removing and re-laying an existing timber floor-crazy idea?

[felstead]

Ideally I'd like to lay a new floating timber floor on top of the our existing timber floor. Unfortunataley I'm unlikely to be able to afford this any time remotely soon and had another idea. Is this a completely stupid idea? I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Existing: 2 floor victorian flat ie upper ground and first floor. Existing timber suspended floor with exposed timber floor boards - non T&G. Very draughty, plenty of gaps, okay condition but could do with some tlc.

My plan / idea was to lift the existing floor sections at a time, fit insulation in the suspended floor, install a sealed polythene layer across the floor to stop the draughts and relay the boards, tight together replacing any particularly ropey / damaged boards. Then sand and re-finish either with an oil or stain or similar. This would involve a living room, a dining room and a hallway. Obviously the idea would be to work through one room at a time then do the sanding and staining.

So - am I hugely under-estimating the size / complexity of the task?
Will I struggle to remove the boards without removing the skirtings? (There are some cut boads already but only a few)

any thoughts, conmments recomendations?

James

 

[radharding]

Hi

I'm in the process of doing just this in my first floor flat. I'm no pro, so this is just my experience. Firstly you will probably need to remove the skirting. The brad nails are probaly about 60mm long and in most cases the boards won't pull off the nail, therefore I found I needed the full 80mm (brad60mm, board 20mm) of height to get the board out. Most of my boards were fixed under or very close to the skirting as well, meaning i even had probs with cut boards.

Don't underestimate how many boards will break or split in places. They can be quite dry / brittle after all that time.

My joists were only 100m deep, so I filled them with 100mm Rockwool RW3 sound insulation. There is no draught at all as it completely fills the void between each joist. Cannot understand why you would want polyurethane under there - I would think it would cause condensation on warm days - just like camping!! I don't think you'll need it after fitting insulation, unless you've got a masive board or leaks from the outer walls.

I ahven't got around to re fitting boards yet. am trying to find a nailgun that does brads. If you find one let me know.