Laying new flooring in Victoria terrace - advice please
Discussion
We have a small victorian terrace.
The lounge has a typical suspended floor.
The old pine floorboards have been cut in places to put in new central heating and electrics.
There are gaps between the floorboards.
i want to put new flooring in.
I thought to lay plywood sheet everywhere (18mm) and then wood flooring on top of that.
The Plywood and new wood flooring (and old pine floorboards) will provide some insulation.
I need to do this myself and my eyesight not great so this seems simpler than lifting all old pine boards snd insulating between floor joists.
That would mess up all skirting boards/plaster and i can't handle that.
Also refinishing old pine floor would be a nightmare due to my other half.
It would take literally years.
For similar reasons i wont go under existing skirting boards.
When final flooring laid well put a finishing beading around the edge.
Or if that part is done professionally, they can undercut the skirting boards at that point.
The hallway and dining room already have 4 cm thick wood sheet down and under skirting boards, so my method will help bring lounge floor closer to other floor levels (which will also have new flooring put on top).
I will fit the plywood sheeting tight to the skirting boards as it is winter and i cant see them expanding any further.
Ill lay the final wood flooring at a later date.
Any tips or suggestion, etc?
Ie
Should i screw the plywood sheeting down on to the existing pine floorboards?
Do i need a membrane etc between pine floor and plywood?
Etc?
I realise it's not ideal, but circumstances dictate, etc.
Thanks.
The lounge has a typical suspended floor.
The old pine floorboards have been cut in places to put in new central heating and electrics.
There are gaps between the floorboards.
i want to put new flooring in.
I thought to lay plywood sheet everywhere (18mm) and then wood flooring on top of that.
The Plywood and new wood flooring (and old pine floorboards) will provide some insulation.
I need to do this myself and my eyesight not great so this seems simpler than lifting all old pine boards snd insulating between floor joists.
That would mess up all skirting boards/plaster and i can't handle that.
Also refinishing old pine floor would be a nightmare due to my other half.
It would take literally years.
For similar reasons i wont go under existing skirting boards.
When final flooring laid well put a finishing beading around the edge.
Or if that part is done professionally, they can undercut the skirting boards at that point.
The hallway and dining room already have 4 cm thick wood sheet down and under skirting boards, so my method will help bring lounge floor closer to other floor levels (which will also have new flooring put on top).
I will fit the plywood sheeting tight to the skirting boards as it is winter and i cant see them expanding any further.
Ill lay the final wood flooring at a later date.
Any tips or suggestion, etc?
Ie
Should i screw the plywood sheeting down on to the existing pine floorboards?
Do i need a membrane etc between pine floor and plywood?
Etc?
I realise it's not ideal, but circumstances dictate, etc.
Thanks.
Lifting and refitting the boards won’t take anywhere near as long as you think. When I was 15 I helped my father do the lounge in our (his) house. Took us an afternoon, started at one edge and lifted about thee feet of boards, added insulation (rockwool on wire), then moved across the room. We even had to move furniture across the gap. When we got to the other side we needed some extra boards to fill the gap as they had all dried and got narrower since the house was built.
Benefit of pine boards is that you CAN slot them under the skirting without removing it.
The layering you suggest won’t really give much insulation and getting access to the void will be a challenge if you ever need to.
Benefit of pine boards is that you CAN slot them under the skirting without removing it.
The layering you suggest won’t really give much insulation and getting access to the void will be a challenge if you ever need to.
Floor has gaps but pretty flat and solid.
Sheeting will be ok re that issue.
I want to get this done in a day for various reasons.
So only having the 18mm pine floor and insulating underneath not really on for me.
Anything that involves refinishing existing pine is definitely out.
The dining room and hall has 40-50 mm wood flooring which seems to be ok insulation wise.
It wont be ideal, but.
Basically my partner is ...unusual.
If she gets involved it will take years.
We haven't had a proper kitchen for over 3 years.
.
Sheeting will be ok re that issue.
