UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Adam
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them? Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?

Cheers - Adam...
  #2   Report Post  
Roger Mills
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them? Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?

Cheers - Adam...


Get a new carpet!

Seriously, any other solution will involve a lot of work. At the very least,
you'll need to remove the paint splashes, punch down any proud nail heads
and then hire an industrial sander to restore a clean flat surface. You may
or may not then have something which you can varnish, and use as your final
surface (not sure what to do about the gaps).

If you get a flat surface, but it's still doesn't look good enough, you
could then consider covering it with laminate or - preferably - engineered
board with a *real* wood surface. The previous work won't have been wasted -
because you need a flat surface on which to lay laminate etc. If you do do
this, remove the skirting board and undercut the door frames so that you can
hide the expansion gap round your new floor without needing to use any
horrible beading.

One thing to be aware of is that, once you have covered the floor with
laminate or engineered board, it is much more difficult to take bits up to
get at pipes and wiring. Putting down a new carpet - with some thick
underlay to hide the uneven surface - might yet be the best option!

Roger


  #3   Report Post  
andrewpreece
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them? Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?

Cheers - Adam...


Only you can decide if it is worth doing. I renovated my softwood
floorboards
in January and am pleased with the result, though I was cursing at the time.
You will need to hire an industrial belt sander and a circular sander for a
weekend.
Cost will be ITRO £90 inc. abrasive paper.
However, the whole process takes much longer. You need to:-
1. Remove all furniture from that room
2. Rip up the carpet and underlay
3. Sink any protruding nailheads down out of the way (sanders don't like
'em )
4. Fill any holes.
5. Rip up all carpet grips
6. Remove any underlay staples etc.

Thats just the non-negotiable stuff. If your gaps are uneven ( I would
suggest that
widish gaps aren't a problem in themselves ), you may wish to pull up those
boards
worst affected and re-lay them. Use shims in the gaps to force the errant
boards to have more consistent gaps, then nail them back into position. If
you are
leaving your skirting boards in position ( that's another crappy job I had
to do ) then
you can still sand right up to them using the circular sander, but how are
you going
to lift any errant floorboards if you leave the skirting in place? Tearing
the skirting off
will probably damage the skirting, and almost certainly tear chunks off the
wall ( another
job ). I took my skirting off as I wanted to reposition the electricity
sockets, so I had
more motivation to replace them.

As for some boards being warped upwards, don't worry, the belt sander
will flatten
them no worries ( I had a bucket of sawdust at the end of it ). I would
suggest the
sander will remove the steps between boards as well, as long as it's not one
board
depressed and all the others proud. The belt sander will take off the
paint-splashes no
problem. The black stuff around the edges will come off too but beware it
tends to clog
the sandpaper, so lots of it means more sandpaper expense. Your boards sound
a bit
unruly so it may take some hours of pushing the belt sander about ( at 45
degrees to
the boards mind! ) to get the bulk of the sticky-uppy stuff off, then some
more hours
going down through the sanpaper grades to get a decent finish. Best to
finish off with
a fine grade, going along the boards this time, with the grain.

Circular saw cuts are a fact of life; some of my boards had been
sliced in two to
allow access. Either fill the cut with an appropriate filler, or maybe a
mixture of wallpaper
paste and sawdust ( or pva and sawdust - experiment first ). It might be
that extending the
cut made by a circular saw right across the board ( not necessarily cut
right through though )
will look more natural. Unless you have a very smart or modern house a bit
of character in
the floorboards adds to the charm - you'll have rugs on a lot of it
probably anyway.

If you have a suspended wooden floor, gaps wll cause draughts - do
you want that?
I caulked my gaps with a mixture of twists of hemp string rammed in (
tedious ) and a natural
wood colour Dow Corning acrylic frame sealant ( comes in a tube for those
gun things ). I
understand papier mache works too, or clear silicone - beware, many sealers
specifically
warn that they should not be used between floorboards. I also insulated the
joists underneath
for insurance.

