Laying carpet over manky floorboards.

pineapple

How far do you go with cleaning up floorboards before laying new carpet?
There has been a lot of building work and the boards are dirty with accumulated dust - general dirt/plaster and plaint splodges. :eek: Aside from getting rid of any obvious lumps and bumps and giving the floor a good vac, would you scrub the floor/give it a damp clean as well?

StuC75

good clean always help,, assuming that you are using a good underlay then should be ok,, otherwise run the risk of when using a vac drawing the dirt up through into the carpet ...

cyclonebri1

If your floorboards were broken/uneven/damaged etc I'd say hardboard over, thats an industry standard response.
But they aren't they are simply mucky.
Main point is knock of all high spots, wet it down and wash with mop etc.

Expect condensation for a couple of days, but wait this time before any attempt to fit new stuff

rustyboy21

Just buy a couple of cheap mop heads from a pound store and give the floorboards a good mopping. Throw them away afterwards.


Just let the boards dry out well before putting down underlay/carpet.

JohnB47

I'd recommend carefully checking for creaky boards - typically caused by the board sliding over the nail when you walk on it. Good idea to screw down any you find - too late after carpet is fitted.

Watch for hidden pipes/electric cables though.

pineapple

I actually do have a couple of boards with splinter slivers missing and one small hole. It wasn't evident when I bought the house as the upstairs was covered in horrible 'imitation wood' lino stuff :eek:. Was thinking of getting someone in to look at them. I don't want the carpet fitters to throw a hissy fit then charge me for hard boarding as most of the room is OK.