I want to lay a laminate floor but wondered whether on aesthetic and cost
grounds it's better to lay new floorboards and sand/varnish. Any opinions?
The existing boards are really in too poor condition to be used (gaps you
could lose a foot down in some places ;-) ) and cement covered and oddly
filled in in others.

Any websites with advice on laying/preparing either would be appreciated.

One consideration is which would lead to least dust - we suffer from hugely
rubble filled voids and I'm concerned the central heating will raise dust if
there are gaps in boards (then again it'll give me the opportunity to clear
them I suppose).

TIA

in2minds wrote:
"I want to lay a laminate floor but wondered whether on aesthetic and
cost grounds it's better to lay new floorboards and sand/varnish.
Any opinions?" [..]

if the original boards are fecked replace them, why lay laminate if
you can have a real wood floor ?


This is in upstairs rooms so I thought that laminate with foam underlay
might be a little quieter than new boards?

we replaced old boards with a completely new PTG floor and it worked
out cheaper than laying laminate, looks and feels nicer too.

if you do go for real wood, don't buy sheds own make (B&Q, Homebase
etc.) varnish buy the quality stuff.

Les

Thanks for the tip.

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
in2minds wrote:
"I want to lay a laminate floor but wondered whether on aesthetic and
cost grounds it's better to lay new floorboards and sand/varnish.
Any opinions?" [..]

if the original boards are fecked replace them, why lay laminate if
you can have a real wood floor ?


This is in upstairs rooms so I thought that laminate with foam underlay
might be a little quieter than new boards?

we replaced old boards with a completely new PTG floor and it worked
out cheaper than laying laminate, looks and feels nicer too.

if you do go for real wood, don't buy sheds own make (B&Q, Homebase
etc.) varnish buy the quality stuff.

Les

Thanks for the tip.



Tenex,
As a suggestion if you ripped up your old boards, cleaned underneath, laid
6-8" of rockwool to fill the void and laid the foam underlay on top of the
joists and then nailed your new boards down you may get a decrease in noise.

Only a suggestion, not tried it myself so am happy to be shot down

AndyP

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
I want to lay a laminate floor but wondered whether on aesthetic and cost
grounds it's better to lay new floorboards and sand/varnish. Any
opinions?
The existing boards are really in too poor condition to be used (gaps you
could lose a foot down in some places ;-) ) and cement covered and oddly
filled in in others.

Any websites with advice on laying/preparing either would be appreciated.

One consideration is which would lead to least dust - we suffer from
hugely
rubble filled voids and I'm concerned the central heating will raise dust
if
there are gaps in boards (then again it'll give me the opportunity to
clear
them I suppose).

TIA



This site won't help you much with the decision, and laying the floor if you
decide to to that, but it gives pretty good advice when it comes to sanding
and preparation if you decide to go that route.

http://www.sandedfloors.co.uk/

cheers
Richard

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"Grunff" wrote in message
...
Tenex wrote:
I want to lay a laminate floor but wondered whether on aesthetic and
cost
grounds it's better to lay new floorboards and sand/varnish. Any
opinions?
The existing boards are really in too poor condition to be used (gaps
you
could lose a foot down in some places ;-) ) and cement covered and oddly
filled in in others.

Any websites with advice on laying/preparing either would be
appreciated.

One consideration is which would lead to least dust - we suffer from
hugely
rubble filled voids and I'm concerned the central heating will raise
dust if
there are gaps in boards (then again it'll give me the opportunity to
clear
them I suppose).

Laminate is great - so are floor boards. Think of them as two
flooring alternatives, with different properties (not, unlike
some see them, a 'proper' floor and a nasty alternative).

IMO, floorboards are good in well used areas, but are a lot more
effort to keep dust free, and are invariably noisier.


We got rid of the carpet in our bedroom & I sanded, oiled/stained and
varnished the boards. Looks good, and there's no intrusive noise in the
room below.

We have found it easy to keep clean - a quick brush around with a soft brush
or vacuum with Henry (brushes down - oh no, not another Henry nut...!!)
keeps the dust and fluff down. Was easier than vacuuming the carpet when it
was down. The dust still accumulates when you have a carpet, but you just
don't notice it... and of course with carpets you have to move furniture to
properly vacuum behind it, whereas with bare boards/laminate you can quickly
sweep behind it.

Laminate OTOH is quieter, can be kept spotless with minimum
effort, but won't last as long.

We have laminate in the living room, and will shortly lay it in
the study. Those areas are kept very clean, but don't get a huge
amount of foot traffic, especially not in shoes.

If you do go for laminate, go for a good quality one. Expect to
pay £15-£20/sqm. At that price, you'll get a thick laminate
(12-16mm), which will look great when laid and will give a
reasonable service life. I expect ours to last 15-20 years.


The Richard Burbidge stuff that I put in our rented flat was good stuff -
easy to lay and no discernable joins. Got it for about £13 +vat /sq.m from
Champion.

--
Grunff



cheers
Richard

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
Dee wrote:
Tenex,
As a suggestion if you ripped up your old boards, cleaned underneath,
laid 6-8" of rockwool to fill the void and laid the foam underlay on
top of the joists and then nailed your new boards down you may get a
decrease in noise.

Only a suggestion, not tried it myself so am happy to be shot down

AndyP

I see where you're going but I the noise I'm referring to is that
transmitted directly (ie. through the boards to joists etc) rather than
the
noise passively passed through the void.


That's why I suggested putting the form on top of the joists (under the new
boards)

AndyP

Grunff wrote:
Laminate is great - so are floor boards. Think of them as two
flooring alternatives, with different properties (not, unlike
some see them, a 'proper' floor and a nasty alternative).

