Floorboard Help

[Daltone]

Good morning folks,

The wife and baby are out so I decided to lift the carpet on the landing in our new house to deal with some squeaky floorboards. What I found was this -

First impressions are mould and what appear to be some very large gaps between the boards. (There are also two suspect wires which will be dealt with)

The boards look like they have been lifted before then put back with one nail on alternative sides of the board over each joist.

The mould (if that is what it is) appears to be growing places where there has been glue (?) on the boards.

On close inspection it looks like one of the joists has been split. In places the edges of some of the boards have been split where the nails have been driven through.

I don't really know what to do at this point. I was hoping to just tighten some screws!

Initial thoughts are either:

a) (if the spacing between the boards isn't an issue and I am just being an old woman) to sink screws where there are unoccupied holes for nails. Clean the mould with a bit of bleach (whilst the bottom of the underlay is ever so slightly damp I am not sure if this is historic - before we moved in there was a leak in a roof). Fill the split joist and secure the board over the top away from the filled section.

b) Pull up the boards and put some new ones in. Whilst I haven't done anything like this before I think I probably could (which is exactly what the last guy probably said!)

c) Give up, pay someone to come and replace the boards.

Can anyone here offer any help or advice?

Thanks,

Ed



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[ladylola]

Is it definately mould as it looks to me to be the remains of an underlay ?
Your best option is always to lift a board to see what is underneath. If the floor has been taken up in the past it is normally to work on either electrics or water/gas pipework so just sticking nails or screws in isn't a good idea. Only when you know it is safe then can you put in a fixing and in this case you'll be better off with screws.

 

[Daltone]

Is it definately mould as it looks to me to be the remains of an underlay ?
Your best option is always to lift a board to see what is underneath. If the floor has been taken up in the past it is normally to work on either electrics or water/gas pipework so just sticking nails or screws in isn't a good idea. Only when you know it is safe then can you put in a fixing and in this case you'll be better off with screws.

You are entirely right - it is the remains of old underlay. I must still be feeling the effects of last night!

 

[lymmranger]

Hi Daltone..........

you have just discovered how plumbers and sparkys leave the floor after they have finished!

It is not particularly dangerous but may be draughty!

OK question time

What flooring finish are you looking to achieve?

If carpet then two easy options are
1/leave it alone and put the carpet back
2/ply board it first - 6mm is fine then carpet - screw it down then you can lift it to access pipes and wires
From experience DO NOT put fixings of any kind into that floor until you know exactly what is under it. holes are usually there because of wires etc

 

[Daltone]

I have had a quick nose under the boards and found a load of pipes. The way the floor boards line up with them explains the one nail solution!

The carpet will be going back, but the noise of the landing is absurd, and we have a five month old who wakes up every time we squeak our way to the loo in the night.

The squeaking primarily seems to be caused at the end of the planks where the nails have been put very close to the edge and caused them to split, although one board has cracked down the middle.

I like the plywood idea as it sounds easy enough and would help the very uneven sensation you get when walking around in your socks (!). Do you think it would help with the noise much? I suppose the force being applied by a foot would be spread over a larger area, which should result in less movement from the boards.

Thanks,

Ed

Hi Daltone..........

you have just discovered how plumbers and sparkys leave the floor after they have finished!

It is not particularly dangerous but may be draughty!

OK question time

What flooring finish are you looking to achieve?

If carpet then two easy options are
1/leave it alone and put the carpet back
2/ply board it first - 6mm is fine then carpet - screw it down then you can lift it to access pipes and wires
From experience DO NOT put fixings of any kind into that floor until you know exactly what is under it. holes are usually there because of wires etc

 

[lymmranger]

not sure if it is possible to completely fix the squeaks..........

now you know where everything is you can try to screw it down in the safe spots and then see how it pans out........(you can even try adjusting the boards first)

ply has helped me but not completely cured the problem. Yes it definitely levels out the floor