Advice on Wood Floor under carpet

atat23 · 15-04-2014 11:40am #1

My apartment is in a very old building that was converted to apartments in the 90's.

I was looking to get rid of the carpets and put wood floors down, there already seems to be some kind of wood under the carpet and I'm wondering if it will be suitable to use.

I guess the floor may have been put in just to separate the carpet from the original concrete floor (think that's what's underneath), as where the boards have been nailed down there are like small divots where the heads have gone down, pretty noticeable though I assume they can be filled along with the gaps betweens the boards.

Now I don't know much about flooring and will get someone in to either put in a new floor or fill and refinish this one. I know not all wood is going to be the same but what really are the things that I need to identify to see if this wood is actually suitable as flooring?

dodzy · 15-04-2014 3:21pm

atat23 wrote: »

My apartment is in a very old building that was converted to apartments in the 90's.

I was looking to get rid of the carpets and put wood floors down, there already seems to be some kind of wood under the carpet and I'm wondering if it will be suitable to use.

I guess the floor may have been put in just to separate the carpet from the original concrete floor (think that's what's underneath), as where the boards have been nailed down there are like small divots where the heads have gone down, pretty noticeable though I assume they can be filled along with the gaps betweens the boards.

Now I don't know much about flooring and will get someone in to either put in a new floor or fill and refinish this one. I know not all wood is going to be the same but what really are the things that I need to identify to see if this wood is actually suitable as flooring?

Post a pic. Although it sounds like that you have just uncovered nailed floorboards under the carpet, most likely T&G. Impossible to say without a pic. And if it is, it will look silly if you fill in the "gaps" and "divots". That's how they are supposed to look

atat23 · 15-04-2014 3:43pm

guess I don't know many people with wooden floors. what my parents have in their living room looks like T&G (had to google that) although it's a lot more flush than what I see in my apartment, that's why I thought it looked odd.

I just happen to have these photos of it on my phone to show my dad, this is from the hall, seems to be the same quality throughout though you can't see where it's nailed down in these pics, can get a pic of that when I get home though.

I did take a picture of the gaps though, you can see the concrete or whatever it is underneath. Last one was with the flash so the lighting is better

dodzy · 15-04-2014 11:01pm

Look like regular style floorboards. A good candidate for professional sanding and varnish.

atat23 · 16-04-2014 9:24am

cool thanks for the feedback dodzy.

Still think I'll look into getting in between the boards filled, the gaps seem to be something that would just collect dirt and dust.

dodzy · 16-04-2014 9:54am

atat23 wrote: »

cool thanks for the feedback dodzy.

Still think I'll look into getting in between the boards filled, the gaps seem to be something that would just collect dirt and dust.

Everyone to their own but personally I like the gaps which T&G flooring provide. Nice aesthetic.

Here is a fix for the gaps, should you chose to leave them

atat23 · 16-04-2014 12:00pm

haha, nice one.

Although you realise I barely know what a wooden floor looks like, working a hoover is way out of my league, derrrr :P

Lex Luthor · 16-04-2014 4:46pm

look like regular T&G boards. Seem to be directly nailed to the floor which is a bit odd.

Hire out a floor sander and try it yourself and then re-stain. I'm sure you could use a pine coloured wood filler for the gaps

or just get in there and paint the concrete brown with some similar coloured masonry paint as what you intend to stain the floor

Fries-With-That · 16-04-2014 6:57pm

atat23 wrote: »

guess I don't know many people with wooden floors. what my parents have in their living room looks like T&G (had to google that) although it's a lot more flush than what I see in my apartment, that's why I thought it looked odd.

I just happen to have these photos of it on my phone to show my dad, this is from the hall, seems to be the same quality throughout though you can't see where it's nailed down in these pics, can get a pic of that when I get home though.

I did take a picture of the gaps though, you can see the concrete or whatever it is underneath. Last one was with the flash so the lighting is better

That looks to be the same picture at 3 different levels of magnification, I can't see any nail holes and the gap that looks like you're looking at concrete is just one of the grooves that has filled with dust from when the renovation took place.

If there are divots as you say from nails in the boards you can always put a wet cloth on them and use a hot clothes iron to lift them. The gaps between boards give the floor character most good quality laminate floors try to replicate this effect.

Put some nitromors on the paint splashes and leave a few hours to work. Then scrape any paint off and sand the complete floor to a nice smooth finish.

You'll have to sand again between coats of varnish and sand lightly before finish coat.

olestoepoke · 17-04-2014 7:47am

Hi im a professional floor refinisher here is a pic of a 70 year old floor in glasnevin we did recently you'd be surprised how well older floors turn out.

olestoepoke · 17-04-2014 11:28am

sorry new here how do i put a pic up?

Lex Luthor · 17-04-2014 5:21pm

go to youtube and search for sanding wooden floors
plenty examples and clips

Advice on Wood Floor under carpet

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