We have a wooden floor on the ground-floor of our house: plywood backing with a veneer of real wood (oak), tongue and groove edges. Probably 20 years old. Laid over concrete (in kitchen) and timber floor (dining room, hall etc).
2 problems.
1. Hall and kitchen are looking knackered!! I plan on sanding it down to bare wood and re-varnish. Presumably that's OK, assuming I don't sand off too much veneer????
2. The floor bows up in places and creaks and groans when walked on (especially in summer)...has a very distinctive "cracking" & "sticky" sound. I'm guessing it was glued down and the glue has failed over the years. There are no expansion gaps: the flooring butts against the skirting boards. Is it worth cutting some expansion gaps (e.g. using a Fein Multimaster) ???? Is it worth trying to fix down the bulging bits (!) in some way....could I even screw them down (and hide screws with wooden plugs)???
I know a new floor would be better!!!
PS If a floor is glued down, should it have expansion gaps? Does it expand if fixed to the substrate (e.g. concrete or floor boards)??
thanks
2 problems.
1. Hall and kitchen are looking knackered!! I plan on sanding it down to bare wood and re-varnish. Presumably that's OK, assuming I don't sand off too much veneer????
2. The floor bows up in places and creaks and groans when walked on (especially in summer)...has a very distinctive "cracking" & "sticky" sound. I'm guessing it was glued down and the glue has failed over the years. There are no expansion gaps: the flooring butts against the skirting boards. Is it worth cutting some expansion gaps (e.g. using a Fein Multimaster) ???? Is it worth trying to fix down the bulging bits (!) in some way....could I even screw them down (and hide screws with wooden plugs)???
I know a new floor would be better!!!
PS If a floor is glued down, should it have expansion gaps? Does it expand if fixed to the substrate (e.g. concrete or floor boards)??
thanks