Condition of floor board

Hi there, I’m renovating my first house and I’d love to sand down and varnish the floor boards in the living room (currently having the room plastered) are these floor boards ok to sand and varnish, also will they be easily replaced? Not really sure where to start with replacing floor boards. I think I’ve figured out how to fit T&G boards with removing one of the lips. But what’s the right kind of tool to use when cutting horizontally into the floor to remove them and tidy the edge up...

Doesn't look like you have too much to repair, so it shoulcd be possible to sand that. For the two areas where you need to lift snd replace you'll probably need a small to medium size (16in/400mm) flat pry bar, possibly a pair, such as the Stanley ones, to lift the gash boards. I'd suggest replacing these areas before sanding the rest. TBH i think you'll be as well just using plain edge boards for the repairs as getting a match for the tongues and grooves of the existing will be a pain and the areas to teplace are very small. Before sanding you must go over the floor and punch under (below the surface) any protruding nail heads with a hammer and a nail set (aka nail punch). I'd certainly try to remove the screws and renail the boards with oval nails or cut brads, again with the heads punched under. Make sure before nailing that you are nailing into a joist and not into a void with a pipe or wiring running across it (this may mean unscrewing and lifting the board first). Finally if you are sanding the floor, use either a (hired in) floor sander ot a belt sander. Doing a floor with a B&D Mouse would be soul destroying!

Multi tool is the best tool to get neat cuts where you are replacing the boards. You can use it to cut the tongues out too.

I strongly recommend not leaving the floor bare. You've got suspended floors, and from experience i can tell you it will be draughty, cold and dusty.

If you can, clean out the void under the floorboards and put insulation between the joists. It will reduce heat loss and especially draughts. Pack it tightly round the edges of the room because draughts and dirt will, blow up through the gap under the skirting.

Clean out all airbricks and ensure there is a good flow of fresh air under the floor.

Thankyou for the advice. I’m looking into insulating underneath. As we have a big sliding glass door as it is and it can get a bit draughty!


Question is now, how do I replace the “wall plate” I’ve been told. The massive gaps between one of the floor joists and the “wall plate” are missing. It looks like I have to replace the wall plate (wall joist) ((not really sure what it is)) but I reckon I could DIY fix it to replace the floor.

Also wish me luck trying to find the floor boards! I cant find anyone who sells it, as it’s such an odd size.

The wall plate should ideally be treated timber on ground floor walls or exterior wszls on any level. It is generally either Rawl bolted or redin anchored to the masonry wall ideally with a strip of DPM (Visquene, roofing felt, etc) between the wall and the timber to give extra protection against moisture transfer. M12 size Rawlbolts or 12mm rod and resin at 600 to 1000mm centres should suffice on a domestic build.

The joist ends are picked up using steel joist hangers which are nailed onto the face of the wall plate using sheradized twist nails (never screwed), one nail in every hole in the hanger. We often fix the hangers to the wall plate before finally fixing the wall plate to the wall so that we can wrap the legs of the hangers over the top of the timber.

If your joist ends are too short or rotted it may be necessary to extend the joists to carry to the wall plate

Holes are normally drilled with an SDS drill as you are looking ar 12 to 16mm diameter holes which us a bit much for most combi drills.

Chriswheela said:

Also wish me luck trying to find the floor boards! I cant find anyone who sells it, as it’s such an odd size.

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Buy bigger and plane them down. An electric planer will be quickest.

If they are too thick, a short cut is to mark them where they pass over joists and just surform a groove so they sit lower on the joist.

Chriswheela said:

Thankyou for the advice. I’m looking into insulating underneath. As we have a big sliding glass door as it is and it can get a bit draughty!


Question is now, how do I replace the “wall plate” I’ve been told. The massive gaps between one of the floor joists and the “wall plate” are missing. It looks like I have to replace the wall plate (wall joist) ((not really sure what it is)) but I reckon I could DIY fix it to replace the floor.

Also wish me luck trying to find the floor boards! I cant find anyone who sells it, as it’s such an odd size.

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If you're going for reclaimed boards, a lot of reclaimers that deal in wood will have a thicknesser and will plane them down to the size you need.

Cheers guys, I ended up buying some wood that’s the right thickness from Wickes. It’s about an inch too wide, so I’ve bought a circular saw and I’ll trim it to size. What do you reckon?

Is this board going to be on show? If so you really do want to get the cut straight otherwise it's going to look a bit naff. Tricky with a handheld circular saw.