How to lay T&G onto exposed oak joists

[flashing cursor]

I am about to lay solid oak T & G floor onto oak joists in an old house (loft conversion). Each board is 13cm wide and 2.5cm thick, varying lengths.

There is no existing flooring (removed long ago) but the top surface of the joists seems flat and level.

There is no ceiling below (i.e. exposed joists and board can be seem from below)

Should i float the T & G over the joists, or hidden nail into them, or even drill and screw through the top (plugging the sink with dowel and sanding flat)?

Should i contrive to have all the boards (i.e. including the odd short one) crossing a joist at some point in its length, or is it OK to have the odd short board suspended by only its T&G?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi flashing cursor

See here?

 

[flashing cursor]

Thanks for the reply, but...

Does this mean that i can't float the floor (which would be quicker... i also know from experience that these 150 yr old oak joists bend nails as soon as looking at them)?

What if the joists are further apart than 40cms (they are not regularly spaced)? I could put some more in i suppose... but difficult to match, and a pain making nice holes in old stone walls.

Also having to have each board cross at least 3 joists before allowing a "hanging" end makes minimum length for "hangers" 120cms... is this really necessary?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Thanks for the reply, but...

Does this mean that i can't float the floor (which would be quicker... i also know from experience that these 150 yr old oak joists bend nails as soon as looking at them)?

How on earth do you want to float a floor directly onto joists? It has to be attached somehow to the joists or your floor will move, shift and even tumble down! ! ! !

 

[flashing cursor]

Surely it wouldn't move any further than when floated onto a solid base... it would only have the regulation 8-10mm around the edge (incidentally there will be a partition wall in the middle which could be screwed through the floor into one of the joists... anchoring the whole lot). Also all the bits would be glued together, so theoretically there shouldnt be any tumbling.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Be my guest then

 

[flashing cursor]

I assume from that, that you do not recommend it.

I do not claim to actually know what i am talking about here... i am just trying to get to grips with what i have been able to glean from various sites, and advice offered about laying onto joists is so thin as to be non-existant.

It seems that gluing is quicker and easier to do... but if it is not suitble for my case, then i wont do it. I am just one of those people who always wants to know "why?" (or rather "why not"?).

Although my address is posted as being Sussex, that is my old address: i have moved to France, and so going to the local bookshop/library is not really an option. They don't really do DIY here in any case, they do not really expect to do a good job themselves and nearly always get a man in. The french for DIY (bricolage) is also the word for "botch job".

 

[WoodYouLike]

Ok, as said before in your case floating installation is not recommended (and IMHO asking for trouble)
See here for more info on installing directly onto joists

 

[flashing cursor]

Thanks for that link.. don't know why i didn't find it before.

I shall nail, and hope that the joists are not too much like iron. I shall put in one other joist first so that i can try to follow the "cross 3 joists for a floating end or end on a joist" rule, though i expect that this is going to prove a nightmare: at least I guess that if i have to trim a board to end on a joist, i do not have to rout a new T & G though.

Any other suggestions before i go and buy the nails?

P.S. in cas you are interested, goto the URL in my profile to see where we are. The big house on that site was our first renovation, then another smaller house on the same property... and now finally the house we actualy live in (new baby requires bedroom). Sadly money for 'artisans' (as they are known here) has run out.

 

[JohnD]

I shall nail, and hope that the joists are not too much like iron.

there is a tool you can use for secret nailing, it supports the nails at an angle so they are less likely to bend or go off course, and makes them easier to hit.

I don't know the proper name for it but I expect WYL does.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Powernail you mean I think (or another brand name)