I want to get this done in a day for various reasons.
So only having the 18mm pine floor and insulating underneath not really on for me.
Anything that involves refinishing existing pine is definitely out.
The dining room and hall has 40-50 mm wood flooring which seems to be ok insulation wise.
It wont be ideal, but.
Basically my partner is ...unusual.
If she gets involved it will take years.
We haven't had a proper kitchen for over 3 years.
.
How tall are your doorways OP? Raising the floor by around 40mm might either make them too low or, at best, look oddly out of proportion. If they're modern doors, you might not even have that much timber at the bottom to trim either, before you get to the cardboard honeycomb that makes up most of the door.
As others have said, ply in itself won't add much in the way of insulation. If it's draughts you want to eat with then 3.6m ply (and plenty of 20mm screws) will achieve that at much less expense, will also make the floor feel more stable too.
As others have said, ply in itself won't add much in the way of insulation. If it's draughts you want to eat with then 3.6m ply (and plenty of 20mm screws) will achieve that at much less expense, will also make the floor feel more stable too.
CambsBill said:
How tall are your doorways OP? Raising the floor by around 40mm might either make them too low or, at best, look oddly out of proportion. If they're modern doors, you might not even have that much timber at the bottom to trim either, before you get to the cardboard honeycomb that makes up most of the door.
As others have said, ply in itself won't add much in the way of insulation. If it's draughts you want to eat with then 3.6m ply (and plenty of 20mm screws) will achieve that at much less expense, will also make the floor feel more stable too.
To the current hall floor which obviously is in the lounge door aperture as well it is currently 1958 mm.As others have said, ply in itself won't add much in the way of insulation. If it's draughts you want to eat with then 3.6m ply (and plenty of 20mm screws) will achieve that at much less expense, will also make the floor feel more stable too.
If we put 18mm final flooring over everything, that will make the internal door height of 1940 mm.
A standard door in England is 1980 mm.
So our doors would be about 40mm lower/shorter.
I might go with 12 mm ply as 18 seems a bit overboard, and 20mm screws.
I thought it would be worse to be honest.
The lounge floor would be slightly lower (20mm lower probably thank the hallway when all finished.
Actually, if i use 18mm ply, the lounge will be at the same height as the hall and dining room.
The previous owners put 18mm finished ply or similar in the hall and dining room already.
it looked more but isnt.
So all floors will be 36-40 mm max higher than before.
Im ok with that.
Id prefer going under skirting boards, but ill get the final flooring done professionally.
They can do that and worry about filling the bit around the edges with ply as i didn't go under skirting boards.
That should be trivial.
I need to get the lounge lviable in the meantime.
The previous owners put 18mm finished ply or similar in the hall and dining room already.
it looked more but isnt.
So all floors will be 36-40 mm max higher than before.
Im ok with that.
Id prefer going under skirting boards, but ill get the final flooring done professionally.
They can do that and worry about filling the bit around the edges with ply as i didn't go under skirting boards.
That should be trivial.
I need to get the lounge lviable in the meantime.
Understand your reasoning. What I would say is that removing the skirting so that the boarding goes right to the edges is well worth the small extra effort of getting the flooring chap to put in new skirting after laying the floor. It will also speed up that laying and the end result will be far more pleasant.
If me and the floorboards were pretty level then I'd rip out the existing flooring and lever off the skirting, lay down the 18mm ply, use a ridiculous number of good quality screws along with a plan to not go through and discover any pipes with them, seal the gap between the boards and the wall and be perched back on my arse before the wife returns, pretending nothing has happened.
The flooring chap can then lay the insulation sheeting and set down the final boards to float and you or he can fix new skirting.
Draughts are your biggest issue and boarding up to the walls and sealing where they meet is the best way to eliminate them.
I would want to be very comfortable that the finished 18mm boarding will be a flat surface so as to not have the nice new flooring feeling odd under low spots.
