Time / effort to clean, sand, varnish bedroom wood floor

[JP_]

OK, so now been in my new old bungalow for 2 months. Having some allergy issues, lots of coughing, wheezing etc. Have so far removed 2 old carpets and vaxed the rest of them. Washed all walls of mould, stripped mouldy wallpaper etc. Lots of airing, bought an Levoit Air Purifier. Ordered 2 new pillows, might replace mattress soon (we had to sell the superking and use our old double again!). But, still woke last night coughing and wheezing.

So, now thinking, remove that carpet. We have the same carpet in 3 rooms, 2 are those that I removed - it's old, brown, long pile. And the rooms it removed from stank. But, while the small room and WC can live without floor covering, our bedroom cannot.

So, if I take up the carpet and underlay, what would I need to do to make the floor usable as bare floorboards. The boards are old, but look in good condition in the other rooms. Just need a good clean, or i guess, bit of a sanding to remove the top layer, then varnish. Will be cold underfoor, but I can live with that. Should help ventilate too!

But, what is involved? Is it something I can feasibly do a one Saturday, if I hire a sander. If so, and suggestions?

Don't want to put a carpet in yet as I may be putting internal wall insulation in, which would mean taking it all out and reducing it. Although, maybe, that would be easier ....

Here's a photo of the small room - the darker boards appear to be the same as those in the bedroom.

 

[Mr Chibs]

Is there damp/mould bottom of the wall right-hand side corner? The wall paper looks dark (maybe just photo)

You can hire a belt sander and sand the floorboards, quite quick, it's been a long time since I did one, but you could sand it in a day.
If it's ground floor, you could add insulation underneath... if you can be arsed to lift the boards.

Presume the boards may have been renewed due to rot?!, you could do with taking a peek underneath.

PS, I'd bin all the old carpets...

 

[JP_]

Yeah, house has mould issues, but I think all is condensation mould. Looks like there was a leak of sorts in that room pictured, as the skirting on the left is swollen. But, I peaked through a small gap in the floorboards and all looks (and smells) dry underneath now. The house is 1930s solid wall construction. I think that this room was closed up for ages, as was the WC, and maybe our bedroom too.

yes, need to bin that old carpet really. Vaxing it really helped, bedroom smells fresh, but must still be aggravating me. Which I why i'm thinking of living with bare floorboards for a while.

I do plan to investigate underneath properly, and possibly put in insulation, but after I do some extension work. At the moment, no space to vacate a room for a week, which is how long it would probably take me to do something like that!

 

[Tigercubrider]

sanding would take a day, along with a mega hoover to remove dust.
then you need several (three?) coats of varnish to seal, and allow for drying time.

if it is temporary, and time is an issue, consider very cheap vinyl ( at a guess £50) or buy cheap laminate

JUST AS AN EXAMPLE
https://www.homebase.co.uk/gilly-oak-laminate-flooring-2-92sqm_p382953

£12 for nearly 3 sq M.

 

[JP_]

Seems a shame to put laminate on top of solid floor boards.
Maybe cheap vinyl, but will need underlay.
I had actually thought about cork floor tiles..... and have been looking for cheap remnant carpets, but not found one large enough and cheap enough yet.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Yes but if time is tight and a refurb is on the cards, do the sanding when you can. Warmer weather will help varnish dry

 

[JP_]

Yeah, this was the plan, but then I was not expecting such a bad allergice raction to my house.

Found some cheap felt backed carpet on ebay - about £50 for the room, so this might be an easier short-term fix. I could probably install that myself without too much trouble - obviously won't look perfect, but will be adequate.

 

[Keithmac]

I would have thought carpet was the last option if you're alergic to airborne contamination?.

 

[JP_]

Maybe, but I have a good vacuum cleaner, and after talking to a friend that sanded his floors, he warned me that even with a good sander with vac attached, there will be a huge amount of dust that gets everywhere! That will probably be worse than doing nothing for the first few months!

 

[Tigercubrider]

I have sanded floors myself and dust does go everywhere
I also paid a guy to do my through lounge and he had all the kit.
Almost zero dust with his kit

 

[JP_]

Just asked a local company for a quote.

I can carpet it with a remnant piece and new underlay for £120, so i reckon that might be the cheapest and cosiest option.

 

[foxhole]

If you just need a clean tidy floor then correx or similar will do the job cheaply.http://www.protectascreen.com/Catal...MImtLjk9CY1wIVgQvTCh3m_A3DEAQYAiABEgKlWPD_BwE

 

[JP_]

I'm not sure my wife will agree!

 

[JP_]

OK, carpet out, bleached, scrubbed, bleached, mopped, dried. Smells fresher, but still some hint if mould, could be wallpaper. But what are these blue marks? Mould, paint, bleach stains of something else? Might just live with it the way it is, after stripping the wallpaper and decorating..... Although, it would be a good time to put in insulation...., but wife not happy about sleeping in the dining room!

 

[JP_]

Also ...

Floorboard Refurbishment £30 per sq mt (price on a Google search result for local floor sanding)

Wickes Bordeaux Pine Solid Wood Unlacquered Flooring £24.99 per SQM

Maybe better to rip out, insulate, put in new floor?

Still, another £500 I cannot afford right now! ..