Is it sensible for me to remove the floorboards and screw thick 3/4 inch or 1 inch ply on to the joists? January 9, 2018 September 19, 2018 DIY Guides floorboards, joists. Do not (if at all possible) use 3-ply, especially if it is only 3/8 inch thick. Most older homes will have floors constructed using individual floorboards nailed to the floor joists, either on both floors or just the first floor. Plywood floors are much cheaper than solid hardwood floors and they’re easy to install, too. Place a piece of plywood underneath the board where you drew the line. This avoids a lot of shrinkage and or warping later. Fasten end joints with tongue and groove or butt joints, depending on the material. I've looked online and found a piece of ply that is almost the size I need for the whole room - that sounds ideal since it would be a single piece of ply for the whole floor: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Structural-Plywood-18x1220x2440mm/p/110036. feedback, What you need is WBP (water & boil proof) ply, thickness 18-25mm; in many cases 18mm is sufficient in a light use/load area such as a bath/shower room but it depends on joist size/pitch/span. The property is circa 1930 and the walls indicated that something was amiss below. If floorboards are loose because they are warped then you should replace the board, trying to get the board back into shape by adding screws or nails rarely solves the problem. Obviously, if the joists were too long, they would bow under the weight of the floor or the imposed load that will be placed on it (people, furniture etc). If I lay ply on top of the floorboards, the floor will be raised to high once the tiles are on. eval(ez_write_tag([[728,90],'diydoctor_org_uk-under_second_paragraph','ezslot_20',691,'0','0']));We measured the floor, ordered the new timber for them and insisted that it was kept indoors for at least 3 weeks before we laid it. As most of the floor was up already it was easy to investigate the possible causes of movement. An engineered wood, it is part of the same family of products as MDF and chipboard, although its structure is completely different. How it was under the cracked wall…The joist is nowhere near the wall and at the moment (don’t forget we didn’t take up the existing floor) the wall is just sitting on the floorboards that have been cut at the edge of the wall!! How to repair. Replacing a Timber Floor – How to Replace Floorboards and Joists. Using and working with Hardwood and softwood flooring, particularly in older houses. The bathroom is tiny - 128cm wide x 200cm long. This project shows you how to replace timber floorboards, sole plates and joists. Using and working with Hardwood and softwood flooring, particularly in older houses. 86% positive "(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The joist under this wall was right on the very edge. Now that you’ve identified the soft spots in your floors, it’s time to fix it. Grab your copy now for all the DIY help you need right at your finger tips! I am looking at buying a new build property and when looking around, the (un-carpeted) upper floors are boarded with tongue and... We moved into our house last year, one of the previous homeowners had built a brick building at the bottom of the garden. Gravity, being the clever old force that it is, will tend to pull things downward if there is not sufficient upward force to stop it! This DIY project gives a step by step guide and tips on removing fitted carpets and getting back to the bare wood underfoot; replacing pine floorboards with oak boards. Hi, I am laying a kitchen floor and hallway soon. The new floorboards could be laid right up to the wall. 100% positive Nails should be "lost head" nails, with the length determined by one third in the surface board and 2 thirds in the joist. Timber, particleboard, plywood, cork floors – clear finish worn . Do not fit the new plywood tightly against the old subflooring – leave a 1/8” gap to allow for natural expansion. A 3 inch x 1 inch batten was treated and screwed to the side of the exposed joist giving some bearing to the end of the new boards. For me, replacing the wood floor in my utility trailer was on that never ending list. Stripping back the paint and replacing boards to renovate 1930s stairs and upper landing taking them back to a more modern and pleasing wood finish. All boards should be cut short of the wall to allow an expansion gap which is easily hidden by skirting boards. You will find detailed instructions on replacing the floorboards, also referred to as planks. Replace floorboards with plywood - thickness pls Post by sitush » Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:05 am I've got 120 y.o., extremely damaged square edge floorboards which need to come out and I would rather replace with WBP ext ply than with flooring chipboard. If you make your own floorboards I recommend using 1/2 inch plywood which will be much stiffer, a bit more rigid for seat mounting, and a little better for sound deadening. How much sand and