Safe or unsafe floorboards

[helen]

I planned to remove the horrible crimson carpet in my dining room and sand and varnish the floorboards. There are big gaps between the boards upstairs but from what I'd glimpsed when my central heating was revamped, I guessed the downstairs floor was better. The carpet is on underlay which is nailed to hardboard so it has been impossible to tell its exact condition. When I started to rip up the grippers at the edge of the outside facing wall, a very damp and musty smell emanated from the space underneath and found a gap of almost three-quarters of an inch between a couple of boards.

Being on a VERY tight budget, my instincts tell me to replace the gripper, give the carpet a good clean , cover it with a big mat and re-carpet when funds allow. But now I've hit this problem, I'm starting to worry about the state of the floorboards. Could they be rotten and unsafe and is there any way I can find out without ripping everthing up?

 

[Static]

Check that your air bricks are clear and the sub floor is ventiating properly.

 

[helen]

Check that your air bricks are clear and the sub floor is ventiating properly.

I've poked the holes in both airbricks. The stick goes over a foot through one of them but hits something hard about 8" through the other. I have regular nocturnal visits from a slug but the walls have been damp-proofed. How do I check ventilation in the subfloor?

 

[Static]

Pull up a floor board and poke a torch down there, check the walls have air bricks in them on at least 2 sides of the room. Good idea to check the condition of the joists while looking, check for signs of wet rot.

 

[helen]

Pull up a floor board and poke a torch down there, check the walls have air bricks in them on at least 2 sides of the room. Good idea to check the condition of the joists while looking, check for signs of wet rot.

There are airbricks on 2 sides. Pulling up a floorboard to check the condition of the joists means pulling up the grippers and part of the hardboard. Not easy to do without causing damage - just what I wanted to avoid. Thanks anyway.