Laying a new Oak Floor onto existing joists

[grimster]

Hi folks,

Just about to start a job that I've not done before and wondered if anyone had any advice. I'm laying a new (pre-finished) t&g 18mm oak floor onto existing joists. I've got all the old floor boards up and the joists seem in pretty good nick, I've hired a Porta-nailer and think I'm all set to go..

Just a few thoughts....

1) I've had the new floor boards in the room for about a month now so they should have acclimatised - do you think I should use a clamp to tighten the floor up as I go or will a soft mallet and a portanailer do the job.

2) The joists are pretty level but are up and down a little bit - say max 3 or 4mm - should I use an underlay over the joists to minimise the risk of any noise or squeaks?

3) Where should I start setting them out? Start from one wall or in the middle? Any advice on getting the first row straight?

4) There's quite a lot of short lengths and I know I'm going to struggle to get all the board ends to sit over a joist. The boards are t&g on all sides - so am I OK to have the board ends not sitting on a joist?

Thanks in advance for your advice....

grimster

 

[Fluffybf]

Hi grimster.
If its prefinished t&g oak flooring you have, you should not be laying it on joists.
If its the flooring im thinking of then you need to be laying a solid boarded floor on the joists,(say 18 or 22mm caberfloor) then an underlay, then your floor glued together and not nailed so it can expand and contract.

Where did you buy the flooring?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi grimster.
If its prefinished t&g oak flooring you have, you should not be laying it on joists.

Why on earth not?? As long as the boards are at least 18mm thick and the joists are not further apart than 35 - 40cm it makes absolutely no difference if the boards are unfinished or pre-finished.

You can add little strips of hardboard on the joists to level your floor out Grimster. And as for short lengths: all boards need to connect with 3 joists at leaste - then there is no need to have the join ending up on a joist.
If you have too many short lengths for this, then you;ll have to install 18mm plywood on the joists and install your wooden floor ontop of this (glueing, floating of nailing).

 

[Fluffybf]

Hi grimster.
If its prefinished t&g oak flooring you have, you should not be laying it on joists.

What I should have said was.
'' I wouldn't lay it straight on the joists''
Because I would personally like it stronger with less give which means less chance of the floor creaking. The floor would also be better sound insulated when walked upon, and better thermal insulation.

This is just my personal opinion.

But i am often accused of overkill.

Just trying to help.

Regards

 

[WoodYouLike]

Still don't understand why you think it is different for pre-finished floors versus unfinished floors of the same thickness

 

[Fluffybf]

Some of the cheaper mass produced so say solid floors are really blocks of weaker, short pieces of timber off cuts, combed together then veneered over to give the appearance of a solid plank. Therefore in my opinion are weaker and in need of more support.

The more expensive are solid.

Thats why I asked where he bought them.

 

[WoodYouLike]

OK, you talk about composed boards versus solid boards: 'composed' as opposed to the engineered ones where the product has a different wood-type as backing than the top-layer.
Composed boards are made of one wood-type, but 'layered'. Mostly giving it a firmer structure, but only - as you say - when you buy quality.