where the flooring nails to, tore up from replacing floors but not the supports over the years, etc).

[atgcpaul]

I installed 3/8 solid oak flooring on some stairs nailing by hand but I won't do that again. I drilled pilot holes and it went OK but it took a long time. A nailer (finish nailer is all that would work for that job) is just so much faster.

I have a 16 gauge finish nailer but I'm not sure that's thick enough. SS flooring nails are super expensive. Seems to be about $120+ for 1000 pack. I only need 1/4 of that. SS trim head screws are more expensive per screw but they come in smaller packs. I think I'll go the trim head screw route.

I bought all the 1x4 T&G flooring today and it's stacked up in the screened in area. Hopefully I don't find any surprises when I start taking out the old boards.

[LCHIEN]

To get them out you will probably have to break one up by splitting it. Then pry up the adjacent ones on either side until you remove the one you want to replace.
To replace them, assuming you cut equal lengths ones with same width and tongue /groove sizes, you can replace them toward the middle and tent the last two getting them in. I'd not nail them down until I got them all installed and fit. Then using some shims to space them, or just do it by sight, use a pair of temporary tack nails on each board to secure it in the right place. Nail down using the permanent nails, one nail into each supporting (joist?) so as to allow expansion without damage.

[Two Much]

Is the entire porch tongue and groove? If so, then the water is not able to freely go through.
Won't the boards eventually (from underneath) swell and buckle from lack of air and circulation,
like the section in front of the door?

[atgcpaul]

Is the entire porch tongue and groove? If so, then the water is not able to freely go through.
Won't the boards eventually (from underneath) swell and buckle from lack of air and circulation,
like the section in front of the door?

The whole porch is T&G. This porch is 18 years old and this area is the roughest. The rest of it is flat and looks pretty good, just needs a good cleaning. The porch is about 3' off the ground all around and sits on concrete/brick piers at the important load points, and is presumably attached by a ledger board to the house. There is about 2' of lattice from the ground to the bottom of the porch. I guess that gap provides enough air circulation to prevent the whole thing from swelling and buckling.

All of the porch is covered by a wrap around roof, too, so that's probably why drainage isn't an issue. Only the ends of the boards get wet when it rains. This section gets walked on the post, sat on the most, has to deal with the snow shovel (and salt) in the winter, and doesn't benefit from having rails or shrubs in front to deflect the rain and the morning sun.

[atgcpaul]

...you wouldn't do it completely (leave the last six inches and push through)...

I'm wondering now if I should just try to pound the last board in from the end using some friendly persuasion and keeping the whole tongue and groove in tact...