"Structural floorboards"

[JillyTheDependableBoot]

Visit from architect today and we decided to take a look at what's under the fitted carpet upstairs in our new house. They are what he described as structural floorboards and not in the best nick. Assuming we don't want to recarpet, could there be a way of tarting them up so they look good? We'll be resanding and sealing the floorboards downstairs anyway.

[PigletJohn]

what's wrong with them? How old is the house?

Are all your family (and neighbours if semi or terraced) hearing-impaired?

[JillyTheDependableBoot]

We don't know what if anything is wrong with them, but the small bit we looked at was fairly shabby and it's possible that the carpet / underlay is glued down in places. House is c.1850 but the floor upstairs isn't original. It's an end terrace and there are only two of us so I'm not terribly worried about noise, more cold/draughts, but we could have rugs I suppose. DPis a bit anti fitted carpets and the ones that are there now are cream, so impractical and will be knackered by the time the refurbishment is finished anyway.

[PigletJohn]

floorboards are very resilient. Look out for woodworm (especially in bathrooms which may have been more humid), and you will also find a few have been cut where they were taken up by plumbers and electricians. Damaged boards can be replaced but may need planing to bring them to the same thickness so the floor is flat. If you do this yourself, you only need to adjust the thickness, underneath, in the parts that rest on the joists.

Apart from that there is not likely to be much wrong with them but they will have been painted a few times, sometimes clumsily and sometimes over dirt, mostly around the edges when a carpet square was laid.

An uncarpeted downstairs floor is likely to be draughty as the void below is ventilated; an upstairs floor not much, but will be a noise nuisance.

If you find any chipboard, throw it on a bonfire.

[JillyTheDependableBoot]

PigletJohn, you are so helpful.