well sort of...
going to install a floating floor in the basement over the concrete base, will be 2400*600*18 weiroc (SP (T&G chipboard)) on 50*25 batons. just wondered what the spacing should be for the batons, 400 or 600 centres ?
thanks LJ
A floating floor over a good, dry and solid concrete or stone floor, is usually made up of felt underlay and top layers of either interlocked chipboard or laminate, or even both if more weight is required. Do you mean a sub-floor to cover an old concrete or stone base, or is it actually a floating floor for sound / noise deafening?
Weiroc flexes even on 400mm centres. I'd recommend 300mm with regular cross pieces or use marine ply instead.
it's over an uneven concrete floor, so the underlay method won't work, that's why I'm gong to screw down batons to level it out and put the weiroc on top. Also it's a play room so figured it's better to fall over on chipboard than concrete, floor covering will be lino.
LJ
I wouldn't use chipboard anywhere. It squeaks and disintegrates at the slightest opportunity. I certainly wouldn't use it in a basement, due to increased damp. Spend the extra and use plywood or pine (or even oak, if you're feeling flush). Floors would be much better on a 400mm centre.
However, using battens means it is not a floating floor. A floating floor is just glued together and held in place by gravity.
Christian.
And does wot it sez when the cellar gets "really" damp))
So it's a sub floor. Right. A kids play room will have noise, so a good floating floor might be the real answer here. :-) How uneven is the existing floor? If it's only slightly rough, then you might actually be able to lay a floating floor. Something like 18mm Plywood would really smooth out any large pot holes and cracks, and buying it in big sheets, like 8'X4', isn't as expensive as buying all those little bits of flooring grade chipboard.
A good carpet underlay across the old concrete, then Plywood on top, then a good quality Lino, and you're done. On the other hand, a sub-floor means raising batons off the existing floor to get it all really level. This means the batons wobble around until the top boards are fixed to them. Solidly fixing the joists to the existing floor doesn't allow for any movement in different temperatures and could actually make the old floor break up even more under the strain. Even your own house floors aren't fixed to anything at either of their ends for the same reason.
But having said all that, I have found a site in .pdf format, so you'll need a reader for it, which describes how a sub-floor should be laid over a concrete or stone floor properly. And it's an Aussie site, but still good. :-) Here's the link:
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