Floor batons

Jul 09, 2005 8 Replies
A

I'm lifting up my chipboard floor, to be replaced with hardwood soon... The batons currently down are about 45x55mm with a foam base (presumably for soundproofing). They are not screwed into the concrete.



As the room was two rooms before (lounge and kitchen), the batons run different ways in each. I'm going to replace them all.



Questions before I purchase new batons:


  1. I presume it is a good idea to cover the whole sub-floor with batons before laying any hardwood.
  2. What dimensions are best? Is the 45x55 that I have a standard? Is it easy / worthwhile to get hold of with the foam attached? If it's not easy, should I look to apply foam myself? Any other soundproofing tips (it's a flat so don't want to annoy downstairs)?
  3. Any recommended suppliers?
  4. How far apart should they be?
  5. Plan to get them square is to measure points from a wall. Is this as easy as it seems?
  6. Should they be screwed into the concrete? Pros/cons?
  7. Anything else that I might not be aware of?

Antony


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R

I suspect you mean battens - batons are what conductors and majorettes twirl.

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B

why?

thats fine, use what gives you the right height. Such as what youve already got.

yes, the fairies wont do it, theyre on long term foaming strike. Seriously, yes it deadens sound transmission.

of wood??

why bother getting them square?

no, this will defeat the soundproofing foam.

why replace them? sounds like youve got what you need already, although you will want to re-lay one set to get it in the right direction.

NT

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A

But can I purchase battens with the foam already attached?

Yes. In London / SE.

I assumed that having them square would lead to my floorboards being square.

Antony

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A

Correct. I don't want the other type holding up my floorboards.

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B

no idea. youve got them already anyway

yellow pages. Just inspect the wood before paying, and make sure warp and twist are minimal. BTW you can use wood thats warped on one direction, sideways, without it causing trouble.

one more point: if you leave both battens and chip down, you could put a thinner layer of hardwood onto the chip. Half the price, half the work.

NT

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A

But the chip is all crap, water-damaged in places, warped, creaky etc. Better to start again.

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C

Use some 'dwangs' between each batten just to stop any movement. Same size as battens but at 90 degrees to them roughly one every 1.5 metre.

Before you lay any wood on top, that will hide the batten mark the skirting or wall to show where each batten is. Then you screws or nails will not miss.

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