Solid wood on top of original floorboards

[EarlyInTheMorning]

We're thinking about laying solid wood floorboards on top of our very drafty original floorboards in out Edwardian house. Have any of you ever done that? What underlay did you use? How did you deal with an uneven floor to begin with? And with the skirting boards?

you mean like laminate boards, but with a real wood finish? I was looking at those yesterday in a carpet showroom & the very helpful girl there pointed out how much scratching there was on a wooden finish they had laid, compared with a similar-looking laminate which was unmarked.

anyway where we have laminate boards on top of floorboards we had thick rigid underlay boards, & used beading round the edges; but you get a much neater finish if you have the skirting boards removed first.

how about lifting the draughty floorboards & having actual new (or reclaimed old) ones fitted instead?

We have engineered wood board laid over a mix of the original 50s floorboards and 80s chipboard.

We used a wood fibre underlay that comes in A2ish size sheets laid perpendicular to the wood board. It seems to have covered the unevenness in the existing floor.

I agree that if you can remove the skirtings and door architraves and reinstall them the finish will be neater. The beading on ours looks quite iffy at the doors.

A down side of solid wood boards is that they can give quite a change in floor level at the doorway as they tend to be relatively thick. Though if you're doing the whole of one level you won't notice.

I think we used the same underlay boards, Abzs - \link{http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/flooring/wood-laminate-flooring/underlay_for_wood___laminate_flooring/B-and-Q-Wood-Fibreboard-Underlay-9-6-Square-Metre-Pack-Green-11547636\like this?} (ours did actually come from B&Q iirc)

I agree they do a great job of covering up lumpy bits (also of absorbing sound)

If you have bare floorboards, they are bound to be cold and draughty.

If you possibly can, start by taking up enough to get underneath and insulate between the joists. Clear out all the airbricks and remove any underfloor rubbish as well, especially bits of wood. It is much easier if the whole floor comes up, but it can be done by taking up enough to make a trapdoor, especially if there is reasonable space or you like crawling about. If the boards are original, they will be square-edged not T&G, so the second and subsequent boards will be easier than the first.

As you can install 100mm or more of insulation underneath, it will improve the comfort much more than 10mm of fibreboard on top, and you can draughtproof the edges better.

I'm not too keen on building on top of an existing floor, as all your doors and architraves will need to be cut down, and the skirtings really ought to come off for a neat job. if you are prosperous you can take up the old floor and lay a new one, doing your cleaning and insulating at the same time (it will be much quicker and easier)

why not T&G? ours are & they're Victorian

you're lucky then!

I didn't think the machines were in common use that early.

IIRC I have only seen T&G floors in houses prior to the 1960's as replacement.

I agree with PigletJohn. We have a Victorian house and under-floor insulation below the original floorboards has worked really well. It really isn't a massive job if the floorboards themselves are in okay condition.

Also, and this may not be the same in your area, in the part of London where I live, original features like floorboards add a lot of value to house prices so laying modern floors on top is discouraged. On our street, the houses with original floorboards and sash windows sell for more than those with more modern fittings. This may not be true everywhere though....but might be worth considering if you live somewhere similar.

Lancashire obviously had superior joinery

otoh, although DPCs were used from the 1870s (?) ours (1892) doesn't have one

we just stuck our bamboo to the floorboards : with the amazing dpc glue
it works fine and the boards are thick enough and strong enough that only I know where the underfloor changes from wood to concrete

inspection hatches for the underfloor space are hidden in the mat wells

Probably Ponders. Our wifi is screwed at the mo so link won't load, but ours was b&q too.

the link is for light green fibreboard squares, 6mm thick.

it costs about £2.50 per m2 at B&Q

Yes, that's the stuff.

Easy to use, but a bit dusty to cut.