If me and the floorboards were pretty level then I'd rip out the existing flooring and lever off the skirting, lay down the 18mm ply, use a ridiculous number of good quality screws along with a plan to not go through and discover any pipes with them, seal the gap between the boards and the wall and be perched back on my arse before the wife returns, pretending nothing has happened.
The flooring chap can then lay the insulation sheeting and set down the final boards to float and you or he can fix new skirting.
Draughts are your biggest issue and boarding up to the walls and sealing where they meet is the best way to eliminate them.
I would want to be very comfortable that the finished 18mm boarding will be a flat surface so as to not have the nice new flooring feeling odd under low spots.
DonkeyApple said:
Understand your reasoning. What I would say is that removing the skirting so that the boarding goes right to the edges is well worth the small extra effort of getting the flooring chap to put in new skirting after laying the floor. It will also speed up that laying and the end result will be far more pleasant.
If me and the floorboards were pretty level then I'd rip out the existing flooring and lever off the skirting, lay down the 18mm ply, use a ridiculous number of good quality screws along with a plan to not go through and discover any pipes with them, seal the gap between the boards and the wall and be perched back on my arse before the wife returns, pretending nothing has happened.
The flooring chap can then lay the insulation sheeting and set down the final boards to float and you or he can fix new skirting.
Draughts are your biggest issue and boarding up to the walls and sealing where they meet is the best way to eliminate them.
I would want to be very comfortable that the finished 18mm boarding will be a flat surface so as to not have the nice new flooring feeling odd under low spots.
Thnaks for the advice.If me and the floorboards were pretty level then I'd rip out the existing flooring and lever off the skirting, lay down the 18mm ply, use a ridiculous number of good quality screws along with a plan to not go through and discover any pipes with them, seal the gap between the boards and the wall and be perched back on my arse before the wife returns, pretending nothing has happened.
The flooring chap can then lay the insulation sheeting and set down the final boards to float and you or he can fix new skirting.
Draughts are your biggest issue and boarding up to the walls and sealing where they meet is the best way to eliminate them.
I would want to be very comfortable that the finished 18mm boarding will be a flat surface so as to not have the nice new flooring feeling odd under low spots.
My problem is that when my girlfriend sees what i have done she will stop any further progress.
So i could be left with a room with no skirting boards for quite a long time.
I'm thinking that although the plywood will only go to the edge of the skirting board, when the pro puts the inal flooring down, he can put strips down of plywood around the edges to fill in the edges i didn't do (under and beyond the skirting. )
5 cm or more.
It would be a good excuse to get the pro to replace all the skirting boards as they are not the most attractive.
There is a slight void behind the skirting as the lime plaster stops at the top of the skirting board.
So after removing the skirting, access will be fine for this.
miniman said:
Sounds like a challenging situation. Can a friend take her away for a long weekend to give you a bit more time? Per above, removing the skirting is so worth it.
She is away for the day 2 days a week.Enough time for me to do a day at a time.
She doesn't go in that room as she found a little mold!
It is a pain.
The way i thinnk to do it, the final wood flooring will go under skirting boards.
The plywood will initially go to the edge of skirting boards, but the bits not under and behind skirting can be done when replacing skirting boards, just before final flooring.
J6542 said:
If you ply tight to the skirting they will not need to piece any bits in, since the new floor will only overhang it by a maximum of 12mm before the new skirting goes on top.
True but if wood laminate then gaps need to be left which do allow for draughts. If you can get the ply to a mm to 5mm from the wall and flexible seal then it would be better. Mould is definitely behind the skirting so best to remove it and let the plaster breath or everyone will die.
DonkeyApple said:
J6542 said:
If you ply tight to the skirting they will not need to piece any bits in, since the new floor will only overhang it by a maximum of 12mm before the new skirting goes on top.
True but if wood laminate then gaps need to be left which do allow for draughts. If you can get the ply to a mm to 5mm from the wall and flexible seal then it would be better. Mould is definitely behind the skirting so best to remove it and let the plaster breath or everyone will die.
And no lounge for 6 mon hs
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