Finally, I applied woodworm treatment ( perhaps not necessary ) and
after that had
dried, a water-based quick dry antique pine floor varnish ( three coats ). I
am now of the
opinon that staining the boards would have been a better option, as if you
ding the floor
and take off a chunk of varnish it shows. Also I think stain may not show
brushmarks/stops/starts
so much as coloured varnish. A few coats of clear floor varnish will then
protect it.

If you're into doing a thorough job, allow two weeks of the room
being uninhabitable,
and one weekend being a write-off. Cost, probably £125 minimum.

enjoy,

Andy.






Andy



  #4   Report Post  
Kalico
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
Only you can decide if it is worth doing. I renovated my softwood
floorboards
in January and am pleased with the result, though I was cursing at the

time.
You will need to hire an industrial belt sander and a circular sander for

a
weekend.
Cost will be ITRO £90 inc. abrasive paper.
However, the whole process takes much longer. You need to:-
1. Remove all furniture from that room
2. Rip up the carpet and underlay
3. Sink any protruding nailheads down out of the way (sanders don't

like
'em )
4. Fill any holes.
5. Rip up all carpet grips
6. Remove any underlay staples etc.

Thats just the non-negotiable stuff. If your gaps are uneven ( I would
suggest that
widish gaps aren't a problem in themselves ), you may wish to pull up

those
boards
worst affected and re-lay them. Use shims in the gaps to force the errant
boards to have more consistent gaps, then nail them back into position. If
you are
leaving your skirting boards in position ( that's another crappy job I had
to do ) then
you can still sand right up to them using the circular sander, but how are
you going
to lift any errant floorboards if you leave the skirting in place? Tearing
the skirting off
will probably damage the skirting, and almost certainly tear chunks off

the
wall ( another
job ). I took my skirting off as I wanted to reposition the electricity
sockets, so I had
more motivation to replace them.

As for some boards being warped upwards, don't worry, the belt

sander
will flatten
them no worries ( I had a bucket of sawdust at the end of it ). I would
suggest the
sander will remove the steps between boards as well, as long as it's not

one
board
depressed and all the others proud. The belt sander will take off the
paint-splashes no
problem. The black stuff around the edges will come off too but beware it
tends to clog
the sandpaper, so lots of it means more sandpaper expense. Your boards

sound
a bit
unruly so it may take some hours of pushing the belt sander about ( at 45
degrees to
the boards mind! ) to get the bulk of the sticky-uppy stuff off, then some
more hours
going down through the sanpaper grades to get a decent finish. Best to
finish off with
a fine grade, going along the boards this time, with the grain.

Circular saw cuts are a fact of life; some of my boards had been
sliced in two to
allow access. Either fill the cut with an appropriate filler, or maybe a
mixture of wallpaper
paste and sawdust ( or pva and sawdust - experiment first ). It might be
that extending the
cut made by a circular saw right across the board ( not necessarily cut
right through though )
will look more natural. Unless you have a very smart or modern house a bit
of character in
the floorboards adds to the charm - you'll have rugs on a lot of it
probably anyway.

If you have a suspended wooden floor, gaps wll cause draughts - do
you want that?
I caulked my gaps with a mixture of twists of hemp string rammed in (
tedious ) and a natural
wood colour Dow Corning acrylic frame sealant ( comes in a tube for those
gun things ). I
understand papier mache works too, or clear silicone - beware, many

sealers
specifically
warn that they should not be used between floorboards. I also insulated

the
joists underneath
for insurance.

Finally, I applied woodworm treatment ( perhaps not necessary ) and
after that had
dried, a water-based quick dry antique pine floor varnish ( three coats ).

I
am now of the
opinon that staining the boards would have been a better option, as if you
ding the floor
and take off a chunk of varnish it shows. Also I think stain may not show
brushmarks/stops/starts
so much as coloured varnish. A few coats of clear floor varnish will then
protect it.

If you're into doing a thorough job, allow two weeks of the room
being uninhabitable,
and one weekend being a write-off. Cost, probably £125 minimum.

enjoy,

Andy.



