www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Good point too. Iam intending on reducing costs, so preparation, as they say, is everything.

What would you suggest using best material to seal the gaps? Under closer inspection, I find Hoovie is correct in saying these are not T&G boards and do appear to have a sawdust/resin mix fill, still in tact in most areas I've revealed so far(Except, where you noticed the larger predominant gap.

So should I completely re-grout, removing the old fill and using e.g.. expanding foam/mastic? I assume mastic is very similar to silicone sealant in way? Apologies for my limited knowledge! I'm "Googling" the meaning of these new terms as I go along.
If im not mistaken, using the small thin sticks sounds it will be at bit of a task on my hands.

I use to work for a business for a couple months that renovates outdoor sun decks. I did pick some experience in this type of trade, but im certainly going to be using caution in this project.
We used to use an epoxy to fill and cover nails/screws, giving flush surface to the deck boards.
I could use this to on my living room floor on any holes, damage, chipping etc. ?

I plan to start tearing away the rest of the carpeting and underlay, removing nails and start the filling work next week end the 12th & 13th.
Then I plan to start the sanding the following weekend.

Long one but thanks for reading and your valued responses so far!

Nick

Hi Nick, there is a posting in the Show Gallery by a guy who did a similar job on his parquet flooring - he found what he thought was a very good deal on sander hire - think it was within M25 area - and got a free demo on his floor as well, i think. Maybe worth a follow-up?

One possible alternative to using some sort of filler, or using think sticks/wedges, would be to lift the floorboards and re-lay the boards tighter together, and then 'find' a new board to fill in the the area left at the end (maybe from another room that will remain carpeted so you have same age and wood type floorboard).
This will not be a really simple job, but could give you the neatest result?

Good luck with it. Look forward to seeing the pics

Looks like knotty pine. You can just about stain it to whatever color you want.

Hoovie wrote:Hi Nick, there is a posting in the Show Gallery by a guy who did a similar job on his parquet flooring - he found what he thought was a very good deal on sander hire - think it was within M25 area - and got a free demo on his floor as well, i think. Maybe worth a follow-up?

One possible alternative to using some sort of filler, or using think sticks/wedges, would be to lift the floorboards and re-lay the boards tighter together, and then 'find' a new board to fill in the the area left at the end (maybe from another room that will remain carpeted so you have same age and wood type floorboard).
This will not be a really simple job, but could give you the neatest result?

Good luck with it. Look forward to seeing the pics

I'd be tempted to unfasten the boards and re-lay them tight together, you can also attend to any work needed underneath. My first 1960s house floors had gaps you could lose a cat in, and most of the boards had been laid upside down.

Thanks Mooncat.

I am going to be pulling up the carpet tomorow, so I could look at lifting the boards and re-fitting them. What do mean looking at the condition underneath? The boards or the grounding below the boards?

I measured the gaps and in most place they about 4/5mm, and the odd larger gap ive discovered so far, likely to have been caused from maintence access.

Shall I use screws instead of nails and should I countersink them? So in that case Ill need to go out get the machine to do that.

I shall post some more pics tommorow one ie lifted all the carpet, so stay tuned!

Nick

nickcopplestone wrote: Shall I use screws instead of nails and should I countersink them? So in that case Ill need to go out get the machine to do that.

If you do use screws, then as long as you use decent screws and a decent power-driver/impact-driver with the right drive bit, then you should not need to make any countersinks or even pilot holes before hand.

On the advice of one of the other guys on the forum, I bought some Spax Flooring screws and they are REALLY good (Spax T-Star Flooring Screw)

and they even come with the right drive bit

One thing I would be inclined to do personally is use one kind of fitting only throughout the whole floor, and not mix and match nails and screws or even different types of nails or screws - if everything looks the same, it will instantly look neater

Good day all,

Just an update. I have deceided to lift all the old boards and fit new boards. Ive already started the job and have bought two T&G Flooring Boards (W) 119 x (L) 2100mm from B&Q as samples. Might order the lonfer 4.2m boards ( bit thicker too) to be delivered (car too small!)

Just need the right drill and bits. Ill be countersinking all screws and covering with a wood epoxy. Could I be reminded what type/name drill is best used in drilling wood screws and attaching counter sinkers?

Any views on this?

Nick

dont buy your new floor boards from B&Q go to a local timber merchant and get some decent quality ones that will probably end up being cheaper

and dont screw them nail them it looks much neater

Good call tim, you beat me to it mate.

In terms of finish, it's worth paying a little bit more for a proper floor finish. Look for something like Junkers Iso Laquer or the acrylic alternative, HSS used to stock these when I worked for Junkers. It doesn't have to be Junkers of course, a lot of the wooden flooring companies supply it. The problem with using varnishes is scuffing, this generally happens due to the heat generated when you scuff the sole of a shoe on the finish, it literally melts the top and leaves the scuff mark.

Proper floor finishes are made to deal with this, and so tend to look good for longer.

Good day all.

It has been a while but here is the lastest (I will get some up to date pictures soon!)

I have ripped up all of the old original floor boards. One fact is the nails were old and unable to sink lower for sanding to take place. 2nd, trying to lift the boards (even with the right tools) was hard not to break the boards (which of course happend, as they were very dry).

So... I have bought 25 whitewood T&G boards, 4.5 metres long, to take place of the old ones. Ive started fitting these (a pain with T&G as i have to cut the 4.5m boards as they are longer than the room itself!

My big question is what is your best advice on finish? The wood is rather plain looking (being a cheap white pine) so staining is a must, so what colour and brand stain shall i use? and what is the best laquer? Ive looked at Bona X.

Ill keep you all further posted with my progress

Thank you

Nick

updated photos?

Hi all,

Sorry about the delay! I have been meaning to add these pictures of the finished product! I need to reduce the picture sizes as they are to big to download to this site.

Will have them on shortly.

C'mon Nick, we are waiting.