filler for floorboards before carpeting

[torge conrad maguar]

Novice has just painted the bedroom and is getting the carpet laid by a fitter since I cannot do that job myself.

The floor boards are in fairly rough condition. I've screwed them down where they are creaky. Since they are still uneven in places they could benefit from some kind of 'filling' on various parts of some boards to level them off, where they join up .

I'm not good at carpentry, and the carpet fitter is arriving the day after tomorrow. I have some Wickes ready mixed 'all purpose' filler that does set quite hard, but being walked on over time i suspect might crack up.

What filler could I use that would dry quite hard and also resist being walked on without cracking up. Would window putty be a possibility or would something else be a better bet. Thanks.

[Stuart Noble]

I wouldn't bother. The filler would have no support top or bottom and is bound to fall out. A decent underlay would be favourite

[torge conrad maguar]

thanks. I wasn't just thinking of the gaps 'between' the boards ( although some of these are horribly wide ).

But more about the places where the are different heights, where they meet up. So if i put a filler on the 'lower' board, it would level the floor out at this junction.

[Lobster]

No, highly unlikely to stick to the board and anyway will soon break away under the weight of feet etc, as you've surmised. How much height difference are you talking about anyway? If it's really bad, options you have include lifting the 'low' boards and putting some form of packing between them and the supporting joists; or covering the entire floor with panels of something like hardboard (which will raise the whole floor a bit).

But decent quality underlay will cover a multitude of sins.

David

[DIY]

Filler and putty will set hard and disintegrate in time if there is the slightest movement. My preferred fix for this problem is sheets of hardboard. A thick felt underlay may conceal the height differences unless these are substantial. You could try a silicone sealant, see

but this isn't really meant for areas where there is movement, and may be a bodge.

[Tom Woods]

my house has had newer carpet laid over the older one. This hides the bumpy floorboards very well!

[Lobster]

Very bad practice though: the new carpet will wear out far more quickly than if you'd replaced the old stuff with decent underlay

David

[torge conrad maguar]

Thanks to all. I took the ' silicon sealant' option as being easiest for me, specially since i'm now running out of time.

I have already at home some 'grab adhesive' the wickes 'without nails' left over. Might this be as good as silicon for this job? Thanks

[Lobster]

TBH I can't really see the silicone doing anything useful anyway; but no, grab adhesive is fundamentally different in that it sets rock hard, with no movement, so would just break away under load like putty or polyfilla would.

David

[Jonathan]

IMHO you're making a rod for your own back or that of the next occupant. As others have advised get a *good* quality underlay. Many are cr*p. You are short of time but why effect a bodge? Either line the floor with hardboard or remove existing floor and relay with new boards/TG chipboard etc. Don't lay new carpet over old, you will regret within a very short time. hth

[Colin Jackson]

Don't forget to put paper over the floor, you can get it on reels, otherwise vacumn cleaners suck up the dust from cavity and create marks on carpet

Cojack

[malc]

Either do what everyone else has said or you could lay down sheets of hard board. Screw them down if the force of the carpet on the grippers would bend them. Or why not ask the carpet fitter?

[Rob graham]

to fall out. A decent underlay would be favourite

Cloth or even paper soaked in PVA and pushed into the cracks will probably do the trick. At least it's unlikely to fall out. This might work for the different heights as well although you would have drying time to consider, and ordinary filler would be OK there

Rob Graham

[torge conrad maguar]

Thanks to all. What would be a good quality underlay to go for? John Lewis do a felt type one as well as a rubber type one.

[Tom Woods]

Yeah - both layers are going to go once i get round to it!