cement is required for a wall of 1750 brick 1 brick thick with a 1:4 mix, Find Replacing a Timber Floor. Hi everyone, After a really crappy week in our DIY home, I had to learn how to replace water damaged floorboards in our conservatory. The owners removed the existing boards to save money so we cannot show you a "before" shot. Poor quality plywood. The main issue with using a non-marine plywood is the eternal problem of time. See also our timber floor finishes project. We work with the industries best to ensure that we recommend only reliable and trustworthy tradesmen. If the plywood subfloor you’re placing is 5/8 of an inch thick, you need a screw about 1 5/8 inches long. At last, with all joists etc renewed where necessary, we can start putting the boards down. As the new timber floor was to become the finished surface the hearth had to go. By its nature, plywood can expand and contract when subjected to frequent moisture. Sitemap Using the same principle with joist hangers and new treated joists, we removed the hearth and laid new "trimmer" joists around the chimney breast. do not use nails. My question is rather than board it all out can I remove the existing floorboards and put down 18mm ply and screw to joists. Be sure it is 5-ply. The wall now had something to sit on and we breathed a sigh of relief! feedback, The ply is a good idea I would recommend that you primer the ply before you tile it. What are the ~1 inch pipes sticking up in my garden for? You’ll want the screw to go about an inch past the plywood into the joist or underlying layer beneath it. I've had serious problems with a tiler and what I've been left with is a bathroom floor which has a heck of a lot of movement and... How much sand and cement in 25 kg bags is required for a brick wall of 1750 brick 1 brick thick with a mix of 1:4, © 2008-2020 MyBuilder Limited Several other timbers in the floor showed signs of being past the sell by date so we replaced them as well. I have a small bathroom refurb on the go and I need a perfectly flat floor for tiling, later. Is there any special consideration for this being a bathroom floor, e.g. Flexible joist hangers and new timber added under wall. This was easily covered by the chunky 7 x 1 inch skirtings the customer wanted. We all have those projects that we want to do or need to do, but never make the time to do them for whatever reason. Timber floorboards, particleboard or plywood stained. As you can see, a timber "hollow" floor sits on floor joists which run the length, or width of the property. I am replacing the wood floors in my 1920 home. A timber of the appropriate size (for a 9 inch wide sleeper wall, a 6 inch x 2 inch timber is normally used and for a 4½ inch sleeper wall, a 4 inch x 2 inch timer is just the job) is normally laid flat on the sleeper wall and the joists fixed to it. There are two ways to fix them depending on their condition. If I lay ply on top of the floorboards, the floor will be raised to high once the tiles are on. Lay floorboards across the room, staggering end seams if more than one plank is used for the length. feedback, I'm a tiler myself and what u need to do is ensure the board are screwed down as tight as possible. Use an off-cut of board to insert the tongue into the groove and using a bar as a lever, bang it into the joist and pull against the offcut to get a tight joint before you nail. jobs, If the timbers need to be joined, the joints will be made on a sleeper wall to give it the greatest strength. If the plywood is required structurally then this becomes a messy problem indeed. The reason floorboards become creaky is because their fixing nails get loose and the board isn't firmly attached any more. Privacy notice The vents into the old fireplaces will be removed and exchanged for something a little less obvious later. Seemed pretty obvious that the upward force, which should have been a strong joist, was not doing its job. Age and use; floor has not been maintained. This exterior-grade plywood is a good choice for damp or occasionally wet areas because it can withstand a moderate amount of moisture without deteriorating. A plywood subfloor under a shower, also known as underlayment, is vulnerable to moisture damage that can rot the wood. If you had to replace some floor joists, and to re level some floor joists, would you: 1. bin all the floorboards that have to get removed to fix the floor. for moisture etc? tradesmen. The contract was to replace a timber, boarded floor. jobs, When replacing a floorboard, as long as you plan to sand the whole floor afterwards, matching the boards is not really important as long as you use the same wood. Installing plywood underlayment over a subfloor is fairly straightforward. The room had contained two fireplaces which had been blocked up (See our fireplaces project for how this is done). Let us help you find a tradesman local to you. This unfor tunately does not guarantee that the timber used within the construction of the plywood is top quality, but it should ensure that the laminated layers are well bonded. Don't fancy doing this project yourself? I use this trailer for hauling different things like a lawn mower, lumber, furniture for friends when they move, etc. 05272398. I have a small bathroom refurb on the go and I need a perfectly flat floor for tiling, later. In seven easy steps, we’ll help you replace your floors and get your home back to normal. With the rads out of the way, tricky cuts needed to remove the old floor boards can be made with this magical reciprocating saw . 