Badly broken floorboard, can we replace it?

[Soonish]

Yesterday our electrician (who is doing a full rewire at our new house) got his assistant (about 16yo, never done any work like this before) to take up a floorboard.

He managed to shatter it into four or five parts, all splintered and I can see it's going to be almost impossible to repair.

I actually cried - the house is 100 years old, I had already asked them to be careful with the floor boards. They know how upset I was and kept saying 'you'd be surprised how easy it is to stick back down' no, I won't be, as it's completely jiggered.

I am going to have a crack at putting it back together today with a LOT of glue (have background in antique restoration luckily but still) but in case I can't do it, can you actually get a replacement in the right size these days?

Should I ask them to pay for this? I think they would just bodge it together and not bother to make it properly sound, or stick in a bit of wood that is a different thickness etc.

Could really have done without this. Any tips welcome.

If you can try fix it yourself if you have a background in restoration, a lumber yard can cut a board to spec if you need from specific wood It is expensive but might be the way to go if it needs replacing.
It is annoying but can happen be grateful it is only a floor board my electrician fell through the dining room ceiling was unhurt but left 2 huge holes to fill

There are reclamation yards that specialise in floor boards.

DH and I took up the carpets in our Victorian terrace and had to replace several of the boards. We found a great place in west London who were able to find a perfect match to the sample piece we took along, and they are also able to cut and plane boards to reduce width and depth if necessary. It was actually really easy to do and we will be back to get more when we have our extension built.

Reclamation yards - our boards are painted, so when the electricians knackered a load of them, I just bought timber the right depth and a bit wider and planed/cut them to fit. But for varnished boards you'd want to be a bit more specific.

if you are planning to restore the broken board (I have done that, using Evo waterproof wood glue, clamping and pinning together until set) then I would suggest buying some plain modern floorboard to fill the gap until they have finished. Then you can lift it and fit your restored antique, if sound.

I strongly recommend re-fixing all lifted boards using countersunk steel screws, not nails. The same boards tend to come up time and again for wiring and plumbing access. In the old family house, I was able to see which boards my old dad had lifted years ago, and re-fixed with countersunk screws, and they were in just the same places I needed to use.

Be sure to drill pilot holes to reduce the risk of splitting.

I expect the broken one was fixed using cut nails (floor brads) which are rectangular in section with a bit of a "T" on the top. If they have been in place for a hundred years and gone a bit rusty it is very difficult to lift a board without damage.

If you have to make new boards, plane to size. If they are a bit too thick and you do not know anyone with a thicknesser, you can make slight grooves on the underside where they lie on the joists. A surform will do it. They will shrink a bit in width and thickness (but not length) as they dry out.

Aw thanks sooooo much guys. I wondered about reclamation yards. It just seems so much effort for one blooming board - though there are several that have been knackered already, it would be too expensive to replace all of them though. Someone got very happy with a circular saw at some point and there will be boarding over and carpet or vinyl, so it doesn't have to look perfect.

I'd have loved exposed boards but they are too far gone really. Never mind.

I spent the morning with a pot of Evostik trying to meld the splintered ends together, you know like you do, sliding in and pushing (could not even tap with hammer as ends all pointy and splintered) and managed to get the four smaller pieces meshed together fairly well - it is sort of sound, now, not perfect and I couldn't even nail a lot of it as the pieces are offset - but I have put in a whole pot of glue and several nails to hold it as firmly as possible, and left it clamped till Monday.

I think it will be sound. Poor old house. Just one more thing really. I intend to put a big sign up when they return in a week, saying 'One more jiggered floor board and I will not be responsible for my actions'.

Can laugh about it now it's mended, I suppose, but honestly who puts a 15yo with zero experience in charge of the crow bar?!!!

Thank you for all the brill info about getting replacements. I will use it at some point

Oh and yes, thank you for the reminder about using screws. I'm looking forward to doing this! It should make a great difference next time we have to have anything 'up'.

Hoping that we can forget about the floor boards for a while though once this work is done - full rewire and replumb and then hardboard or ply throughout.