Posts Tagged ‘Wood Floors’

Securing loose boards

For suspended wood floors — boards laid over floor joists — start by lifting the old floor covering and checking that all the boards are securely fixed to their joists, and that they are reasonably flat and level. Loose hoards will creak annoyingly: when walked on, and raised edges or pronounced warping may show as lines through the covering.
Use either cur nails or large oval-headed nails to secure loose hoards, and then recess their heads slightly using a nail punch.

Laying hardboard

Covering the existing boards with a hardboard underlay is an alternative to floor sanding as a way of ensuring a smooth, flat surface ideal for thin sheet coverings. Lay the boards in rows with  the joints staggered from row to row, and pin them down with hardboard pins driven in at 15 dojo in spacings. Lay separate strips above pipe runs.
If preparing to lay glazed ceramic or quarry tiles on a suspended wood floor, put down exterior-grade plywood.

Sanding floors

Where old floorboards are very uneven, or it is planned to leave them exposed but they are badly stained and marked, hire a floor sanding machine. This resembles a cylinder (reel) lawnmower, with a dorm to which sheers of abrasive paper are fitted. A hag at the rear collects the sawdust; however, always wear a face mask when sanding floors. Also hire a smaller disc or halt sander for finishing off the room edges.

If necessary, drive any visible nail heads below the surface before using the sander. When sanding floorboards, always raise the drum at the end of each pass to prevent the abrasives from damaging the boards while the
machine is stationary

LAYING A HARDWOOD FLOOR

1. If hardboard sheets are used as an underlay for a new floor covering, start by punching in any raised nail heads all over the floor.
2. Nail the headboard sheets to the floorboards at 15 cm/6 in intervals along the edges and also 30 cm/12 in apart across the face of each sheet.

SANDING FLOORBOARDS

1. Use a floor sander to smooth and strip old floorboards. Drape the flex (cord) over one shoulder and raise the drum before starting the machine up.
2. using coarse abrasive paper, nun the machine or an angle of 4D° to die board direction to begin with, first in one direction and then at right- angles to the original passes.
3. Then switch to 2 medium-grade abrasive and run the sander hack and forth parallel with the board direction. Finish (AI will, fine-grade abrasive.
4. Use a smaller disc or belt sander 10 strip areas close to the skirting’s (baseboards) and door thresholds, where rho larger drum sander cannot reach

PREPARING SOLID FLOORS

Ground floors of solid concrete are prone to two main problems: cracking or potholing of the surface, and rising damp caused by a failure in the damp-proof membrane within the floor structure. Cracks and depressions may show through new floor coverings, especially thinner types such as sheet vinyl, while dampness will encourage mould growth beneath the covering.

Relatively narrow cracks can he patched with a repair mortar of 1 part cement to 3 parts sand, or an exterior-quality masonry filler. It the floor surface is uneven or pitted, it can be covered with a thin layer of self-smoothing compound. The mixture is made up in a bucket, poured on to the floor surface, and trowelled out to a thickness of about 3 mm/Vs in. The liquid finds its own level and dries to give a hard, smooth surface which cane walked on in about 1 hour. For best results, leave it to dry for at least 24 hours before laying your floor covering over it.

An alternative approach is to cover the concrete with a floating floor of chipboard (particle board), if raising the floor level will not cause problems at door thresholds. The boards can he laid directly on the concrete over heavy-duty polythene (plastic) sheeting, which acts as a vapor harrier. If additional insulation is required, put down polystyrene (plastic foam) hoards firsthand lay the new flooring over them. Treat damp floors with two coats of a proprietary damp-proofing liquid.

LAYING A SELF-SMOOTHING COMPOUND

1. Sweep the concrete floor clear of dust and debris. Then scrub away any parches of grease with strong detergent solution. The surface is very dusty or appears unduly porous, seal it by brushing on a generous coat of diluted PVA building adhesive(white general-purpose adhesive).

2. Mix up the self-smoothing compound in a bucket, following the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to ensure that the mix is the right consistency and is freeform lumps. Starting in the corner farthest from the room door, pour the compound out on to the floor surface to cover an area of about 1 sq mill sq ft.

3. Use a plasterer’s trowel to smooth the compound or to a thickness of about 3 mm or 1/8 in. Mix, pour and level further hatches as required.

LAYING A CHIPBOARD FLOOR

1. You can level and insulate a concrete floor by laying a floating floor of chipboard (particle board) over it.
Put down heavy-duty polythene (plastic) sheering first.