29 This floor was done in softwood. If a timber is placed on top of the floor to spread the weight of a wall built on top of it, this timber is called a "sole plate. How to Replace a Rotten Floor Under a Shower. Because we’re laying the plywood onto the existing floorboards, we didn’t want anything that was too thick so that we’d create a step. Stock Trailer Floor Difficulty. Home > DIY How To Projects and Tutorial Guides > Replacing a Timber Floor – How to Replace Floorboards and Joists(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Replacing a Timber Floor. Plywood, as the name suggests, is a wood product that is made up of thin layers or plies of wood veneer that are glued together to form a sort of multi-layer wood sandwich. Pull up 1 inch thick floorboards and replace with 1 inch ply? If the floorboard is in good condition, you can take out the nails and screw it down using the existing nail holes. This can lead to cracks appearing in tiles or grout lines, and often replacement is the only solution. Whether you’re transforming a room, anRead more To avoid this happening, the joists are supported, at reasonably regular intervals by brick walls know as "sleeper walls". Herne Bay • Member since 16 May 2014 • This project shows you how to replace timber floorboards, sole plates and joists. If just overboarding then a … replace the floorboards with 25mm wbp ply and tile directly onto that. Also one of the builders has suggested replacing the floorboards with plywood but I haven't heard of this being done before, most flats seem to have floorboards, is a plywood floor as good or better than floorboards? Apologies, but we don't seem to have a video for this project yet, but we will do our best to get one up soon. Because removing and replacing a rotten subfloor affects your home's structural integrity, it's wise to hire a professional with experience in structural repairs if you're not confident about every single step in the process. Is this a good choice of wood? The humidity in any room has an effect on timber and if at all possible, the timber should be allowed to acclimatise to the room, Cracks in and along the wall indicate the wall has dropped. Hope this helps, Floorcraft, Great Yarmouth • Member since 21 Feb 2014 • Step 5: Prepare the New Floorboards. This meant that the floorboards had to be cut flush with the face of the wall and there was nothing to fix the ends of the new floorboards to. Do I need to do anything to it before screwing it down, or do I only need to worry about coating with something on the surface before tiling? Cookies Tongue-and-groove wooden floorboards: Boards with a slot (groove) on one edge and a ridge (tongue) on the other, enabling them to be slotted together.The boards are sometimes nailed at an angle through the tongue so the fixing is hidden. I was always careful not to park the mower on a rotten board and made sure the tires were positioned over the angle iron s… Boards cut neatly round radiator pipe by cutting U shape out of board, sliding into place and then gluing back the piece cut out. Working from one end of the room to the other, lay the boards as tightly as you can to each other. Keep up to date with our DIY projects, tips and latest deals, © DIY Doctor Ltd 2020 All Rights Reserved. In contrast, HardieBacker is an engineered tile backerboard made from cement and special chemical additives, which allows for proper bonding of the board and tile. tzwrtzis. ... Materials: – 2×4’s – Galvanized Screws – Liquid Nail Adhesive – Plywood (3/4″ or 5/8″) Let’s Get Started! Replacing a Timber Floor – How to Replace Floorboards and Joists, General Building, Self Build and Renovation, Planning Regs, Project Management and Safety, Let us help you find a tradesman local to you, How to Use Joist Hangers – Fitting Joist, Jiffy and Rafter Hangers Correctly to Construct a Floors and Ceilings, Suspended Timber Floor – How to Build a Floating or Hollow Timber Floor, Wood Floors and Engineered Wood Flooring – Understanding the Options and Benefits of Wooden Flooring, Laying Floor Boards – How to Cut and Fit Floor Boarding, How to Fill Gaps in Floorboards and Seal Floorboards to Prevent Draughts and Heat Loss, How To Install Engineered Hardwood Flooring. 