Existing floor boards v 18mm tongue and groove boards

[ey143]

We've had some of our bedroom and first floor landing ripped out after new joists were put in. Am I better off keeping the old floor boards or having new 18mm tongue and groove chipboard put in as the builder is proposing, from the perspective of sound insulation / acoustic and general sturdiness / solidness of the floor?

Also what does it mean when they talk about 400 or 450mm centres, is this from one edge of a joists to another or something else?

 

[disasterbob]

Centres are the centre of one joist to the next - important when you are planning to lay the floor.

Floorboards or chipboard? It depends on the material but chipboard may be softer and thicker than your old boards and therefore quieter. You are also less likely to get a loose board in the future as the chipboard is less likely to come loose/warp/bend. Chipboard can squeak on the t&g though and that is harder to put right than a squeaky floorboard. It can also sag and bounce which is much more noticable than the odd floorboard lifting.

Having said that, you say part of your bedroom was done. Does this mean you will have both chipboard and floorboards? You may get a lip even if they are ostensibly the same depth.

You also don't mention what floorcovering you are going for.

Sturdy? It depends what you mean - a standard floorboard is more durable in many conditions instances - it is certainly more flexible - chipboard is comparatively brittle.

If I had them I'd go for the floorboards. They'll last longer than the chipboard even if they may be noisier. They're also better at coping with moisture and easier to spot repair.

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

P5 T&G only!! (its more moisture resistant then ungraded T&G), glued at joints, which should be over joists and screwed down. Though I would use the old floor boards, in any case case carefully match the thickness, using lino/hardboard shims along the joists to get an exact height match.
Frank

 

[ey143]

Having said that, you say part of your bedroom was done. Does this mean you will have both chipboard and floorboards? You may get a lip even if they are ostensibly the same depth.

You also don't mention what floorcovering you are going for.

Sturdy? It depends what you mean - a standard floorboard is more durable in many conditions instances - it is certainly more flexible - chipboard is comparatively brittle.

If I had them I'd go for the floorboards. They'll last longer than the chipboard even if they may be noisier. They're also better at coping with moisture and easier to spot repair.

Hi

Sorry not part of a bedroom but parts of the upstairs house and certain bedrooms / landing areas have been completely re-floored.

Basically as you can see from the pic below, we have had new T&G board layed on one of our bedrooms on top of new floor joists as part of renovation work.

At the moment, there's no insulation or ceiling underneath on the lower floor but when I walk on the boards, despite them being screwed down they have a cheap feeling of hollowness and whilst not bouncing per se, it doesn't quite feel right. Feels like one of those cheaply built new homes with a slightly springy floor.

The other rooms which have also been gutted out have the old floor boards with nothing underneath either but it feels more solid and no vibration felt by another person standing in the room when I walk over the floor boards.

I was wondering if this had anything to do with the joist centres or insufficient noggins underneath.

From this pic what would you say the joist centres are, do I measure the air gap between the two joists or left of one joist to left of next joist?


New floor

 

[disasterbob]

The centre of one joist to the next e.g. if the joist is 10 cm thick the centre is at 5cm. If you think about it the flooring sits on top and doesn't hang off the edges so the centre point is the best point to measure the space from.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Easiest is to measure left to left or right to right, so (as you pic) your joist centres are at 15.5 inches. For fixing to them you would of course be aiming for the centre of the timber.
Those new joists look quite skinny (45mm?)- what depth are they and what span are they crossing and are they nogged anywhere (blocks of wood or metal straps between the joists to spread the load and stop them twisting)?
Personally I far prefer timber floorboards to chipboard- they look nicer (even modern timber sanded and stained comes up well) and as someone else said are far more tolerant to water, not sure which is better for stiffening the floor though.

 

[ree]

OP,

you could lift the last off-cut of chipboard that runs into the opening, and the next piece to the left of it.
You could then drop in a one piece of c/board to cover the whole opening, and meet the cut ends of the T&G floor boards - any discrepancies in height you pack up for.

Where the piece to the left has been removed you take your one piece "round the corner" of the jamb to have the join meet the next piece outside (to the left) of the opening. A little more cutting will be needed.

Clean off - vacuum if possible - all joist tops and the floor as a whole. Dusty grit can cause squeaking.

FWIW: there's no necessity for water resistant flooring in bedrooms.

OP, your joist centres are fine so are the section sizes.

 

[ey143]

Our existing boards had smaller Centres as shown here


And underneath the boards, before any sound insulation slabs and ground floor ceiling goes in, this is what it currently looks like.



The beam to the left is where the bedroom above's bay window is and the top beam is between two rooms. Are the noggins sufficient?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Looks a nice job that & yes that's plenty of bracing.