how can I carpet over floorboards

[babar]

Hi

I just bought an old seaside house (but not too humid) .The ground floor and the first floor (bedrooms) are only separated by 200 yrs old floorboards on beams. The boards look good from underneath as a ceiling but very poor, damaged and uneven as a floor; at places you can even see through ; let alone poor sound insulation, particularly when you walk.

I was thinking of laying foam underlay covered with thin (3 mm?) particle- or fiber boards and a carpet on top , this to last for 2 or 3 years until full refurbishment.

Does that dound like a bad idea?

 

[mointainwalker]

What is your objective ?

1) sound insulation
2) Flat floor to walk on
3) Good base for the carpet
4 ) Other ?

 

[babar]

All of the above, and in that order.
In addition I want to be able to remove the carpet when I embark in an major refurbishment exercise in 2 or 3 years from now , which excludes resurfacing with a resin.

The main issue is direct and indirect sound when we walk on the existing floor. Excess weight may also be an issue.
- The cheap and dirty solution I was thinking of was : lay a carpet underday loose (just taped) on top of the floorboards, then plywood (loose, just taped together) then a carpet with rubber carpet backing, also loose, just taped or gripped around the edges.
- Is plywood suitable (marine plywood?) does it squeak ?
- Is normal carpet underlay suitable or should I use floating board underlay ("Barrier" type)
The room below tends to be more humid and there is a kitchen, so a vapour barrier is a no no.

The house is in Brittany, carpet underlay is more available and cheaper in the UK (1 t0 2 £/sq m) the rest can be bought locally.