On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 00:11:57 GMT, jack wrote:

I've just removed the carpet from a bedroom 16 foot by 12 foot and
want to renovate the floorboards. The house was originally a surgery
owned by the local health authority and is about a hundred years old.
The flooboards have been cut along one of the joists the entire
length (16 foot) of the room, leaving two floorboards of roughly four
and eight foot in length across the width of the room.
The four foot length is the original board and the eight length looks
as if they were put down about thirty years ago. Both types of boards
are the same width and thickness and both have shrunk slightly leaving
gaps.
I'm hoping to lift them and relay staggering the joints, by
alternating the boards and closing the gaps between.
A problem I have is that the original boards have been laid under a
wall extending out onto the landing. The wall is like stud partition
but bricks fitted in between the timber. What would be the easiest way
to cut the floorboards tight into the wall after removing the
skirting? A circular saw will not get in close enough and a jigsaw
will not either as there is a joist running parallel with the wall.
What would be the quickest way to cut the board along the wall?

Are there wood cutting discs suitable for an angle grinder.

I'm also wondering about when rearranging the boards, as their ends
will probably not align with the joists and I don't really want to add
in extra bits of floorboard, what would be the best way to support
their ends.

I was thinking of replacing the whole floor with new boards, but don't
feel it looks the same as an old sanded one

Any advice

jack


Jack

If you have the same problems I did there are 2 more ......

1) you will probably destroy some of the boards as you lift them, they
will either split along the length or won't come up, this is
especially a problem with the first.

2) once all the gaps are closed you will have a single big gap to
fill, and a new board won't match in.

I had all your problems as well. the ends under the wall may just be
under the skirting/plaster it may be worth having a dig arround.

If you go for all new boards, like I did in the end, with new pine
ones, they all srank in the first 6 months, leaving gaps - back to
square 1.

I put a lot of time & effort it, and did not make that much
difference. I wish I had spent the money on a good carpet.

If the floor is up, its also worth insulating between the joists.

Rick