DIY advice... laying hardboard over floorboards

[Deleted member 1258]

I've always put hardboard down shiny side up and used short nails at irregular intervals, I've always done it and put carpet on top of it, I've put it down where the house has suspended wooden floors on the ground floor for a good surface to lay carpets on and to make the rooms more cosy, the first time I did it the floor in the room wasn't in good condition and I did it to get a better surface , but I noticed the room was a bit warmer so since then I've done it both on the ground floor and upstairs and found it made the house a touch warmer and a touch easier to heat.

 

[Arch]

ah i see
i didn't realise you put floor boards down then hardboard on top of it and then the cushion floor or lino i thought it was hardboard straight on the joists and then the lino or cushion floor on that, but that isn't strong enough i guess?
sorry for the lack of experience/knowledge but i have only ever dealt with projects where the floor boards are the final visible surface
Cheers Ed

No, hardboard is only one step up from cardboard in strength. You can snap it with your hands. Even laid on uneven floorboards, it'll take on the shape of the boards.

 

[MikeG]

Rip up the floor boards and put down chipboard. No need to mess with hardboard on top and you can check the pipe work and cables so as not to hit any.

You'll get a nice smooth, draught-free floor and it shouldn't creak any more if done well. Chipboard is not hard to lay and reasonably priced.

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

 

[MikeG]

ah i see
i didn't realise you put floor boards down then hardboard on top of it and then the cushion floor or lino i thought it was hardboard straight on the joists and then the lino or cushion floor on that, but that isn't strong enough i guess?
sorry for the lack of experience/knowledge but i have only ever dealt with projects where the floor boards are the final visible surface
Cheers Ed

You don't "put floorboards down then hardboard on top of that".......the floorboards are already there, and too uneven to make a good substrate for the flooring. A newly laid floor doesn't need a lining: we're talking about old floors here.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

You don't "put floorboards down then hardboard on top of that".......the floorboards are already there, and too uneven to make a good substrate for the flooring. A newly laid floor doesn't need a lining: we're talking about old floors here.

With the bedroom I've just done some of the gaps between the floorboards were that wide I had to be careful where I put my tools down.

 

[Archie_tect]

MV,
There are easy to follow guides- here's one: hardboard rough side up [stops slip and easier to fix to]
http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/building/hardboard-laying-on-floors-1.html
http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/building/hardboard-laying-on-floors-2.html

Have fun!
Lino [linseed linoleum [Forbo Nairn, still make it up in Kirkaldy, now called Marmoleum] normally sold as 600x600 tiles and needs regular sealing.... we've got a cushion vinyl sheet in our bathroom.
If you are tiling the walls down to the floor think about taking the skirtings off and fit an angle edge before fitting the tiles on the bottom edge 5mm above the hardboard then you can slide the vinyl sheet under the edge of the wall tiles forming a shadow gap which looks really neat and hides the edge of the vinyl.

 

[Mark Grant]

I use 6mm ply stapled down with a air stapler at 100-150mm centres.
Without the stapler I'd use ring nails.

 

[MontyVeda]

Rip up the floor boards and put down chipboard. No need to mess with hardboard on top and you can check the pipe work and cables so as not to hit any.

You'll get a nice smooth, draught-free floor and it shouldn't creak any more if done well. Chipboard is not hard to lay and reasonably priced.

LOL... by far the worst advice I've read

 

[MontyVeda]

Cut nails to hold hardboard down?!!

That really is overkill, particularly bearing in mind that it is often, if not usually, stapled down (using a hammer stapler or a compressor driven staple gun). I really wouldn't bother to screw it down, either. No, 'twere it me I would be pinning it down, using a stainless steel panel pin "dovetailed" (nailed at various angles) at about 200 centres.

no intention of screwing it down... that would just be madness. Little 20mm cut nails, not big roofing ones (floorboards are 20mm thick + 3mm hardboard, so 20mm nails max. Staples i feel are underkill... cut nails may well be overkill, but better that than the other. They're not exactly a pricey option... but I'll see what the iron monger has in tomorrow

 

[Mark Grant]

Staples used are 18-20mm.

 

[MontyVeda]

But i have a hammer.... i have a stapler too but that takes 10mm staples. I don't really want to buy a new tool for just one job.

Might have to start a poll for which side up though.

 

[MontyVeda]

MV,
There are easy to follow guides- here's one: hardboard rough side up [stops slip and easier to fix to]
http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/building/hardboard-laying-on-floors-1.html
http://www.diyfixit.co.uk/building/hardboard-laying-on-floors-2.html

....

aye i saw that guide earlier today... but unfortunately i gave up at...

"Alternatively, if you have a jig saw, you will find that this will make very light work of cutting boards."

...i don't think they've tried their own instructions... a jigsaw is a; crap for straight cuts, especially in something a flimsy as hardboard and b; a jigsaw is crap for something as flimsy as hardboard

but thanks all the same

 

[slowmotion]

I would go with the staples. If you are worried about their holding power, just fire them in closer together. The floor boards will be pretty well seasoned so the staples won't loosen due to shinkage of the timber. Banging in short nails is a right pain, unless you have a nail gun.

Edit: cross-post with the two above.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Just the thought of D.I.Y sends me to sleep.

 

[Archie_tect]

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.