Good advice there Andy and I agree that varnish is the last thing to use on
a sanded wooded floor. I prefer to use 'OsColor Hard' which is pricey but
gives a lovely finish. I posted a web address about it in answer to my
previous post on this topic - check Google or give me a call if you cannot
find it.

Rob


  #5   Report Post  
Angela
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Roger Mills" wrote


Get a new carpet!


Carpet is the new wooden floor don't ya know! ;o)




  #6   Report Post  
Mary Fisher
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor




"Angela" wrote in message
...

"Roger Mills" wrote


Get a new carpet!


Carpet is the new wooden floor don't ya know! ;o)


It takes a lot more cleaning and Things live in it ...

Mary




  #7   Report Post  
Angela
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...
Get a new carpet!


Carpet is the new wooden floor don't ya know! ;o)


It takes a lot more cleaning and Things live in it ...


try a google search on wood boring insects...................you'd
have all your wood ripped out and concrete laid if you are worried
about things living in it!

death watch beetle...............wood boring
weevil.......................house longhorn
beetle.................common furniture beetle............wood ant
........ etc

It's all a matter of personal choice, but I was just pointing out
that all the home and garden mags these days are saying carpet is
fashionable again....................you pay your money you take your
choice


  #8   Report Post  
Mary Fisher
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor




"Angela" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...
Get a new carpet!

Carpet is the new wooden floor don't ya know! ;o)


It takes a lot more cleaning and Things live in it ...


try a google search on wood boring insects...................you'd
have all your wood ripped out and concrete laid if you are worried
about things living in it!


Oh, as a sort of entomologist I know about those. But their effect is slower
than moth and they're not as visible.

It's all a matter of personal choice, but I was just pointing out
that all the home and garden mags these days are saying carpet is
fashionable again....................you pay your money you take your
choice


Oh - I don't read them.

And even if I did I'd still prefer hard floors. Fashion? Wossat!

Not concrete though - I walk a lot in bare feet!

Mary




  #9   Report Post  
Roger Mills
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...




And even if I did I'd still prefer hard floors. Fashion? Wossat!

Not concrete though - I walk a lot in bare feet!

Mary




Better watch out for splinters, then!

Roger


  #10   Report Post  
Kerry Hoskin
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

How about getting a new wood floor laid? Go to your nearest reclamation
yard and see what they have . I'm planning on having a new wood floor put
in to replace a chipboard floor in my old cottage, my local reclaim yard has
new timber cut to the old fashioned floor board dimensions, 109m worth is
going to cost about £250, plus labour to fit it won;t cost the earth.

Kerry

"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them? Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?

Cheers - Adam...





  #11   Report Post  
Mary Fisher
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

Roger Mills" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...




And even if I did I'd still prefer hard floors. Fashion? Wossat!

Not concrete though - I walk a lot in bare feet!

Mary




Better watch out for splinters, then!


smile

a) my feet are tough

b) the timber is well sanded and varnished (well, poly-urethaned) - I did it
myself. Smooth as the proverbial.

Mary

Roger




  #12   Report Post  
Red Devil
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

Where do you get the natural wood colour Dow Corning acrylic frame sealant
from ?
I have tried google but could not find anything.


"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...

"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them? Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?

Cheers - Adam...


Only you can decide if it is worth doing. I renovated my softwood
floorboards
in January and am pleased with the result, though I was cursing at the

time.
You will need to hire an industrial belt sander and a circular sander for

a
weekend.
Cost will be ITRO £90 inc. abrasive paper.
However, the whole process takes much longer. You need to:-
1. Remove all furniture from that room
2. Rip up the carpet and underlay
3. Sink any protruding nailheads down out of the way (sanders don't

like
'em )
4. Fill any holes.
5. Rip up all carpet grips
6. Remove any underlay staples etc.

Thats just the non-negotiable stuff. If your gaps are uneven ( I would
suggest that
widish gaps aren't a problem in themselves ), you may wish to pull up

those
boards
worst affected and re-lay them. Use shims in the gaps to force the errant
boards to have more consistent gaps, then nail them back into position. If
you are
leaving your skirting boards in position ( that's another crappy job I had
to do ) then
you can still sand right up to them using the circular sander, but how are
you going
to lift any errant floorboards if you leave the skirting in place? Tearing
the skirting off
will probably damage the skirting, and almost certainly tear chunks off

the
wall ( another
job ). I took my skirting off as I wanted to reposition the electricity
sockets, so I had
more motivation to replace them.

