Hardwood Flooring - Subfloor Preparation?

Question

Looking for some advice on preparing a subfloor for a hardwood flooring install. I plan to lay 3/8" x 3" (solid; not engineered) Bolivian Rosewood over a crawl space. I have ripped out all the carpet, padding, tack strips, pad staples, and base boards. Now I am left with an 3/4" OSB subfloor.

The OSB is solid and plenty thick for the staples to bite, but its surface is really rough (chips, various dings and such from construction). I am worried the flooring won't lay properly and show the defects in the OSB surface. I have been told that OSB is not a good substrate for nailed down floors and that I should sheath the OSB with a 3/8" plywood to create a flat surface. Before going through the expense and effort of laying plywood I wanted to make sure this is an appropriate approach. I plan to install a vapor barrier, most likely something like ProlaymentSB (pad/vapor barrier) if that has any bearing.

Thanks.

Answer 1

i cant see why you cant  lay hardwood flooring on osb ?

  i would however. use  liquid nail to  help glue the wood   plus nailing .    the vapor barrier  is a good idea,

     just check for a good level before  you start to applying  the wood

Answer 2

the osb will be fine to layover. the wood shouldn't need a pad or vapor barrier if you were installing laminate then yes because laminate leaves a hollow sound and the pad/barrier helps deaden the hollow sound. the would will be fine just attached to the osb. however if you have any spongy spots in the floor i would nail that are so there isn't any give to the floor so when you install the new wood the nails or staples won't back out of the tongue. also read the instructions on how much gap you will need to leave at the walls so that the wood can expand and contract. also in the past when installing floors i noticed that just because a wood floor product is available in your area that doesn't mean that it is right for the climate before installing read the enclosed pamphlets because some floors also require you move your furniture every fews months so that the floor gets the same fade out from the uv rays so that over time you don't have light and dark spots because this is not covered by the warranty also certain rugs can not be used on wood floors i know I'm throwing alot at you at once but not every salesman at the stores you buy the product from can remember every detail.  money is to hard to get to blow it overnight. hope this helped