2. Tape the sheet to the walls; this will be hidden behind the new skirting (baseboard) later. Then carefully butt-joint 25 mm/ 1 in polystyrene (plastic foam) insulation boards.
Cover the insulation with tongued-and-grooved flooring-grade chipboard. Use cut pieces to fit as necessary, and add a tapered threshold (saddle) strip at the door.

In principle it is possible to lay any floor covering in any room of a house, but custom and the practicalities of life generally tend to divide the home into 3 broad areas of landing. Access areas such as the stairs and the hallways need to be able to cope with heavy ‘traffic’ and muddy shoes. Ideal choices for a hallway are materials with a water-repellent and an “easy to clean” surface, for example, sheet vinyl, vinyl tiles, wood-strip or wood-block flooring, sanded and sealed floorboards, and glazed ceramic or quarry tiles. For stairs, where safety is paramount, the best material is often a heavy-duty carpet with a short pile, which can also be used on the landing.

Work areas such as your kitchen and bathroom also need durable floor coverings that are easy to clean, especially in the case of the bathroom, which must be water-resistant as well. Sheet vinyl is a popular choice for bedrooms, but tiles of various types can also provide an excellent surface. Sealed cork, with its warm feel underfoot, is particularly suitable for a bathroom. However, if you prefer carpet for these rooms, there are extremely hardwearing carpets available, with a specially treated short nylon pile that is easy to keep clean, and also water-resistant bathroom carpets that give a touch of luxury underfoot without turning into a swamp at bath time.

Leisure areas such as the living room, dining room and bedrooms are commonly carpeted wall-to-wall. Do not be tempted to skimp on quality in the living room, which gets the most wear and tends to develop distinct ‘traffic’ routes. It is reasonable, however, to choose light-duty types for carpeting for bedrooms.

Alternatives to carpets depend simply on taste in home decor. Options include sanded and sealed floorboards reamed with scatter rugs, or a parquet perimeter to a fine specimen carpet. Sheet vinyl or cork tiles may also be worth considering for children’s rooms.

Carpets

Carpets consist of fibre tufts or loops woven or stuck to a durable backing. Woven carpets are generally the most expensive. Tufted carpets are made by stitching tufts of fibre into a woven backing, where they are secured by attaching a second backing under the first with adhesive. Some of the less-expensive types have a foam underlay bonded directly to the backing; others require a separate underlay.

A wide range of fibre types is used in carpet construction today, including wool, nylon, acrylic, polypropylene and viscose rayon. Fibre blends can improve carpet performance; a mixture of 80 percent wool and 20 per cent nylon is particularly popular for providing a combination of warmth, resilience, wear, low flammability and resistance to soiling.

Pile length and density affect a carpet’s performance as well as its looks, and most are classified to indicate the sort of wear they can be expected to withstand… pile can be cut, often to different lengths, giving a sculptured effect; looped (shag), that is, uncut and left long; corded, which means uncut and pulled tight to the backing; or twisted, which gives a nifty effect. A dense pile wears better than a loosely woven one that can be parted to reveal the backing.

Carpet widths are described as broadloom, when more than 1.8 m/6 ft wide; or body (stair carpet), which is usually up to 90 cm/3 ft wide. Carpet tiles are small squares of carpet of various types, designed to be loose-laid. Cheaper tiles resemble cord and felt carpets, while more expensive ones may have a short or long cut pile. The most common sizes are 30, 45, 50 and 60 cm/12, 18, 20 and 24 in square.

Sheet-Vinyl Flooring

Sheet-vinyl flooring is a relatively thin material which provides a smooth, hygienic and easy-to-clean floor covering that is widely used in rooms such as kitchens, bathrooms and hallways. It is made from layers of plastic resins, with a clear wear layer protecting the printed design and frequently with an art air cushion layer between this and the backing for extra comfort and warmth underfoot. It is fairly flexible and easy to cut for an exact fit. It is generally loose-laid, with double-sided adhesive tape used only at the seams and edges.

Vinyl flooring is available in a wide range of designs, including realistic imitations of ceramic tiles, wood, cork and stone. It is sold by linear meter (or yard) front rolls 2, 3 or 4 in/6 ft 6 in, 10 ft or 13 ft wide.

Wood Floor Coverings

Wood floor coverings come in two main forms: as square wood-block panels made up of individual fingers of wood stuck to a cloth or felt backing for ease of handling and laying; or as wood-strip flooring interlocking planks, often of veneer on a plywood backing. They are laid over the existing floor surface. Most types are tongued-and-grooved, so only occasional nailing or clipping is required to hold them in place.

Wood-block panels are usually 30 or 45 cm/12 or 18 in square, while planks are generally 7.5 or 10 cm/3 or 4 inches wide and come in a range of lengths to allow the end joins to be staggered from one row to the next.