As for some boards being warped upwards, don't worry, the belt

sander
will flatten
them no worries ( I had a bucket of sawdust at the end of it ). I would
suggest the
sander will remove the steps between boards as well, as long as it's not

one
board
depressed and all the others proud. The belt sander will take off the
paint-splashes no
problem. The black stuff around the edges will come off too but beware it
tends to clog
the sandpaper, so lots of it means more sandpaper expense. Your boards

sound
a bit
unruly so it may take some hours of pushing the belt sander about ( at 45
degrees to
the boards mind! ) to get the bulk of the sticky-uppy stuff off, then some
more hours
going down through the sanpaper grades to get a decent finish. Best to
finish off with
a fine grade, going along the boards this time, with the grain.

Circular saw cuts are a fact of life; some of my boards had been
sliced in two to
allow access. Either fill the cut with an appropriate filler, or maybe a
mixture of wallpaper
paste and sawdust ( or pva and sawdust - experiment first ). It might be
that extending the
cut made by a circular saw right across the board ( not necessarily cut
right through though )
will look more natural. Unless you have a very smart or modern house a bit
of character in
the floorboards adds to the charm - you'll have rugs on a lot of it
probably anyway.

If you have a suspended wooden floor, gaps wll cause draughts - do
you want that?
I caulked my gaps with a mixture of twists of hemp string rammed in (
tedious ) and a natural
wood colour Dow Corning acrylic frame sealant ( comes in a tube for those
gun things ). I
understand papier mache works too, or clear silicone - beware, many

sealers
specifically
warn that they should not be used between floorboards. I also insulated

the
joists underneath
for insurance.

Finally, I applied woodworm treatment ( perhaps not necessary ) and
after that had
dried, a water-based quick dry antique pine floor varnish ( three coats ).

I
am now of the
opinon that staining the boards would have been a better option, as if you
ding the floor
and take off a chunk of varnish it shows. Also I think stain may not show
brushmarks/stops/starts
so much as coloured varnish. A few coats of clear floor varnish will then
protect it.

If you're into doing a thorough job, allow two weeks of the room
being uninhabitable,
and one weekend being a write-off. Cost, probably £125 minimum.

enjoy,

Andy.






Andy





  #13   Report Post  
N. Thornton
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them?


Yes, I had a floor like that, it wasn't hard.

Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?


I think it took a day or so to do one small room. There are many
choices in how detailed you get, it depends on how new you want it to
look. New floors tend to look right out of place in old houses, I
prefer a floor thats cleaned up nicely, has the gaps and so on sorted
out, but that still shows at least some wear. It fits in
aesthetically.

As for laminates, first I think they look out of character in old
houses, second these old places normally only need a few planks
replacing here and there to get a good sound floor, and 3rd laminate
will look knackered after a while, whereas a trad floor will last a
century.


"andrewpreece" wrote in message ...

You will need to hire an industrial belt sander and a circular sander for a
weekend.
Cost will be ITRO £90 inc. abrasive paper.
However, the whole process takes much longer. You need to:-
1. Remove all furniture from that room
2. Rip up the carpet and underlay
3. Sink any protruding nailheads down out of the way (sanders don't like
'em )
4. Fill any holes.
5. Rip up all carpet grips
6. Remove any underlay staples etc.

Thats just the non-negotiable stuff.



I didnt do much of this, and it looks great.

1. Job 1 is a good clean up. Uuse a mop and bucket, warm water and
washing powder, and a few drops of bleach in it. Its slow, just wet
the floor and mop it from one end to the other, repeat, repeat. Slowly
it comes up very nicely. Have patience with this, it can take hours to
get a good clean finish.

2. To lose the gaps, relay the lot, topping up with similar old
boards. This step can be skipped if you're OK with the cracks. Use
screws on any board that isn't completely flat, and ring shanked nails
on the rest. Screwfix do them.

