New wooden flooring issues

[marcosscriven]

Hi there

I have taken down a couple of partition wall in my flat, and now have an open plan room 4m x 11m. There's an existing softwood floor on joists.

Unfortunately the joists change directly halfway; at the front they go side to side (so the boards are lengthways), and the back half they go front to back (and the boards go side to side).

I'd like the new boards all to go in one direction.

1) Is there some reasoning behind choosing the direction of laying? I think lengthways may accentuate the length of the room, and maybe make it look narrower, so veering towards side to side (along the shorther length).

2) Once I've chosen, how would I lay in all one direction? I'm guessing some kind of boarding, either on top of the existing floorboards, or directly onto the joists.

3) If I go with the above, what happens if a pipe leaks? Do I just take out one board, cut the boarding, or do I have to take out a whole board?

I'm going for engineered T&G as it will be partly an open plan kitchen.

Thanks

Marcos

[Chri5]

1- Run flooring in the direction of the windows

2- Board required between soft wood and new flooring which will allow the new flooring layer to run in the same direction as the old. Your need to use 6mm + plywood fixed at 200mm in all directions

3- I'd suggest you put a trap door in, say an alcove area, If you use tonge tite screws for fixing you will be able to remove the new flooring layer to access the trap door. If you intend to bead or scotia the expansion gap (rather than taking off all the skirting) then it makes sense to cut them to allow removal should you ever have to access the sub floor void.

Prudence would suggest you make sure all sub floor services are of a decent life span before doing the floor.

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Please note compliance for Part P, LABC and 17 Edition.

[marcosscriven]

Thanks

re 1) Sorry to be dumb, but do you mean parallel or perpendicular to the windows? I assume parallel. In my case there are windows both at the end and side, so if I have all the boards in one direction, one or the other is going to be 'wrong'. What the reasoning behind this anyway?

re 3) Having plumbing re done, and much of the elecrics will be in the ceiling and dropping down.

[Chri5]

The light source tends to have the flooring ends towards it.

So a through room with a window at each end will have the flooring run from front to back.

If the flooring was the otherway any ridges or cupping of boards becomes very visible. Your situation with windows to side means that some light will be across the boards rather than down the length.

I'd go with the windows that provide the majority of light.

__________________
Please note compliance for Part P, LABC and 17 Edition.

[marcosscriven]

Ok, that works on both counts then, as the biggest windows, which are south facing, are also facing across the narrower dimension.

One other thing - would it be better to completely remove the current floorboards, and nail the plywood directly into that?

I'll be taking most of them up anyway to install soundproofing.

Thanks

Marcos

[Chri5]

If you spec 22mm flooring then that is structually sound enough to fix direct to the joists.

Under no cirumstances use chipboard, it doesn't allow enough grip of nails if your intention is a hidden nail fix.

Since the old boards are coming up, your choice. Put them back down and layer over plywood or buy thicker plywood sheeting and lay that as the sub floor betwwen joist and new flooring system.

In a flat I'd tend to suggest the more mass there is between the floor and the neighbours below the better heat and sound proofing will be.

__________________
Please note compliance for Part P, LABC and 17 Edition.