Hi Guys
First time poster here although i have read through these forums many times.
I have recently bought myself a property in the country (1945 settlers cottage) and need some advise on fixing up the floors. My Fiance is super allergic so last week whilst in the country we pulled up the carpets and lino and found some great insulation in the way of 1970's news papers. The floor consists of old railway like sleepers which have large gaps and you can see through to the ground underneath. We have ruled out sanding them because the house would just be too cold and we also want to rent it out in holiday season. We have laid a few click clack floors before but always laid straight onto concrete with the underlay. The problem here is that the floors are too uneven to lay click clack over so i need to lay a subfloor to even it up. I am thinking of screwing 8mm mdf over the top but think that there must be a more professional material that would do the job. (what would you lay to tile over in a bathroom???) The material needs to be ridged and not too expensive. Any ideas about laying a layer of insulation under the mdf to keep the house warm would also be appreciated.
Thanks
I guess any other ideas to even out the floors would be good too.
I have seen a product that evens up floors used by a lino tiler when my dad was renovating a house and employed a tiler.
I would recommend laying a Masonite on the floor and then using this product to level the floor.http://www.ehow.com/how_6049919_use-liquid-floor-leveling.html
http://www.lanko.com.au/lanko/images/specification/Levelling%20over%20Timber%20Floors.pdf
I am sure if you ask in the tiling area of Bunnings or the floating floor area of Bunnings you will find a liquid floor leveller
http://www.expol.com.au/ – insulation seen this in Bunnings also
Thanks Duckster
I have never heard of masonite but the water resistant (tempered masonite) would be the go.
Any other ideas of a good hard wood product to screw down???I too would go masonite – it has been used forever & a day. Cheap as chips. If you are still concerned after laying masonite, then use a little self levelling compound but it shouldn't really be necessary. You will need to prime the masonite to get the floor leveller to bond.
You can get thin insulation to go with the floating floor, this would be laid over the masonite and takes out much of the movement if the subfloor (masonite) is slightly uneven.
Gday Poida
Good to hear your out in the country. Man that floor of yours is unusual to say the least. I am a builder so I thought Id help if I can. MDF is not a good idea for laying on the floor ( unless it is sealed ) as it is susceptible to moisture from the sub floor, which I assume being a miners cottage is not too far off the ground. You really need to batten the sleepers @ 450 or 600mm centres, you will need packing material as well, non compressible, to put under the battens at low points and you will prob need to house ( notch) some sleepers as well to get it level. Then you will need to lay floor over the battens. Mate its a difficult job, lot of patience required and a fair bit of labour as well.
plutoPoida
Masonite has to be laid on a flat surface, it cant have any gaps. laying it on an uneven floor wont work as it is only 4 or 6mm thick and it will bounce if there are any gaps under it, and it will squeak forever. All floors need to be one thing 1st and foremost, flat .Also, self leveller is recommended to be used on concrete and is meant to fill only very small differences such as 5mm. Have a read of the manifacturers instructions and check if they say it's ok to use on timber flooring.
G’day Poida,
I can’t help you myself with this question but a web site I have used before is http://www.Renovateforum.com
The site requires a login to post a question but the amount of information it covers in regards to renovation & Repairs is probably the best I have found online so far. It’s always my first stop to find out how to repair or build something. Have a look anyways might be useful for other things as well.Cheers
I’m a carpenter. Seems a shame to cover up those sleepers they would look great with a bit of a sand and polish. How big are the gaps? With what your wanting to do I would get cement sheet tile underlay, but screw it down instead of nailing (will eliminate all movement and squeaking caused by uneven floor.) then as suggested get a self leveling floor ardot and you should be fine!
pluto123
Thanks for the info about needing a flat floor to lay masonite. I have found a product at bunnings that is thicker (may add some warmth) and is also tounge and groove so may help to even the floor out.
http://www.thelaminexgroup.com.au/downloads/trade_essentials/TradeGuide_Part_Flooring.pdf
I know that this is going to cost a bit but it might be worth it. I am hoping that it is thick enough and the tounge and groove will make the floor more level. They do 19mm,22mm or a 25mm commercial. I am not worried about loosing 6 extra mm of headroom, would the thicker boards be the way to go for warmth and leveling out the floor???
I already have 2 houses with polished boards and find them quite cold. Where this house is located i really need to keep the warmth in and will also rent it so the boards need to be covered up. They would look stunning but being a holiday rental and in a freezing place i have decided not to go down that path.poida5 wrote:pluto123
Thanks for the info about needing a flat floor to lay masonite. I have found a product at bunnings that is thicker (may add some warmth) and is also tounge and groove so may help to even the floor out.
http://www.thelaminexgroup.com.au/downloads/trade_essentials/TradeGuide_Part_Flooring.pdf
I know that this is going to cost a bit but it might be worth it. I am hoping that it is thick enough and the tounge and groove will make the floor more level. They do 19mm,22mm or a 25mm commercial. I am not worried about loosing 6 extra mm of headroom, would the thicker boards be the way to go for warmth and leveling out the floor???
I already have 2 houses with polished boards and find them quite cold. Where this house is located i really need to keep the warmth in and will also rent it so the boards need to be covered up. They would look stunning but being a holiday rental and in a freezing place i have decided not to go down that path.Tounge and groove flooring was my initial idea when I read your original post (10+yrs in hardware retailing). It would provide the stability and strength you require. Obviously you might need to do a bit of packing to get it even, but it should be a good result. Yes, it will cost a bit, and might be over engineering, but better than under engineering and having to re-do it in 12 months time.
I would be interested to hear how it turns out.
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