Hardwood floor over uneven old floorboards

Hello,

Advice sought by novice d-i-y'ers.....

We own an 18th Century cottage., the floorboards in our dining room are generally uneven with a range of approximately 5cm in a 15sq metre area. The floor is otherwise sound and is over a 6ft void.

What would the best method be to provide a level surface on which to lay a hardwood floor over the top?

Thanks in advance

Holbeck

Reply to
holbeck
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I would seriously think about insulating the floor. My sanded floorboards look very nice, I think, but let a lot of cold through (ok, loose a lot of heat). If insulating requires you to take the floorboards up, it would be easier to make the top of the joists level.

Anyway, do you mean uneven from one side of the room to the other (i.e. sloping), or 'undulating'? If it's a slope, it may look odd straightening it if the walls etc slope with the floor.

Johan

Reply to
johan

Indeed. We need to know more about the nature of the unevenness before advising on how to fix it. Are the existing boards sound or damaged? Are they badly fixed?

I am also wondering about the age (and dimensions) of the existing boards, and the thickness of the flooring to be laid?

The solution is likely to involve repair, re-laying or replacement of the floorboards, as laying an extra layer to create a level is going to raise the floor level in an ugly way.

David

Reply to
David Pashley

If you don;t care about the floorboards, lift them stick in INSULATION

- celotex - between the joists, seal it, then use variable with bits of ply to shim the joists dead level, and screw down good quality water proof ply. Or decent grade chipboard. Or mount your new hardwood boards onto the joists directly.

You can bodge that over he floorboards but you run the risk of having a step up into the room. Best to clear out the old and start from a good staring point.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Lifting the floorboards is just vandalism. This house is more than 200 years old and should be treated with more respect. Even if holbeck doesnt want to see the old floorboards at the moment someone else will want to in 20 years time, so the aim should be to damage the old fabric as little as possible.

There is a 6ft void beneath so plenty of room to add insulation from below. Buy a sheet of hardboard (or ply) to make loads of packers to level up the floor and lay the new floor on top of that. With a bit of ingenuity you should be able to lose the depth of a floorboard so that there is no obvious step up into the room

Anna

Reply to
Anna Kettle

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