3. Or just repair any problem boards, ie ones with damaged surface. In
most cases just turn them over. If no good, replace them.

4. Screw down any wobbly or sticking up boards.

5. Use a hand held sander to sand off the stubborn bits that wouldnt
clean up properly. A circular sander is a fast easy option, just take
care to always sweep it across the floor so you dont get marks.

6. Never use coloured varnish!! Finish coats must always be clear.

Done, and looks good, is original, and it shows.


you can still sand right up to them using the circular sander, but how are
you going
to lift any errant floorboards if you leave the skirting in place?


Just lift them, they dont move the skirting. If you have a board that
you have to lift and it runs the full length, cut it in 2 over a
joist.


will look more natural. Unless you have a very smart or modern house a bit
of character in
the floorboards adds to the charm


definitely. Dont get all fussy about it.


If you have a suspended wooden floor, gaps wll cause draughts - do
you want that?


At first they did, but the gaps soon fill up with rubbish. The 100
year old gapped floors I've seen aren't usually draughty.


Finally, I applied woodworm treatment ( perhaps not necessary )


best avoided. Read up on it if you're considering it.


dried, a water-based quick dry antique pine floor varnish ( three coats ). I


never use that The floor soon looks terrible. Pine mellows and
yellows by itself, just give it a month to begin mellowing. naturally
mellowed pine looks much nicer than stained.


If you're into doing a thorough job, allow two weeks of the room
being uninhabitable,


mine only took a day.

and one weekend being a write-off. Cost, probably £125 minimum.


cost: Sandpaper, use fibre discs - £5. Varnish £7. Thats it. Most of
the floor wasn't sanded at all.

BTW any potential splinter has usually found its way into someone's
foot long ago


Regards, NT
  #14   Report Post  
RichardS
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor

"N. Thornton" wrote in message
om...
"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

snip


Is it worth trying to renovate them?


Yes, I had a floor like that, it wasn't hard.

Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?


I think it took a day or so to do one small room. There are many
choices in how detailed you get, it depends on how new you want it to
look. New floors tend to look right out of place in old houses, I
prefer a floor thats cleaned up nicely, has the gaps and so on sorted
out, but that still shows at least some wear. It fits in
aesthetically.

As for laminates, first I think they look out of character in old
houses, second these old places normally only need a few planks
replacing here and there to get a good sound floor, and 3rd laminate
will look knackered after a while, whereas a trad floor will last a
century.

snip

Agree with NT - it's worth the effort if you like wooden floors.

On the point of replacement boards, it's well worth searching out secondhand
boards from relaimation yards and the like, or looking for boards recut from
old timbers.

Take along a sanded down sample of a board that you've removed, and try and
colour match with the replacements.

New boards from timber merchants are often different thicknesses (you won't
believe how much effort and time it takes to sand down thicker boards!) and
stick out like sore thumbs when things are refinished.

cheers
Richard


--
Richard Sampson

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


  #15   Report Post  
Mary Fisher
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor





As for laminates, first I think they look out of character in old
houses,


?

second these old places normally only need a few planks
replacing here and there to get a good sound floor,


but matching them is a nightmare

and 3rd laminate
will look knackered after a while,


Well, what's a while? They'll probably outlast quite a few of us and they
can always be taken up leaving the original floors to show - just as carpets
can.

whereas a trad floor will last a
century.


But how many of us will?

In fact, how many houses will?

Mary




  #16   Report Post  
andrewpreece
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"Red Devil" wrote in message
...
Where do you get the natural wood colour Dow Corning acrylic frame sealant
from ?
I have tried google but could not find anything.


I got it from one source; a builders merchant called Totem Timber in Devon -
I don't know if they are national.
I have checked the tube, there is no reference or ident number. You could
try Dow Corning's website or
their distributors - I can't imagine it's that scarce though, bear in mind I
had to visit several DIY places and
none of them carried it - try the builders merchants in your area.

Andy


  #17   Report Post  
andrewpreece
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


"N. Thornton" wrote in message
om...
"Adam" wrote in message
om...
Hi All,

Time to seek your collective sage advice again...

