flat rennovation. reclaimed maple floor

[craigthecoupe]

i've been reading a bit but have a few questions
i have a first floor flat in a victorian house and have just bought some reclaimed maple flooring (from a school gym) for our kitchen/diner/hall. We have old floorboards at the moment which arent too good so am thinking of creating a new subfloor (ply or chipboard?question 1! and also what thickness (the new t&g floor is 21mm thick ))
then should i secret nail or have as a floating floor? (i feel more comfortable nailing as kitchen units will be fixed on top) is there a reason why i shouldnt? (the t&g is 500x60mm kitchen diner is 5mx3.5)
i'm also aware of sound through the floor and want to minimize this as much as possible. i have already insulated under the floor, but is there any insulation worth putting between the joists and subfloor or sub floor and top layer or both? im on a real budget! (please no smart arse comments about carpet!)
the other issue is what to finish with when the floor is sanded and layed. clearly it will be a high traffic area/heavy(ish) use area so want to protect it as much as possible!
thanks for taking the time to read this post
hope you can help a newbie

craig

 

[WoodYouLike]

Craig, your maple boards are too narrow to install floating, you'll have to either secretly nail or fully glue them to your subfloor (plywood, not chipboard).
Don't install the kitchen cupboards on top of the floor, if you every have any large leaks or other disaster your units have to be removed! Install the floor say 1 - 2 inch underneath the cupboards, the kickboards will 'hide' the rest of the subfloor.

In heavy traffic areas, specially in kitchens where you don't' walk but shuffle (from cooker to sink, sink to cooker, fridge to cooker etc) we recommend hardwaxoil.

 

[craigthecoupe]

thanks for that. didnt think about the units! so what thickness ply should i use and is there any point putting a soundproof underlay down or not?
many thanks
craig

 

[pantsmachine]

Not trying to but in here but it looks to me as if Craig is saying that his flooring is 21mm in height and he has not yet said the width of the board(walking surface) so he may yet be able to lay a floating floor. Craig i read on this forum during a trawl through on a similar subject that min ply thickness should be 6mm.

 

[craigthecoupe]

hey pantsmachine thanks for your comment i did state in my first post the boards are 60x500x21 but i like the idea of secret nailing.
so 6mm is the min for ply sub floors?
also i read a post on this forum regarding central heating pipes just below the floor is there anything i can do about this? do i just mark it on the subfloor and tiptoe around it?

i'm also intrested i different patterns for laying the floor. as all lengths are the same it should be fairly routine? is there somewhere where i can find different patterns online just so i can have a look?

craig

 

[pantsmachine]

The 6mm i quoted is if the ply is being laid across an existing floor(i.e keep your boards and lay across). If i was doing it over existing boards i would glue and screw the ply to the boards with runs of glue on the back of the ply and then go with the secret nailing through the ply and flooring. If you are worried about noise you could forget the glue lay a thin insulation layer under the ply on top of the boards and then screw down the ply before starting laying the floor and secret nailing. I would also find out the location of the pipe runs and avoid like the plague! On the other hand if you go boards,ply to level and then secret nail, even a 50mm should not get all the way through. You can also get 38mm long nails as well if memory serves correctly. Sorry for not picking up on your board width from a previous post. Bear in mind all this advice is from a guy who has only done one floor and is looking at doing the next one which is a biggy hence the reason i have been sweeping the net for info and am on this forum so i am sure others will be along to help with more info!

 

[pantsmachine]

Forgot to mention that different patterns can be found if you look through reclaim sites. A lot of them have pictures of the floors before they are lifted. In saying that all i remember regarding patterns is herringbone or staggered slats in a pattern or randomised staggered slats(the 3rd being the look i am going for).

 

[pantsmachine]

And most finally for tonight. I am a big fan of Junckers floor lacquers, i used it on my first solid wood floor 9 years ago and it still looks great, google the name and you will see a good selection of their products.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Not trying to but in here but it looks to me as if Craig is saying that his flooring is 21mm in height and he has not yet said the width of the board(walking surface) so he may yet be able to lay a floating floor.

You're not budding in, and I'm not trying to 'get my right' but he did mention the width in his first post: the t&g is 500x60mm
And 60mm is definitely too narrow to install floating

 

[craigthecoupe]

first off thanks for all the replies!
i know some aren't keen on the topic of soundproofing , but it is important for us to do all we can so ive been looking at these
http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/soundproofing/joistcap.htm
however i'm a tad confused as to how this would be layed. it says in there pricelist
http://www.customaudiodesigns.co.uk/soundproof_pl.htm
that a length is 2mx12mmx50mm but also says that it covers 144 linear meters?
can anybody help me? has anyone ever used this stuff?
thanks#

craig

 

[WoodYouLike]

that a length is 2mx12mmx50mm but also says that it covers 144 linear meters?

Never used them ourselves, but if you lay all the caps in one row you can cover 144 linear meter