DIY advice... laying hardboard over floorboards

[MontyVeda]

...

That's just one website- there are loads of them... but as you are finding everyone has their own way of doing things... I usually use 6mm external grade or WBP ply rather than hardboard but you didn't ask about ply
Just follow a metal straight edge to cut... have you tried cutting through hardboard with a stanley knife and snapping [hard with a full board mind.

I've already had the hardboard delivered (3x 8'x4' sheets for £18)... hence not asking about ply. Hardboard is perfectly fit for purpose, cheap inexpensive and easy to cut (with a stanley knife, metal straight edge and a snap as you describe). I mostly know what I'm doing... I've lifted and planed off the uneven floorboards and relaid them, sunk all the nails below the surface so the floor is as level and sound as it ever will be without gutting the place. I just wanted to get a better idea of which way up the hardboard should go, but as you say, everyone has their own way... I just prefer to seek the opinions of CC members over that of the screwfix, moneysavingexpert, diynot, etc. forums... as ye'all do a lot more than ride a push bike. The hardest bit is going to be squeezing the washing machine, fridge, freezer, workbench, numerous tool boxes and all the other crap that lives in the kitchen on a small landing whilst I lay the new flooring.

 

[slowmotion]

The Collins Complete DIY Manual, Jackson Day 1986. This is the book that quite a lot of surveyors hid from sight when their clients came to the office.

 

[Mickthemove]

Done the upstairs of my house using thin ply! Used a nail and staple gun, but as said before, ensure they are shorter than the depth of the floor boards, a proper pain to do but if you have poor floorboards or very uneven ones it will be well worth it!

IMHO , hardboard is a shorter term fix and thin ply is a long term fix but carries extra work with cutting etc! If you do use hardboard, I assumed it was shiny side up so the rough side acts as a grip against the attaching surface

 

[asterix]

How to turn a cheap carpet laying job into a major (and expensive) exercise!

Nah, sticking hardboard on top is just a bodge, you need to do the job properly. Future generations will thank you. It's not surprising that British housing stock is among the worst in Europe! The developed world, even..

 

[MikeG]

Nah, sticking hardboard on top is just a bodge, you need to do the job properly. Future generations will thank you. It's not surprising that British housing stock is among the worst in Europe! The developed world, even..

You clearly haven't visited France or Italy, then! And you can't have been to South Africa or Australia, or large parts of America, where the houses are built roughly to the same standards as a B&Q garden shed. Worst in the developed world? You'll need to cite some evidence for that before I take it seriously (cite, not just assert).

If you really think that sheets of urea formaldehyde and sawdust mixed together, off-gassing goodness-knows-what, is a superior way of producing a suspended timber floor then you need to do a little reading. Start with "The Natural House" book, by David Pearson. A good timber floor is a delight. The very best chipboard floor still requires hiding.

 

[asterix]

You clearly haven't visited France or Italy, then! And you can't have been to South Africa or Australia, or large parts of America, where the houses are built roughly to the same standards as a B&Q garden shed. Worst in the developed world? You'll need to cite some evidence for that before I take it seriously (cite, not just assert).

If you really think that sheets of urea formaldehyde and sawdust mixed together, off-gassing goodness-knows-what, is a superior way of producing a suspended timber floor then you need to do a little reading. Start with "The Natural House" book, by David Pearson. A good timber floor is a delight. The very best chipboard floor still requires hiding.

Yes I was being a bit tongue in cheek, my UK house is a 1950s build; the timber used is dreadful stuff probably because of post war shortages. In my French barn conversion at the end of last year I replaced my temporary chipboard floor with locally grown pine:



Timber flooring (and most timber) is much cheaper and better quality than in the UK.

 

[MikeG]

Nice! I like the secret nailer.

Now.........tie beams at knee level: how did you get over that problem? Is that little temporary step in the background a clue?

 

[asterix]

Nice! I like the secret nailer.

Now.........tie beams at knee level: how did you get over that problem? Is that little temporary step in the background a clue?

Thanks, yes you are spot on, Sherlock. I've made 3 in oak and have just that one to replace in a couple of weeks time.