Renovating a hardwood floor

[HawkEye]

Hello Chaps.

I have agreed to help refurbish my mothers ground floor flat. All the flooring except for the bathroom and kitchen consists of an oak hardwood. As you can see in the pictures, the boards are not very wide but the overall look is still nice even after 80 years or so.The flat was built around the 1930s.

The main problem is the creeking of the boards when you walk up and down. This is especially bad along the walking areas. I am to understand that this is not due to the deterioration of the boards themselves but the joists underneath, and was hoping someone could clarify if this is the case.

The other thing is the overall look of the boards. Carpet used to cover most of the flat and we pulled it up when we moved here yet there are very few staple marks, fortunately, which makes me wonder how the carpet was ever secured to the floor in the first place. I don't ever recall it moving around despite only being stapled sparingly around the outside edges of each rooms. Anyway, the hardwood flooring underneath, despite being stained and sanded when it was installed, has never been laminated, so it is easy to get the odd splinter walking around barefoot.

Over the years the grain seems to have risen due to the floor getting no TLC and the general wear and tear has lead to gaps appearing between a few odd boards aswell. I've enclosed some pictures for you all to look at and I hope that someone can tell me what I should do to bring this floor back to its former glory. Please note that I have worked as a fitter before, although only very briefly.


http://img7.imageshack.us/i/img0840llk.jpg/
http://img3.imageshack.us/i/img0841t.jpg/

 

[HawkEye]

I'm suprised theres no one that can help me with this. You must all be joiners. Oh well.

 

[Dibs-h]

1st picture won't show but 2nd one does. Is that nails that can be seen at the end of the boards?

Like any "old" floor it will need a sand to remove the wear and tear and expose "fresh" timber which can then be re-finished.

For the main area you can use either a drum sander or a belt sander (not a handheld version) - both of which can be hired from most shops. Although the belt sander isn't usually available from hire shops. The edges will need to be done with an edging disc sander - again available from hire shops.

Thing to watch out for is that the hire shops do charge noticeably more for the consumables but it's usually on a sale or return basis.

The gaps in the boards can usually be dealt with something like Lecol 7500 filler mixed with the sawdust from the last couple of passes. The problem that you may have is that the floor moves - this would crack the filler.

Another option is to cut thin slivers of a matching wood and glue them in place and then trim anything standing proud.

I think you need to sort out the creaking first. After confirming that there are no structural issues - you could screw the worst offending boards down and cover with plugs. So while not hugely noticeable, probably an acceptable fix.

Hope it helps

Dibs

 

[ade1]

hi, i did 5 of my rooms, stairs & landing about 6yr ago, ripping up all carpets, worst job i found was denailing & tacking! most of your squeaky floorboards should be easily remedied, depending on condition of existing floor nails which may be able to hammer and punch down a bit further or if no good then lift board, remove nails & replace with new (available at any builders merchants). the boards in your pic look fairly decent really, previous posts drum and edging sander will soon make light work of it. if you have sanders of your own they'll come in handy too though as there always seem to be parts round the outside of room you can't quite get the larger ones into! best of luck

 

[ProShop]

HawkEye PM sent