Replacing damaged floorboards..

Oddyball

I have just moved into a property which has quite a few squeaky and damaged floorboards...is it easy to replace them, and what's the best method??

thanks in advance for any help.

ormus

the squeeky ones are easy to sort out. just drive some screws into them, to tighten them down.
badly damaged ones need to come out and new ones installed.
getting the bad ones out is the problem part.
use a chisel to break the "tongue".
then pry the board up, at a join. (assuming the boards are nailed as per normal).
using levers/pivots etc its then fairly easy to lift the board.

the real problem is when you need to cut a board to lift it. a proper floorboard saw is a big help. you can use a powered rip saw but be very careful!
set the depth of the blade to the board depth. then you should be safe, re cutting into wires and pipes.

amstel78

Hi.

First at all,I am sorry for my english but it is not my first language.

I have the same problem in my new flat.
Cheap chipboards + shrank nails = squeaky floor.
You shall replace nails with high quality exterior screws for example: Turbogold or Fischer 5x50 or 5x60.
Lenght should be the same like lenght old nails or hire a cable/pipes detector.

The worst thing is pulling out nails from chipboards.
I have bought Bahco 39 Nail Puller for 60 quids to speed up this proccess.
It is a great and powerfull tool.

reluctant-diyer.co.uk/creaky_floor_boards.php

Ps.I am not allowed to post links so add >w w w< to link above.

Good luck

27col

I always used to use a Stanley knife to cut through the tongue when lifting t&g boards. It tends to do a lot less damage to the board. A decent claw hammer is usually good enough to get the nails out. Sometimes they come out with the board, it all depends what type of nail was used. At times we just used to break them off nearly flush and hammer them level with the top of the joist. Certainly didn't require any fancy £60 tools.

ormus

cheaper to buy new chipboard!

27col

Only problem with using chipboard is that it will probably be a different thickness to the old boards. Not an insoluble problem, of course.

ormus

sorry, i was refering to the spammer.
i wasnt condoning using MDF etc...

jack705

I have the same problem in my new flat.
Cheap chipboards + shrank nails = squeaky floor.
You shall replace nails with high quality exterior screws.
The worst thing is pulling out nails from chipboards.
I have bought Bahco 39 Nail Puller for 60 quids to speed up this proccess.
It is a great and powerfull tool.

jack705

I have the same problem in my new flat.
Cheap chipboards + shrank nails = squeaky floor.
You shall replace nails with high quality exterior screws for example: Turbogold or Fischer 5x50 or 5x60.
Lenght should be the same like lenght old nails or hire a cable/pipes detector.

The worst thing is pulling out nails from chipboards.
I have bought Bahco 39 Nail Puller for 60 quids to speed up this proccess.
It is a great and powerfull tool.

lagi

remember if you cut any tounges out you may have to put some noggins in to strengthen any long gaps.