We've decided to have a wooden floor in the lounge - easier to clean
and (IMHO) better looking. We've pulled up the very cheap carpet that
was down when we arrived, but the floor underneath doesn't look to be
in particularly good condition. In several places, presumably where
they've had to lay pipes, boards have been cut with a circular saw,
damaging the boards on either side. There are several large (~5mm)
gaps, although the majority of the boards seem to be well fitted. Many
of the boards appear to have warped upwards in the middle, and there
are a couple of places where there are 'steps' of 2-3mm between
boards. There is lots of paint splashing, the outer edges appear to
have a very old black varsh on them and, lastly, the boards appear to
be softwood.

Is it worth trying to renovate them?


Yes, I had a floor like that, it wasn't hard.

Our other options appear to be
relaying boards, possibly recovered ones, or laying a laminate floor
on top - what would you suggest?


I think it took a day or so to do one small room. There are many
choices in how detailed you get, it depends on how new you want it to
look. New floors tend to look right out of place in old houses, I
prefer a floor thats cleaned up nicely, has the gaps and so on sorted
out, but that still shows at least some wear. It fits in
aesthetically.

As for laminates, first I think they look out of character in old
houses, second these old places normally only need a few planks
replacing here and there to get a good sound floor, and 3rd laminate
will look knackered after a while, whereas a trad floor will last a
century.


"andrewpreece" wrote in message

...

You will need to hire an industrial belt sander and a circular sander

for a
weekend.
Cost will be ITRO £90 inc. abrasive paper.
However, the whole process takes much longer. You need to:-
1. Remove all furniture from that room
2. Rip up the carpet and underlay
3. Sink any protruding nailheads down out of the way (sanders don't

like
'em )
4. Fill any holes.
5. Rip up all carpet grips
6. Remove any underlay staples etc.

Thats just the non-negotiable stuff.



I didnt do much of this, and it looks great.

1. Job 1 is a good clean up. Uuse a mop and bucket, warm water and
washing powder, and a few drops of bleach in it. Its slow, just wet
the floor and mop it from one end to the other, repeat, repeat. Slowly
it comes up very nicely. Have patience with this, it can take hours to
get a good clean finish.

2. To lose the gaps, relay the lot, topping up with similar old
boards. This step can be skipped if you're OK with the cracks. Use
screws on any board that isn't completely flat, and ring shanked nails
on the rest. Screwfix do them.

3. Or just repair any problem boards, ie ones with damaged surface. In
most cases just turn them over. If no good, replace them.

4. Screw down any wobbly or sticking up boards.

5. Use a hand held sander to sand off the stubborn bits that wouldnt
clean up properly. A circular sander is a fast easy option, just take
care to always sweep it across the floor so you dont get marks.

6. Never use coloured varnish!! Finish coats must always be clear.

Done, and looks good, is original, and it shows.


you can still sand right up to them using the circular sander, but how

are
you going
to lift any errant floorboards if you leave the skirting in place?


Just lift them, they dont move the skirting. If you have a board that
you have to lift and it runs the full length, cut it in 2 over a
joist.


will look more natural. Unless you have a very smart or modern house a

bit
of character in
the floorboards adds to the charm


definitely. Dont get all fussy about it.


If you have a suspended wooden floor, gaps wll cause draughts -

do
you want that?


At first they did, but the gaps soon fill up with rubbish. The 100
year old gapped floors I've seen aren't usually draughty.


Finally, I applied woodworm treatment ( perhaps not necessary )


best avoided. Read up on it if you're considering it.


dried, a water-based quick dry antique pine floor varnish ( three

coats ). I

never use that The floor soon looks terrible. Pine mellows and
yellows by itself, just give it a month to begin mellowing. naturally
mellowed pine looks much nicer than stained.


If you're into doing a thorough job, allow two weeks of the room
being uninhabitable,


mine only took a day.

and one weekend being a write-off. Cost, probably £125 minimum.


cost: Sandpaper, use fibre discs - £5. Varnish £7. Thats it. Most of
the floor wasn't sanded at all.

