We having new carpet laid next week, with quite thick underlay. We have a few squeaky boards we are dealing with, there are a few boards that have small gaps between them, say the width of a Sunday newspapr. what would you recommend filling them with?
thanks.
I presume you mean the 'thickness' of a Sunday paper - if its the width (especially broad-sheet) then you'll need to lay a few new floorboards in the 'gaps' to fill the holes! :-)
Now to answer your question:
Nothing, just leave them as they are - they won't affect the underlay or carpet - and filling them will probably cause more squeaks when the boards rub together as you walk over them.
My floors have gaps in the boards rather wider than yours, but a good quality (Cloud 9) underlay accommodates this with no problems.
Cash
/blushes. at stupidity,
that's good to hear, we are using cloud 9, so it seems we will be one job less to do, now we have to transport the contents of the through lounge somewhere....
The squeaky boards can be solved easily - screw them down with two screws at each joist.
If you are emptying the room also consider sanding it flat if you have the time. The boards will likely be sweaking because they are old and have warped slightly - usually a curved shape that rise as the edges. As you walk over them they rock slightly - the squeak can be cause by the board moving, by the boards sliding up and down the nails, or by the tongue and groves moving mutually. Sanding flat will not only cure any squeaking, it will mean the underlay and carpet will last significantly longer. It is also more comfortable to walk on the carpet with bare feet.
If you have small gaps between the boards - where the tongue has been sawn out to allow the boards to be lifted - and you feel it necessary to fill them, make some good stodgy papier mache and squeeze it into the gaps. Alternatively, if you want to stop draughts one of the thin felt-type underlays that most carpet shops carry will cover them with ease - or even lay a few layers of a (large format) newspaper.
I have an Edwardian house and there is a gap of about 3 mm between the skirting board and the floorboards. I regret not stuffing newspapers in this gap as with vacuuming on a pale beige carpet, dust has been sucked along the line of the outside walls making a dirty mark along the edge.
Colin
In article , Colin Jackson writes
Don't feel guilty[1], it's not the vacuuming, underfloor draughts blow through the gap pushing dirt out onto the edge of the carpet.
For a gap around the 3mm mark it's easy to fill with sealant. The ideal compound is one of the new modified silicones which are paintable and low modulus flexible enough to handle extra movement. Decorators caulk isn't the right stuff, it isn't flexible enough.
[1] or use it as an excuse not to vacuum
If I were you, and if you want a job that will stay looking good in a few years time, I would screw down the loose boards as already suggested then lay 3mm hardboard sheets all over the floor before laying the carpet. This will give a smooth surface for the underlay. If you don't and have gaps as wide as you described you may see the uneven areas later on, it will all look great to start with, but over a period of time the uneven boards and gaps may show up as patterns in the carpet surface. Hardboard is very cheap and very easily fixed.
AJ
Don't forget to lay paper across the room as vacuuming (again!) will cause dirt to be sucked through the gaps and make unsightly lines across. Carpet suppliers have a wide brown paper on reels.
I have a belt sander and it did a very good job on evening out the uneven boards - can be plugged into the cleaner.
Colin
That was visible on the carpet I got with my Edwardian house, which was only 2 years old.
When I chucked the carpet, before new carpet was fitted, I painted the skirting boards gloss white and also about a 2" strip of the floor in front of the skirting boards. When the gloss was dry, I bought an expensive roll of wide high quality sellotape (real sellotape;-) and stuck it in a long strip bridging the gap between the floor and the skirting, coming about 1/2" up the skirting (so it's not visible when the carpet is butted up against it). The reason for spilling the paint a couple of inches onto the floor was so the tape would stick well. The grippers are nailed through the tape on the floor anyway.
20 years later, no black marks at all. The tape might not be stuck anymore, but as it's still fixed with the grippers and runs up the skirting, if there is any draft, it can't go through the edge of the carpet.I second the ideas of an overlay. Lining paper or newspaper will discourage the dirt from coming up through the gaps. Use hardboard if the floor's uneven. That will cover the gaps and even out the bumps.With a good overlay and thick carpet those squeaks may not be so audible, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. You could try screwing boards down but the joists will need to be sound (free of worm) if you don't want the sqeaks to return. Only do the well-trodden areas to save time and be sure you're not going to go through a wire or pipe. Roger
And make sure doors can open over the top of the carpet without scuffing which would cause an arc of wear..... (BTGTTS) :o(
or you can use 'gapseal': it's a V shaped plastic strip that you push intothe gap. It rests on the joists and springs out to touch the two boards. Easy to fit. invisible.
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