The original Victorian floorboards (in majority of the homes) had a thickness of around 20 mm upon installation. Each sanding round slowly removes part of the surface until it reaches 15 mm. This is considered the point where no further floor sanding should be performed.
What size are Victorian floorboards?
The most common size of boards, are 6 ¾” x 7/8” (170mm x 23mm) in Victorian Pine. The disadvantage of using new wood, from a Builders’ Merchant, is that it is an inferior quality – it is whiter, has less grain and character, is softer and is not seasoned.
How thick are traditional floorboards?
Floorboards are always 19mm in thickness. If thinner boards are supplied these are then called ‘Overlay’ floors. This is because it is designed to lay over a primer on concrete. Thus the concrete pad is overlaid with timber.
How thick should floorboards be?
When it comes to choosing the correct thickness, then again we recommend a board that is no more than 18mm thick and that the top layer, or lamella is no more than 5mm. These are what we believe to be the optimum thicknesses to ensure heat efficiency.
Are floorboards standard size?
These days modern sized floorboards have adopted standard sizes and this makes it difficult to find replacements for older floors.
What wood did Victorians use for floorboards?
Plain pine floors were used throughout most Victorian houses. During the Arts & Crafts period wood and stone were the only acceptable forms of flooring.
How thick are old wood floors?
As the name implies, solid hardwood flooring is one solid piece of wood sawn from a log. The standard thickness is ¾”, but there are also options 5/16″ and ½” thick. Older homes often have even thicker boards—pre-1850 houses can have floors as thick as 11/8″. Solid hardwood comes in three types of cuts.
How thick is a UK floor?
Ground-bearing concrete floor slabs should be at least 100mm thick, including monolithic screed where appropriate.
Are thicker floorboards better?
A thicker plank can provide superior acoustics. Because the plank is thicker, sound doesn’t travel as well. A thicker plank provides better impact resistance.
How thick are floorboards UK?
When choosing a joist spacing, check that your floorboards (or sheets) are strong enough to span over the width chosen. As a general rule – floorboards should be a minimum 16mm thick for joist centres up to 500mm and 19mm minimum for centres up to 600mm.
How many years do floorboards last?
With the correct care and maintenance you can expect a timber floor to last over a decade. We expect that most people will either re-sand or re-coat their Timber floor on average every 10-15 years to keep them looking like new.
Should I fill gaps between floorboards?
Filling gaps does stop draughts and prevents the build up of dust between the gaps. It also tightens the floor and helps prevent timber movement.
How thick is a tongue and groove floorboard?
Tongue and Groove Overlay
Overlay Tongue and Groove floorboards are 14mm in thickness floorboards designed to be layed over concrete sub-floors.
Should I replace old floorboards?
As time goes on; your floorboards might start needing a bit of care and attention. If they’ve dried out or worked loose from their fittings, they could have started to creak. And if they’ve split, warped, shrunk or broken, you may need to replace them completely.
Can floorboards collapse?
A floor collapse typically occurs because a property owner did not recognize the progressing signs of a loss of structural integrity in their building. For example, if there is evidence that a structure has rotten wood beams, this can be an issue that can lead to a floor collapse.
What type of wood is used for floorboards?
Wooden floorboards, typically manufactured from redwood or whitewood, which are known for being durable and ideal for machining.
What is the black stuff on Victorian floorboards?
Can it be removed? Before the days of fitted carpets, it was very common to lay a rug in the middle of the room and to paint an insulated bitumen product around the edges of the room. This was usually a black or brown paint.
What were Victorian house floors made of?
Victorian Floor tiles were made from clay (often locally sourced), and always had a square (or almost square) edge. This square edge (in section) is significant and is the key to the flat surface that these floors have, unlike some modern reproductions.
What are Victorian houses floors made of?
The floors of many large Victorian homes were in oak, maple, cherry, ash, birch, Brazilian cherry, and walnut hardwoods. The more affluent homes had hardwood floors inlaid with variously colored planks arranged in geometrical patterns. This branch of decorative art was known as parquetry.
What type of wood floors are in old houses?
A: The most common kinds of wood flooring in old houses can be divided into two general categories: wide-plank floors (boards typically 8″ and wider) often seen in early buildings, rural areas, or secondary spaces like bedrooms and kitchens; and strip floors (narrow boards typically 2″ to 4″ wide), at first reserved
How thick is timber flooring?
They vary in thickness, from 8mm to 32mm. Generally, the thicker the plank, the thicker the timber layer. Engineered timber flooring requires a foam underlay to absorb minor irregularities in the subfloor and eliminate unwanted contact sound.