Raised Floorboards above RSJ - help

[Masonga1]

Hi all,

I have a raised portion of my landing, master bedroom (all in one line) that spans 2 floorboards. On closer inspection there is an RSJ below the floor meaning the floorboards doesn’t sit fully on the joists (the RSJ is slightly higher).

As a keen DIYer I’m trying to work out the best solution. So far I’m thinking:

A) get myself an electric planer and take back the floorboards to level.
B) remove floorboards above rsj and lay some timber on top of it to the right level with either side floorboards cutdown to fit.
C) (not sure this is feasible) make a cut out in the floorboard below for the RSJ so that it sits flush.

I’d really appreciate any advise/experience or other ideas you think are worth considering.

Thanks in advance

 

[Masonga1]

Anyone?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I've installed flooring in the past where it was necessary to saw/chisel/plane a groove in boards to get over situations just like this. The limit is probably about 5 or 6mm in a 20 to 25mm thick board - remove more than that and the boards will be weakened too much - although 19mm plywood can be substituted for 25mm softwood if you have damaged boards to replace and gaps to fill whilst having similar strength. On an already-installed floor lifting, planing and replacing will be a lot of work but I feel it would yield better results than attempting to plane an installed floor flat in situ, although TBH those boards are a mess and ideally I'd replace them. An alternative might be to hire a floor sander for the day - coarse grit belts are capable of removing substantial amounts of material quite quickly - but that won't get over the problem of the gap

On a point of netiquette - this is a forum where a lot of guys give their time and experience to others without any charge or reward. Because we tradesmen aren't always glued to the computer/smartphone we don't necessarily see new posts immediately (in point of fact I am too busy at work to use my phone that much - and even then it's mostly for business, i am not alone), so you'll probably find that most (trade) respondents answer outside of working hours. Providing, of course, that they aren't driving/working/in the pub/on holiday (and it is August, after all). So perhaps a little patience would be nice in future?