Plyboard before underlay and carpet

villieb

Hey guys - i'm been wondering for a few days "Is it worth putting a thin piece of plywood down before I put carpet (underlay and then the carpet)?"

PRO:

- there'll (potentially) be less creaking from floorboards

CON:

- if I ever need to get under the floorboards, the carpet, underlay and plywood will need to come up.... 

      however.... I've recently had the heating system replaced and the whole house rewired - right now (unless there's an emergency), I can't think of ever needing to get under the floorboards

- there'll be additional cost

How bad a condition would the floorboards be to need plywood fitted... I suppose re-reading this comment, of the floorboards are bad - replace them!

Are there any carpet fitters on this forum that can chime in with their $0.02

Thanks   

FreeBear

villieb said:  i'm been wondering for a few days "Is it worth putting a thin piece of plywood down before I put carpet (underlay and then the carpet)?"

It might help to reduce creaks from the floorboards. On the ground floor, I would put down a close fitting layer of wood fibre laminate underlay, and then foam underlay (a good quality one), then the carpet. Seal any gaps between skirting & floorboards with expanding foam (use a foam gun) or draught excluder. Same for any gaps between the floorboards. Fit the fibre boards snugly up to the walls, and then use screws to secure the gripper rods to the floorboards underneath - You'll have to remove the supplied nails and substitute for 3-3.5 by 25mm screws...

Did this in my lounge (also put some aluminum foil between floorboards & wood fibre boards). It killed the draughts, and now it is nice and toasty in there during the winter months.

Bendy_House

FB beat me to it.

You may find frame sealant - cheap and effective - easier and less messy to use around the room perimeter to seal the gaps between the boards and the walls.

KILL THEM DRAUGHTS!

And the fibre board will add a useful - if not giant - level of additional insulation.

villieb

I haven't yet put skirting board on yet. I was going to put skirting board up with a xx mm gap so that when i put the fibre laminate underlay, the carpet underlay there's room underneath the skirting board to tuck the carpet in

@FreeBear - You mention the ground floor - would you recommend this route on the 1st floor?

prowla

I recently had a couple of room floors done with Karndean; they put down plywood first and then the lino.

The floor still creaks.

FreeBear

villieb said: I haven't yet put skirting board on yet. I was going to put skirting board up with a xx mm gap so that when i put the fibre laminate underlay, the carpet underlay there's room underneath the skirting board to tuck the carpet in

@FreeBear - You mention the ground floor - would you recommend this route on the 1st floor?

The worst of the draughts are on the ground floor. If you have draughts coming through the boards on the upper floors, you have bigger problems to deal with... Wood fibre boards on the first floor will help to hide any unevenness, but so will a decent, thick foam underlay. Creaking floorboards are probably best dealt with by popping a few screws in - Check to see where pipes & cables run so as to avoid putting a screw through one or more.

One does not normally leave a gap under the skirting to tuck a carpet in. Fix the gripper rods so that there is a gap of ~6mm between rods & skirting. Make sure the rods are the right way round, and the carpet won't move.