Hello kindly people.
Here's the deal: The floorboards in the middle, upstairs bedroom of my Victorian terrace were cannibalised by the previous occupants (boards used to replace those elsewhere in the house), and I've decided to replace the very patchy, uneven woodworm-leftovers with a new floor. It's going to be carpeted, but we may want to go back to boards in the future, so I'm using pine boards. Below it there is an old plaster ceiling, with an original ceiling rose, which all looks like it's being held together by the lining paper and hope. This ceiling also has four downlighters.
Q1: I want to insulate underneath for sound (ther's frequently loud music in the room below). What products would you lot recommend, that I can roll out between the joists?
Q2: Is there some sort of fireproof cap that can go over the back of the downlighters? At present they are totally exposed in the cavity, which worries me a little, and doesn't look too safe for insulation etc.
Q3: Due to the fragile ceiling, I want to minimise vibration when fitting the new boards, and I figured that a nail-gun might be better than my cack-handed hammering. Can you use an HSS-type hired gun (!) for floor brads? Oh, and I know someone might suggest screwing the boards down, but I want a fairly authentic look.
Sorry for the wordy message, but I wanted to give all relevant details. Any advice would be very much appreciated, and I'll let you know how I get on...
Cheers,
Big Nick.
Here's the deal: The floorboards in the middle, upstairs bedroom of my Victorian terrace were cannibalised by the previous occupants (boards used to replace those elsewhere in the house), and I've decided to replace the very patchy, uneven woodworm-leftovers with a new floor. It's going to be carpeted, but we may want to go back to boards in the future, so I'm using pine boards. Below it there is an old plaster ceiling, with an original ceiling rose, which all looks like it's being held together by the lining paper and hope. This ceiling also has four downlighters.
Q1: I want to insulate underneath for sound (ther's frequently loud music in the room below). What products would you lot recommend, that I can roll out between the joists?
Q2: Is there some sort of fireproof cap that can go over the back of the downlighters? At present they are totally exposed in the cavity, which worries me a little, and doesn't look too safe for insulation etc.
Q3: Due to the fragile ceiling, I want to minimise vibration when fitting the new boards, and I figured that a nail-gun might be better than my cack-handed hammering. Can you use an HSS-type hired gun (!) for floor brads? Oh, and I know someone might suggest screwing the boards down, but I want a fairly authentic look.
Sorry for the wordy message, but I wanted to give all relevant details. Any advice would be very much appreciated, and I'll let you know how I get on...
Cheers,
Big Nick.