Draughty floorboards

[sparrowhouse]

We moved into our 1930's house a few years ago and I took up carpets and sanded and oiled in back room, entrance hallway and our bedroom. I love them but it's so bloody cold.
They're tongue and groove but in places has gaps where floorboards must have been lifted. I bought some rubber cord type thing and filled some of the gaps but didn't get round to doing it all.
I was thinking of buying gap stop or similar or just laminating over then all when we can afford as it's so cold! Obviously I would like to insulate underneath but cost and effort is making that highly unlikely!

Anyone else have same problems and what did you do about it?

T&G shouldn't leak much* so you could just work on the boards that have been cut and lifted. They will come up again relatively easily, especially if the plumber or electrician didn't use a chainsaw and had the sense to use screws not nails.

You can use clear silicone sealant, which is readily available, but you must clean and dry both parts first. Sometimes a nylon brush will do an adequate job.

If any of the old boards were split or broken, post back and I will explain how to renovate (if you can be bothered). It is not slow but not difficult.

You might find that some cut boards are loose or squeaky because they are nailed to air. This is also easy to fix.

*floors commonly leak round the edges, where there is a gap under the skirting. It makes a draught and leaves black stains on carpets from the dirt blowing up. This is best fixed by stuffing mineral wool quilt (as used in lofts) tightly into the gap between the joists by taking up the board(s) against the wall. Use fibre treated with Ecose, which is brown, and does not shed irritant dust or fibres. It is widely sold as an own-brand, although made by Knauf.

Yes we had exactly the same problem unfortunately for you the solution was lever up every single board, deal with the rot, insulate between every joist, foam where needed and then foil tape or plastic sheet over the top, before either new plywood or existing floor boards where usable.
Not only prevented the draughts but also there isn't a pool of cooler air hanging around near floor level.

One of the problems is definitely draughts from the skirting boards, I had tried filling the gap underneath them with a draught strip (like the kind you can use on doors)
You're right in that they are fine except for where they have been cut - so is my best bet to use clear silicone in those gaps? Wouldn't it just fall through?
I'm more of a DIY novice!

John2 that sounds awful, I don't (hope) think ours are rotting underneath apart from the gaps from where they have been cut the don't have any draughts.

We put insulation underneath the floorboards in our 1920's house. It was a pretty horrible job as my OH had to crawl around under the floor, but it made a ,massive difference. No draughts at al now!

Yeah ideally I'd like to do that but with kids and so much stuff in the house I was hoping for something easier and cheaper!

T&G boards are harder to take up than square edge, and much more
certain likely to be damaged.

Chipboard floors are less trouble, because you pull them up and throw them straight into the slip, where they belong.

I had the same in my kitchen diner.
Went for the cheapest option, underlay and good quality laminate.
Would have loved to kept the old boards - they looked great - but the cold draft was so noticeable.
The floorboards are still in place, so if I have the inclination I can get them back, but pretty happy with the laminate (which I didn't think I would be!)

Forgot to say, this room now stays the same temperature as the rest of the house, no drafts!