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Carpentry & Joinery

Relaying an original wooden floor

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.46 PM

Hi, We're currently having our Victorian home renovated & our builder has taken up all of the original wooden floorboards so that the electrician can start rewiring. He's suggested that, once the rewiring is done, we should insulate in between the floor joists, which seems like a sensible suggestion. He's also suggested that we should then fit a plywood layer to the joists & place the original floorboards back onto the plywood than placing them directly on the joists. Is this a good suggestion? I'd have thought it would be far better to place the floorboards back on the joists, as surely they will have aged & settled into certain positions? Won't laying them on a ply surface mean that we have an uneven final floor? Any advice would be appreciated. We want our home to be comfortable & as energy efficient as possible, but we also want to preserve character & original features. Many thanks!

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4 Answers

Anonymous user

You don't need ply other than if your are applying ceramic tiling or marble flooring, then you would put ply over the existing floorboards once fitted. Kind regards Dr Paul D Rogers PhD Construction Management Chartered Building Engineer Expert in Building Defects-Property Renovation & Refurbishment- Client/Contractor Disputes

Answered25 January 2017

Oliver Webley

Rating: 5 out of 5

Leeds

I assume the wooden floorboards is the finished flooring ? You mentioned the house was Victorian so I would assume the joists to be uneven to some degree. I would think his reasoning would be so he can level the floor, planing and packing where needed. He can then lay the plywood to achieve an even, level substrate to then relay the flooring onto. I can see where he is coming from. It will also add an additional layer of sound and heating insulation.

Answered2 February 2017

HD Design and Build

Rating: 5 out of 5

Herne Bay

It would make more sense to put the ply over the floorboards or just the ply directly onto the joists, depends on if you are laying carpet or having the exposed floorboards as the finished floor

Answered24 January 2017

Cooperman Carpentry

Rating: 5 out of 5

Sittingbourne

This would serve no particular purpose? You are right the old boards will have seated on the joists so must be fitted back where they came from in order to avoid uneven and squeaking boards. Ben

Answered26 January 2017