Wooden Flooring Dilema

[mark-bristol]

Hi group

I am in the middle of decorating my house, and in two minds what to do with the flooring.

Currently, the house has original wooden flooring, however it is in need of sanding and in some areas repairing where previous owners have sawn the floorboards to gain access to the sub-floor.

The other alternative is to laminate over the floorboards, this option will obviously not have significant amounts of dust as sanding the original will have, but I am unsure of overall cost.

The floor area is approx. 35sqm, using laminate I estimate that the cost will be in the region of £450 & £650, can anyone advise/make a comparison between the two options in terms of effect/cost. If possible I would prefer to get someone to sand the originals if this is the best option, but would lay the laminate myself.

Grateful for any assistance.

 

[diyhell]

Tricky...and depends on whether you think laminate flooring is the next woodchip!

I've done both and reckon:
- laminate provides a uniform, easy to clean surface but is everywhere and is noisy under foot (particularly if its plastic and not real wood veneer)
- original wood is softer, more original but can look a bit scrappy if its been lifted badly in the past. It can also let loads of dust into the room under the bottom of the skirtings and through the gaps between board too.

In my house I'm going floorboards downstairs and carpet upstairs. Boards downstairs haven't been lifted so are in great condition and I'm removing the skirting so can replace it sealed to the floor.

If you can stretch to a real wood veneer rather than a plastic laminate then maybe the laminate wins. You can also fit underfloor electric heating under laminate - not possible under softwood floorboards but maybe that's for the electrics forum

 

[mark-bristol]

Thanks for the reply.

Since my original post, I have looked at the cost of both options, and having someone to sand the floorboards is approximatley the same as using a medium/high quality laminate.

The main reason for wanting someone to come in and do the job, was the contractor could have the hassle of cleaning the dust & working in the stuff, however as there is a question on affordability I am considering hiring the kit and doing the job myself.

There are a number of boards which have been lifted badly, in random places I will need to replace about 10 boards, also there some large gaps between between others, on this basis I may lift all boards and relay. This will give me the oppurtunity to close any gaps, but does anyone have any tips on how to approach this, especially from the point of view of minimise the dust, post relaying the floor.

Also, if I am to sand the floors,and I realise there will be a certain amount of dust, but has anyone got any tips to minimise it during sanding.

 

[diyhell]

Lifting & relaying is hard to do without damaging more boards because of the way the boards are nailed down. Also, its difficult to match new boards to old because they tend to be less 'aged'. Not impossible - just time consuming to get right.

Sanding is just plain dusty, time consuming & backbreaking (doing the edges). Having done it once, I added up the cost and reckoned it was better value to get someone else to do it!

Only way to minimise dust intrusion is to seal all unused doors with masking tape then be prepared to hoover, hoover and hoover again

 

[fitter]

You might be lucky in matching boards at a reclamation yard but expect to pay, they are not cheap.

I also got through a lot more sanding disks than I thought I would.
Like most, it turned into an expensive project.

 

[SarahHaugh]

Hello

I sanded my hall and dinning room floors about 4 years ago and have never had a problem with dust after the event. I used yacht varnish on it after the sanding and put on about 4 coats. It is really hard wearing and after 4 years of walking on the hall floor it looks like new.

To answer your bit about the gaps, the trick is to mix some of the dust that will collect in the bag as you sand, with some wood glue to form a paste. Then use this as a filler. Again I used this on my floors and it is barely noticable. I also had the problem of previous owners of the house lifting the boards and hacking them, however after sanding the floors it is a lot less noticable as you do take a good layer off and this does smooth out the cuts.

The trick as always with DIY is preparation. Get on your hands and knees before you start sanding and feel for all the nails and staples that have been used for carpet laying and pull as many of them out as you can. Once that can't come out should be tapped well into the floor boards (but check for pipes and cables!!!) It is the nails and staples that are left in that will rip the sanding paper and make it expensive. Also when you start sanding go diagonally across the boards first and then along the grain afterwards.

One further tip - I wouldn't bother hiring the edger - it is expensive and runs away with you!! I used the main sander and this gets up very close to the edges. I then put a circular disc sander on my drill and used this to finish up the edges. It is much easier to move round the edging and get under radiators and also ensures that the don't damage the skirting board.

Hope this helps - and sorry if you already know all this!!!

 

[diyhell]

You mean the 'mix the sawdust with woodglue' trick actually works? Am intrigued - and might have to try it myself. Fortunately the floor I did in the past was pretty blemish free so no problems. Have heard many such tricks ('push twine soaked in glue into the gap', 'use paper mache') but having had friends try them and show me the poor results I'd thought they were all rubbish.

Regards varnish, I've used water based a couple of time (quick, no strong lasting odour) and solvent based (V strong but took an age to lose its smell) and both looked good. Matt (not gloss) is best in my opinion.

Oh, and one thing I forgot about sanding boards - dogs running around on softwood (pine) floors recks them - they end up grooved where the dogs try and dig in their claws...

Good point about not hammering nails into pipes and cables. Having popped a nail through an inappropriately place central heating pipe (it even had a protective plate over it) I can recommend caution...

 

[mark-bristol]

Thanks Guys.

Still not made up my mind yet, but the replies in this post has certainly given me more to think about.