Finally laying some new boards, replacing the old knackered chip. Nothing fancy - just 7x1" nominal redwood 5th grade PAR timber from Alsford Timber. Simple and straight wood.
(PAR as these must be readily liftable - all services are under that floor).
Working with a mate and he came up with a couple of grand ideas:
1) What screws look OK? Well, Spax decking screws:They self drill, are designed to pull down tight and once slightly recessed, look like lost head nails (I know, you'd use brads, but the point being they don't look like screws from head height).
2) What do you do if your old joists are all over the place on level and some are 12mm too low?50x12.5 PAR and/or 3.5mm hardwood ply used as shim is the answer. But the clever idea my mate had was micro adjustment. Use plastic packers under the PAR/ply to adjust by a mm or 3 - then run a couple of beads of foaming PU glue along the joist and plastic packers. Damp the shim wood (makes the PU set quicker) and replace and hold down with a few small screws through the plastic packers.
Move to next joist. By the time you are at the end, the first half is solid ready for boards. A lot quicker than over packing and planing back and allows for bowed joists (more packing at one end, less at the other).
We are just putting 1-2 screws in for now - it's going to be up and down a lot for electrics and plumbing - and that will give it time to season in situ, so next year, it'll get clamped and screwed fully.
I could put number 2 in the Wiki if anyone thinks it's worth it?
Cheers,
Tim