Replace floorboard with structural ply?

[oakc]

Hi all,

i'm an eager DIYer but always cautious if i don't know exactly what i'm doing so thought i'd seek good advice

moved into property 6 months ago and the flooring on the landing is horrendous, creak central!!!! the better half is ready to kill me when i wake the lil' one up coming to bed in the early hours.... woops! and with another one on the way thought it was about time to sort it especially before carpet gets replaced.

every floorboard has movement/ a creak! Planned to just secure creaky floorboards and noticed everyone had only been nailed on the one side!

The problem is how the pipes have been installed. easier to explain from pic but they've been laid to one side of the floorboards (instead of down the middle) meaning one side of the floorboard cannot be secured down and/or in some parts practically resting on the pipes!

its the same for the floorboards to the left of the cutout i'd lifted in pic (previously cut/not by me, to repair pipe by the looks of it) hence the creaking! it's a bit of a mess tbh and wouldn't feel comfortable trying to secure any of the boards already in place (even if i could! without lifting up and seeing what other surprises are lurking.....)

i'm tempted to replace the lot (leaving the boards that are under the walls) and replace with one/two pieces of structural 18mm ply so i can secure down properly to joist and avoid the pipes in the process. the floorboards are 18mm. can i just direct replace? i've read a lot of conflicting advise and no situation similar to my own (a landing) - unless anyone else has got any better ideas or advice? not really done much with sub-flooring before etc so want to not make a stupid/simple mistake...

the landing flooring area i want to replace is 1130mm by 2900mm (hence the idea just one full board)

i would also maybe cut the board in half (making sure it's cut/finishing on a supporting joist) just so it would be easier to lift flooring if any work needed doing later on? rather than having to lift the whole landing flooring

Any advice / suggestions much appreciated!!!!

Thanks

 

[John D v2.0]

yeah not much to say other than go for it! the ply will be stable in both directions and as long as you make sure the joints are over joists as much as possible, you'll reduce the chance of creaking. I spent a fortune on t&g floorboards to replace the bathroom floor which was tiled, but in hindsight I should have done what you're doing with plywood.

 

[oakc]

Many thanks for the response!!! just wanted to make sure i weren't making a true rookie mistake!

 

[John D v2.0]

Well I've made enough of them and it's not put me off yet! You've got the right attitude though, let is know how you get on and hope your family thanks you for doing it

 

[Lower]

Replacing all the floorboards on the landing is a reasonable amount of work.

I would be tempted to lift the board to the right of the opening , cut it down the its centre and then shuffle the boards across by half a board. You'll then have two whole boards in the middle that now bridge the notch in the joists created for the pipes that can be screwed down properly either side. You then use the two halves of board you've cut to fill the gap either side.

 

[oakc]

Sorry i never updated this post - this was the result in the end - thanks for the advice and ideas! just updating incase anyone else comes across a similar problem... happy with the result, solid floor and still no creaks 18 months on

 

[TDSC]

Great post, thank you!