tongue and groove flooboards over joists

[Jimph1]

hi im just About to re lay new tongue and groove flooboards over the joists in my bathroom. I have everything to hand except floor clamps. Do I need to use floor clamps when Laying tongue
and groove boards ?.

Thanks

Jim

 

[big-all]

tighter you get them the smaller the gaps when they contract
you need to compress the boards so as the moisture dries out they shrink and relax the the last little bit is the gap rather than the whole amount


12" bit off floorboard cut down the middle with a 1" taper over its length

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Yes, you should cramp your boards up fairly tight before nailing, but there's no need to go as far as buying or hiring flooring cramps. The boards can be butted up tight using pairs of folding wedges and blocks. The blocks are temporarily screwed onto the top of the joist, two wedges are then slid in between the block and the edge of the board, and tightened by hitting with two hammers (or one hammer and a lump of wood). You need one block ad two wedges every two to three feet. The boards should be oriented so that your wedge cramps work on the groove side - put pressure on the tongue side with wedges or cramps and it will break