BTW any potential splinter has usually found its way into someone's
foot long ago


Regards, NT


Sir,
I salute your speed! Of course, as you say it depends on the effect
you want
and the details of the job. To do it in a day requires that your floor is
either fairly
good already or you like the rustic look. I decided to go ( rightly or
wrongly - I
appreciate the natural look argument ) for a smooth look. This required a
lot of
work getting the boards sanded - one weekend just for that.

As for the gaps, lifting and relaying boards is difficult stuff -
damage may be
occasioned to the boards, and if they are laid closer together, finding a
matching
floorboard to go on the end could take ages. Even if skirting boards are not
taken off,
cutting boards in half over a joist to lift them would feel annoying to me,
but it is probably
the easiest option.

Using a belt and orbital sander requires pushing all the nailheads
down out of the
way else an expensive ripping sound ensues. Filling the resulting nail holes
was a bit
anal retentive of me but that's the way I am! A hand-held orbital will not
cope with
getting a flat, smooth finish on old boards; a flat finish requires the hire
of an industrial
belt sander and orbital sander. Choose what finish you want to live with.

I also had some woodworm problems, close to the gaps - applying
woodworm
treatment requires three applications, with considerable drying time in
between. I've
read that woodworm problems in houses probably predate central-heating, but
I'm
not so sure - I've discovered fresh woodworm sawdust under woodworm holes
under
my stairs, so I chose the belt-and-braces option for my floor.

I admit that floorboard gaps may fill up with debris over time, but I
have seen the
rug lift at one corner years ago before we had fitted carpets, when a strong
wind was
blowing outside, as the wind came up through the floorboards. With that in
mind, with
some widish debris-resistant gaps, and with the prospect of being visited by
our little
eight-legged friends, I went for the nuclear option and filled the gaps.
Finding a suitable
filler either requires making it yourself ( wood filler doesn't work ) or
hunting around for
a sealant which is a colour match and doesn't specifically forbid being used
between
floorboards. Being unwilling to see sealant perhaps drop through the gaps if
the gaps
widened seasonally, I went for the belt-and-braces approach ( again ) of
packing the gaps
with twisted hemp string. I also insulated the underfloor joists, so that
heat would not
belost now that the fitted carpet was gone.

If there is that black gunk on the floorboards ( as used to be the
fashion ) it takes
extra time and sandpaper to get off.

If any of these problems is not catered for up front ( i.e. having all
necessary tools
available ( like circular saw/floorboard saw, filler, sealant, clawhammer,
jemmy, wedges
nails, woodworm treatment, varnish, stain, etc ), or having spare matched
floorboards
of the correct thickness available etc, the amount of running around and
cursing could
easily stretch to two weeks ( it did for me! ).

I think most people will get it done in a time longer than one day,
but less than two
weeks. I demanded perfection, and did it the hard ( belt-and-braces ) way,
which is why
I'm prepared to share my experience here - I was scratching my head a lot of
the time
due to lack of knowledge. Looking back, I would not go for such a good
finish perhaps,
as it shows up dings very plainly. I think the hemp packing in the gaps was
possibly OTT.
The coloured varnish finish seems to be rejected by most people on this
thread.

The rest I am happy about; people should look at the list of options
in this thread and
pick what's good for them. Hopefully all the options and most of the
problems are now on
the table for readers to see,

cheers,

Andy





  #18   Report Post  
M. Damerell
 
Posts: n/a
Default Wooden Floor


If you are going to renovate (or cover) a damaged floor, I would
suggest that you lift a few boards & take a good look underneath
first. Look for:

damp, rot, leaking pipes, bad wiring, rubbish (this might bridge
the DPC), insects, blocked ventilation. If the U/F void smells
fusty, this might mean dry rot.

Are you likely to want to lay cables for computer, phone, etc?

Then tread over all of the old floor: are there any boards
that creak? Does the skirting board need painting?



Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Wooden floor in bathroom? Richard Clay UK diy 1 August 11th 03 11:29 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:04 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 DIYbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about DIY & home improvement"