Hi All,
I'm stripping out the master bedroom down to the pine floorboards of a circa 1900 Victorian terrace, intend to re-lay them to get rid of gaps, sand them down, remove and replace skirting. I've got some questions though since I'm just a beginner.
1. Do these floorboards look OK or do they need replacing?
2. How do I remove the concrete block where the hearth used to be safely? The chimney breast in the picture goes directly down to the chimney breast in the living room, so I'm guessing the concrete block isn't structural. Can I just break it up and get rid of it and then replace the short floorboards with longer ones? And is there likely to be a normal joist underneath?
3. I lifted up one of the boards in the corner of the room, and the joist it sits on looks like it has some damp on it, but is it damp or just stains that have been picked up over the years? The house survey didn't bring up any damp problems upstairs, but then I doubt the structural engineer lifted any floorboards.
4. There are big gaps under the skirting board and between the floor through which mice are getting in. What's the best way to fill this up, steel wool, expanding foam? And if so, is this likely to cause damp/ventilation problems?
Thanks in advance for any advice offered.
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I'm stripping out the master bedroom down to the pine floorboards of a circa 1900 Victorian terrace, intend to re-lay them to get rid of gaps, sand them down, remove and replace skirting. I've got some questions though since I'm just a beginner.
1. Do these floorboards look OK or do they need replacing?
2. How do I remove the concrete block where the hearth used to be safely? The chimney breast in the picture goes directly down to the chimney breast in the living room, so I'm guessing the concrete block isn't structural. Can I just break it up and get rid of it and then replace the short floorboards with longer ones? And is there likely to be a normal joist underneath?
3. I lifted up one of the boards in the corner of the room, and the joist it sits on looks like it has some damp on it, but is it damp or just stains that have been picked up over the years? The house survey didn't bring up any damp problems upstairs, but then I doubt the structural engineer lifted any floorboards.
4. There are big gaps under the skirting board and between the floor through which mice are getting in. What's the best way to fill this up, steel wool, expanding foam? And if so, is this likely to cause damp/ventilation problems?
Thanks in advance for any advice offered.
