Floor Board Problem

[danmk1984]

Hi Guys,

I hope someone with a bit more knowledge might be able to help me on this one.

I've recently taken up the carpet in the bedroom with the intension of laying down some laminate but I found that the boards were in half decent condition and look like they might scrub up quite well.

I've got a few problems as I’ve never tried to do anything like this before.

1. I've got a few areas where the boards have splintered and been hacked in the past. Will I get away with filling these gaps before I sand the floor down?

2. The boards are tongue and groove and some have been cut so that they can be lifted. Therefore I've got some quite big gaps. I assume I will have to replace the damaged boards?

3. The boards don't butt up to each other that well. i.e. there is about a 3 or 4mm gap where you can clearly see that they are tongue and groove boards. Do you still think they will scrub up ok, or do I need to look at filling these gaps somehow?

4 Finally, with the carpet up you can hear every move downstairs. Is there an easy simple and cheap way of dampening the sound? Maybe insulation between the joists?

Thanks for your help!

 

[TonyW2]

Depends on how badly splintered they are.
Ideally, lift all boards and re-butt them so that tongues/ grooves are tight.
Use the boards with removed tongues at the room edges (Cut down to fit) That should minimise the number of replacement boards needed.
Soundproofing is difficult as any holes at all allow it to pass. Insulation is a waste of time for that purpose as "solid mass" is needed. Insulation materials are mainly air.

 

[Deluks]

I found that the boards were in half decent condition

Then you will end up with only a half-decent floor.

Given the damaged boards and gaps, you will probably have to source some second hand boards to match, or nick some from a cupboard space or unseen area.

You will not solve the sound issue without either lifting the floor (causing more damage and splits) or overboarding/removing the ceiling downstairs.

For the cost of replacement boards, sound insulation, sanding machine hire, varnish/oil/stain, time and aggro etc. you have to ask yourself is it really worth it?

If you like the wood floor look, get some proper wood flooring and install it floating. I'd overboard the current floor with hardboard to eliminate the air gaps (sound passage) and use a fibreboard underlay to soften impact noise.

 

[danmk1984]

Thanks for your replies, you've hopefully saved me a lot of aggro.

I've decided to lay a floating floor of some description. As you have said it doesn't look quite stright forward so I think I'll get a better result this way.