new or old floorboards?

[gazzaharwood]

hi,
im wishing to lay a new floor in the cellar....with floorboards....am i best using reclaimed floorboards or brand new ones from howart timber.....
if i use new ones how long will i have to leave them in the room to aclimatise ....
can anyone tell me where i might get reclaimed ones from...i live in Wakefield West yorkshire

many thanx
Gazza!!!

 

[JerryM]

floorboards are hard to get up and likely to damage.

if the reclaim are top notch then go for them - the grain of the wood is likely to be much better than today's cheaper alternative.

trouble is i have a nagging feeling they might be more trouble than it's worth in terms of installing them (dimensions, squareness etc)

i would need to work out the total cost but i'd probably be tempted to put floor grade chipboard (on top of dpm) followed by laminate.

for timber drying out i'd leave as long as poss - it does depend on how dry the timber is from the yard. minimum for me would be 1 week but ideally i'd aim for 2 or 3 weeks to be sure. some 3x2 timber just took 4 wks

 

[Deluks]

What is the floor structure? is it well ventilated? All I can think of is, cellar = damp = woodabadidea.

If it's been properly converted/tanked/vented/dry then ignore my ramblings.

 

[gazzaharwood]

hi,thanx for both replys......

were trying to avoid using laminate as we love real wood....
in the new cellar the concrete floor has a DPM under 4" of concrete...can i screw floorboards straight into the concrete?
in the existing cellar the concrete floor has no DPM under it.....so im gonna lay visqueen down (1200 gauge) then foam underlay, then was thinking of placing 3x2 CLS timber acting as joists (layed loose) then place the boards on top??????????
??????
cheers
Gazza!!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Always avoid screwing floorboards in anything.
If your concrete is level why not install the floorboards using the floating method? As extra precaution you could use combi-underlayment (DPM + sound-insulation) and glue all T&G's correctly.

 

[gazzaharwood]

Always avoid screwing floorboards in anything.
If your concrete is level why not install the floorboards using the floating method? As extra precaution you could use combi-underlayment (DPM + sound-insulation) and glue all T&G's correctly.

i have heard this before...but what is the floating method???
why would i need sound insulation underneath?
many thanx
Gazza!!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Have a look here - article on installation etc, tells you most you need to know

 

[gazzaharwood]

hi wouldyoulike,
i think im a bit fick.....
is a floating floor like when i laid laminate??....green underlay stuff, then the click laminate stuff...
if so i will be using reclaimed t+g..but how do i secure pieces which are shorter than the room width? (as laminate has all edges t+g)
can i lay this on a slightly uneven floor or should as use the CLS (as beams) to nail to?
sorry for being so dumb but i want to do it right first time so that we should never need to change the floor again and the reclaimed stuff is expensive!!
Gazza!!!

 

[gazzaharwood]

Always avoid screwing floorboards in anything.
If your concrete is level why not install the floorboards using the floating method? As extra precaution you could use combi-underlayment (DPM + sound-insulation) and glue all T&G's correctly.

in the new cellar the concrete floor has DPM and is level
in the existing cellar there is no DPM and is even (smooth) but not level...it appears to dip in the middle of the room by between 5 and 10mm and seems that they have laid a bit here and then a bit there!!!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

You can 'float' you floor (installing on underlayment and glueing T&G's or clicking in the click-system) even if there are only T&G's on the long sides. You stagger the boards in the next row so that the joints don't end up next to the joints in the previous row, giving your floor stability.

 

[WoodYouLike]

in the new cellar the concrete floor has DPM and is level
in the existing cellar there is no DPM and is even (smooth) but not level...it appears to dip in the middle of the room by between 5 and 10mm and seems that they have laid a bit here and then a bit there!!!!

You'll have to tackle (fill) that dip first!

 

[gazzaharwood]

in the new cellar the concrete floor has DPM and is level
in the existing cellar there is no DPM and is even (smooth) but not level...it appears to dip in the middle of the room by between 5 and 10mm and seems that they have laid a bit here and then a bit there!!!!

You'll have to tackle (fill) that dip first!

could i use the CLS here to avoid the fill...obviously filling gaps under the CLS ?? can i lay loose the t+g on top?

 

[WoodYouLike]

can i lay loose the t+g on top?

How do you mean?

 

[gazzaharwood]

sorry,
laying the CLS loose...then where it fails to touch the floor i will fill the gaps with wedges...then place the t+g floorboards on top (nailed)
Gazza!!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Sounds like a plan, but I would be a bit worried about 'echoing' underneath the dips despite the filling under the battens. Fill those voids with extra underlayment.