Chipboard or floorboards

[Whitling2k]

Hi there,

Just wondering if you would recommend chipboard or floorboards for my flooring project?

I'm replacing my 1970s floorboards for a number of reasons:

• - Woodworm damage to some (contractors about to spray affected timbers)
  - rot in some (from days gone by - air bricks well and truly flowing now)
  - misc damage in some (dropped furniture etc)
  - odd mis-fitting sections (where pipe/cables routing has seen them badly lifted and fixed)

My thoughts on the pros & cons of each are below - and wondered if anyone could add to my list - or give me sway me either way. I'm currently thinking 18mm waterproof chipboard from B&Q. It's a suspended timber ground floor over a study, dining room and kind-of no-mans land at the bottom of our stairs.

We are going to carpet over the floor once repaired, and it's a total area of about 6.0 *7.0 m.


Chipboard (pros)
cheap
quick to fit
can be damp resistant
strong enough for dining room
easy to work with
will not warp/mis shape unless wetted
easier to lift / repair holes (only 1-2 T&G joints to resolve)

Chipboard (cons)
may need noggings at the end of joists
less longer lasting (10-20 years+)


Floorboards (pros)
longer lasting (20-30 years+)
smarter looking (under carpet anyway)
better damp/wet resistance
stronger where joists/edged mismatch


Floorboards (cons)
more difficult to lift/repair (5-7 T&G joints for man sized access)
relatively expensive
longer to fit (5-10 times more boards)
may warp once fitted

They are my thoughts anyway - I would love to be convinced one way or another; or at least to hear your ideas

Cheers

Whitling2k

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I'd use well fitted T&G plywood.

 

[chickenlips]

I'd use 22mm chipboard flooring but go for a phenolic faced chipboard (Egger Protect or Cabershield) with D4 adhesive glued and screwed.

When used with D4 glue and fitted properly this is far more water resistant than standard P5 chipboard.

 

[Nozzle]

Do not go for any chipboard, it creaks!! I had an extension done recently and opted for chipboard and really regret it. When I walk around in the bedroom I am always reminded that it is indeed CHEAP. If I had a choice, I'd pull it all up and start again.

Nozzle

 

[rjm2k]

Do not go for any chipboard, it creaks!! I had an extension done recently and opted for chipboard and really regret it. When I walk around in the bedroom I am always reminded that it is indeed CHEAP. If I had a choice, I'd pull it all up and start again.

Nozzle

Are you sure that's down to the use of chipboard? Both houses I have owned had chipboard floors and didn't creek (with the exception of where boards had been taken up and put back badly or cut through for works).

 

[Nozzle]

I think it's more about the size of the boards rather than the material - but since chipboard flooring comes in 8'x2' what choice is there! As I see it, any differences in joist heights would cause bending/misalignment in the grooves - and if you have smaller board, you have more grooves across which the same amount of misalignment is accomdated with. The smaller your boards, the more joins you have each sharing much less misalignment and so the tongues/grooves have that much more space so they don't rub (causing the creaking). The surfaces of the tongues/grooves is that much smoother of natural wood than chipboard too = less friction

Nozzle

 

[Whitling2k]

Thanks everyone... It sounds like chipboard is the way to go!

I'll let you know how it goes and put some pics up of my progress!

Whitling2k