IMO, floorboards are good in well used areas, but are a lot more
effort to keep dust free, and are invariably noisier.

Laminate OTOH is quieter, can be kept spotless with minimum
effort, but won't last as long.

We have laminate in the living room, and will shortly lay it in
the study. Those areas are kept very clean, but don't get a huge
amount of foot traffic, especially not in shoes.

If you do go for laminate, go for a good quality one. Expect to
pay £15-£20/sqm. At that price, you'll get a thick laminate
(12-16mm), which will look great when laid and will give a
reasonable service life. I expect ours to last 15-20 years.

Thanks for that any hints on cutting etc? The room has so many odd angles
it'll take forever ...

Tenex wrote:

Thanks for that any hints on cutting etc? The room has so many odd angles
it'll take forever ...

I've used several methods, here they are in order of preference:

[1] Sliding chopsaw. Great. Every home should have one (start
around £130).

[2] Good quality jigsaw with bimetal blade. Pretty good, but
much slower than [1].

[3] Hardpoint saw (handsaw). Good cut, but takes ages and is
hard work.

--
Grunff

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
Dee wrote:
"Tenex" wrote in message
...
Dee wrote:
Tenex,
As a suggestion if you ripped up your old boards, cleaned
underneath, laid 6-8" of rockwool to fill the void and laid the
foam underlay on top of the joists and then nailed your new boards
down you may get a decrease in noise.

Only a suggestion, not tried it myself so am happy to be shot down

AndyP

I see where you're going but I the noise I'm referring to is that
transmitted directly (ie. through the boards to joists etc) rather
than the noise passively passed through the void.


That's why I suggested putting the form on top of the joists (under
the new boards)

AndyP

Understood but you still have to nail through so are creating a solid
connection which isn't there with laminate? I'm probably completely awry
here! Thanks



Well, to see if there will be a sound problem why not suck it and see? It
looks like you've already decided to ditch the carpet, so I'd suggest
pulling it up, covering any dangerous holes with a bit of tacked down
hardboard, and living with it for a week to see if the noise is indeed
intrusive.

If it isn't with the existing boards then you won't worsen the situation
when you put down new boards.

If it's intolerable, then you know you have a problem that needs solving -
either by using laminate + underlay, or mechanically isolating the new
boards somehow.

just a thought...

cheers
Richard


--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"Tenex" wrote in message
...
Dee wrote:
"Tenex" wrote in message
...
Dee wrote:
Tenex,
As a suggestion if you ripped up your old boards, cleaned
underneath, laid 6-8" of rockwool to fill the void and laid the
foam underlay on top of the joists and then nailed your new boards
down you may get a decrease in noise.

Only a suggestion, not tried it myself so am happy to be shot down

AndyP

I see where you're going but I the noise I'm referring to is that
transmitted directly (ie. through the boards to joists etc) rather
than the noise passively passed through the void.


That's why I suggested putting the form on top of the joists (under
the new boards)

AndyP

Understood but you still have to nail through so are creating a solid
connection which isn't there with laminate? I'm probably completely awry
here! Thanks



Yeah, I see your point. Hard to know what accoustic reductions you could
expect without as the chap below has said trying it out.

AndyP

RichardS wrote:
Well, to see if there will be a sound problem why not suck it and
see? It looks like you've already decided to ditch the carpet, so
I'd suggest pulling it up, covering any dangerous holes with a bit of
tacked down hardboard, and living with it for a week to see if the
noise is indeed intrusive.

Ideally I would. The problem is it has to be completed this weekend - the
furniture was put in storage (for insurance funded repairs) and it comes
back on Monday or Tuesday at latest so there's no time. The carpet has
already gone but the room underneath has also been stripped and stored (same
repair works) so neither is in "normal" usable condition, no TV's furniture
or usual use.

Thanks for your input.

Understood but you still have to nail through so are creating a solid
connection which isn't there with laminate? I'm probably completely awry
here! Thanks

No, correct.

Even soundproofing enclosures is very difficult - floors much more so.

o Yes foam under laminate floor will create a reduction in noise
o However far less so if the edges of the laminate touch the walls
---- better to use a flexible sealant and covering wood-profile there

However, there are proper sound-insulatory mats available to go under
both laminate & carpet. They are a thick mass-loaded rubber or a composite
of foam & rubber. Remember mass takes out low-frequency, absorbive
closed-cell-only foam takes out high-frequency. Physical contact thro
any soundproofer short-circuits the sound-proofer benefit out.

Realise soundproofing is slight unless a combination of several methods,
which becomes expensive for most applications. For general sound proofing
laminate over foam over flooring is reasonable. Some would replace the
flooring with fresh T&G interlocking high density boards, if the old boards
are the "usual U warped gap-opening" type re noise & dust kick-back.

Soundproofing is an exercise in physical exersion which can be great at
burning calories, but often depressingly ineffective acoustically :-)

Be clear on what you want to achieve & how important sound insulation is.
Aside, re laminate flooring, remember the surfaces are not indestructible.
o They are easily damaged by older beds with tiny castors
o They conversely are easily cleaned or partly-replaced unlike carpets
---- various make-ups can never be removed from carpet re oil-base

"Warped-U" floorboards should always be replaced if you fit a carpet,
since they can frequently cause rippling in the carpet hessian/base.
That rippling is usually parallel to weave of hessian backing, and so
creates a point ridge that will wear terribly very quickly indeed.

So there is a sound :-) reason for fixing creaking floorboards.
--
Dorothy Bradbury
www.stores.ebay.co.uk/panaflofan