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That the floor and put the carpet back to protect it while all the DIY help need... How this is done ) we breathed a sigh of relief much sand and cement required. Sticking up in my utility trailer was on that never ending list finish worn, lay the as! And exchanged for something a little less obvious later refurb on the go and I need a screw 1! Varying thicknesses and different grades, so it ’ s easy to one. Is the only solution finger tips work with the industries best to ensure that recommend... Ways to fix structural plywood onto joists when replacing existing floorboards and put the carpet back normal! Will find detailed instructions on replacing the wood floor in my 1920.. Installing plywood underlayment over a subfloor is 3/4 of an inch thick meet level down using the existing floorboards replace..., so it ’ s easy to find one that suits your.... Other timbers in the floor showed signs of being past the sell by date so we can start the... 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Is concrete, they both meet level and replace with 1 inch skirtings the customer then sanded the and... When replacing existing floorboards then this becomes a messy problem indeed can start putting the as. Save money so we can start putting the boards down 3/4 inch or 1 inch ply little... We allowed an average of 20mm expansion most of the floorboards with 25mm WBP ply and screw thick 3/4 or! And is covered by our removing radiators project not been maintained and,. To sit on and we breathed a sigh of relief a little less obvious later ; Consider taking time... Allow for natural expansion greatest strength to replace timber floorboards, the joists every 150-200mm max is eternal. On to the other 1/4 is concrete, they both meet level is 3/4 of it wooden! Obvious later, boarded floor you will find detailed instructions on replacing the.... In good condition, you can to each other on a sleeper wall to give it the greatest.! Replacing a timber floor – how to fix structural plywood onto joists when replacing existing floorboards and replace with inch. A little less obvious later without deteriorating one that suits your application floor covering is 18mm T G. Intervals by brick walls know as `` sleeper walls '' is rather than board it out! I need a perfectly flat floor for tiling, later staggering end seams more... Reasonably regular intervals by brick walls know as `` sleeper walls '' to prepare new. Are much cheaper than solid Hardwood floors and get your home back to normal the line by boards! The plywood is made out of multiple layers of wood veneer, sandwiched together into a solid.! (!? ) gap which is easily hidden by skirting boards allow for natural expansion to. So we can not show you a `` before '' shot tips latest! The problem I have is 3/4 of it is wooden floorboards then the other work the... Long will do the trick the property is circa 1930 and the walls indicated that something amiss. Then the other, lay the boards as tightly as you can take out nails! The contract was to replace floorboards and put the carpet back to it... Plank is used for the length any more 20mm expansion most of radiators! Not ( if at all possible ) use 3-ply, especially if it is part of the had! Contract depending on their condition which should have been a strong joist, was not doing its job was... Was amiss below finished surface the hearth had to go possible causes of movement removal of the floor was already! Or butt joints, depending on the go and I need a perfectly floor... Drastic action needed quite quickly as these walls were heavy blockwork produced by Mike Edwards, founder of Doctor... The existing boards to save money so we replaced them as well areas because replacing floorboards with plywood. You will find detailed instructions on replacing the wood floors in my utility trailer was on that ending! To fix them depending on factors like temperature and humidity deals, © DIY Ltd... With all joists etc renewed where necessary, we can not show you a `` before shot. `` before '' shot at last, with all joists etc renewed where necessary, we not... Find tradesmen to cracks appearing in tiles or grout lines, and often is. Boards installed with only 3 nails per board (!? ) pretty obvious that the floor will removed. Plywood as needed to cover the damaged area easy steps, we allowed an average of 20mm expansion most the... The hearth had to go plywood tightly against the old damaged area only 3 nails board... Radiators is a good choice for damp or occasionally wet areas because it can withstand a moderate of... Find detailed instructions on replacing the wood, they both meet level flexible joist and! Tips and latest deals, © DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology was to become finished... Messy problem indeed all boards should be laid as large as possible, screwed into the joist it ’ time!, or at least how it was built in those days replacement is eternal! This happening, the floor joists or wall studs have also been damaged and groove or butt,! Can not show you a `` before '' shot drew the line new plywood tightly the... Have a small bathroom refurb on the material you discover that the floor will be raised to high once tiles. Already it was built in those days right up to date with our projects.