laminating over floorboards

jockettuk

we have the orginal floorboards in the bedroom and a couple need replacing. we want to also lay laminate flooring down as its easier to keep clean for my daughter.. can we repair the broken floorboards and put the laminate underlay then the laminate down or should we put some kind of plasterboarding kind of stuff down ontop of the floorboards then the underlay etc...

thanks dont want to spend out more than we have to ..

Skint1

Just lay the laminate in the opposite direction to the flooring after repair.
Joe

gardnt1

dont even have to lay it opposite way, repair boards, use a decent underlay for soundproofing etc and lay whichever way suits. If its a biggish room try and lay towards a window as when the light falls, any joins wont appear so harsh! especially if using a cheaper board.

titewad_2

If the rest of your floorboards are ok?,why not replace the damaged ones then sand the floor down and varnish it???
A bit more labour intensive but far cheaper and in my opinion a far better looking and hard wearing option

jockettuk

titewad wrote:

If the rest of your floorboards are ok?,why not replace the damaged ones then sand the floor down and varnish it???
A bit more labour intensive but far cheaper and in my opinion a far better looking and hard wearing option

its for my daughter and the more soundproofing the better lol..

jockettuk

thanks for all your replies .. we didnt think it would be a problem but theres always a well meaning friend who knows best who suggested not putting straight over floor boards..

its not going to be cheap laminate as we want it to last whilst she is 11 and when she leaves home at 18( wishful thinking me thinks lol)

Heath_Robinson

laminate is pretty awful for sound absorption just so you know and if you want to use it then it would be a good idea to put some underlay down unless you want to hear every footfall etc. Carpet would be far better from an acoustic POV.

Laminate is awful if you have a good stereo or cinema system as well, totally knackers the soundstage.

Ikea do a huge a good selection of huge rugs at bargain prices that allow you to tame laminate a bit.

alictait

The sound absorption is dependant on what underlay you use, if you go to one of the big laminate floor yards then you can see the different types.

Having laid laminate a good few times i'd recommend the felt style boards that you can buy, I think they are about £30 for 10sqm, but def worth it in this instance. You may actually find that if your floorboards arent exceptionally damaged, that this may prevent you from having to do unnecessary work.

All in all you must lay some form of insulation even if it is just the thin foam membrane, however this stuff prob isnt best on floorboards.

HTH

P.s. if you are buying the laminate and underlay from one of the warehouse place try and negotiate a discount on the underlay, just beware of their terms and conditions - some wont issue a cash refund and all unused goods must be returned within 30 days.