Upstairs flooring change help please

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by richard_baker, Mar 28, 2019.

  1. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    hi guys and gals

    Right..so upstairs in my gaff I have 18mm ply sheet flooring. It appears when the house was built they decided to build everything on top of this floor ..all the internal parting walls and the stud work for external walls .

    So to install all the pipe work for the central heating install I had to cut 150mm strips out along the room edges and along the landing.

    Now because the flooring has lost some of its strength in places plus putting in a new bathroom bla bla I want to replace all this flooring for new..ideally change to floor planks to make easier access for servicing.

    The only way I can get these sheets up is by cutting around all the walls with a mini circular saw. but this leaves about 50mm of ply around all the edges and will be no joists to seat the edges of the new boards.

    Also all the ply sheets are nailed and glued down to the joists.

    I have tried to remove a sheet by using a hole saw around the nails and getting the crow bar underneath. however it is bloody hard work and the boards are either ripping up in to bits or the crow bar just breaks through the ply and then I have to go along the joist with a chisel to get if the remains.

    If I just lay a new 18mm sheet over the old floor in the bathroom I’d then have to do this in all the bedrooms and landing so it’s sll uniform not ideal plus doesn’t allow access to pipework.


    Any help or ideas what I can do would be hugely appreciated! And please excuse any bad grammar.

    Cheers lads
     
  2. Jimmycloutnail

    Jimmycloutnail Screwfix Select

    Timber frame house are built like!e that as the flooring ties the walls together and then you have a platform to work from, if you use a plunge saw around the perimeter you can get Closer and leave 10mm then fix 3x2 around the edge for your flooring to bear on
     
    richard_baker likes this.
  3. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    Good shout il have a look for one of them
    Any recommendations for new floor boards / supplier?

    The pain in the rear job now is getting the old stuff up
     
  4. Jimmycloutnail

    Jimmycloutnail Screwfix Select

    Use a shovel or a pick to pry the boards up you get more leverage, go to your local timber merchant for the boards mate
     
  5. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    Well this is starting to look like a right ***** of a job. So the ply board just rips apart when you try to lift the board, the boards are glued to the joists so it also impossible to lift the board cleanly and pulls off the top of the joist. Don’t get me started on poxy nails . Nothing more I hate than nails
     

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  6. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    Just give it up then. Repair what you have tried to lift. And adjust your flooring choice accordingly
     
  7. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    Too far in to stop now , genuinely surprised there isn’t a nail puller for this sort of thing. Screws are the way forward
     
  8. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    If its all glued to the joists you will be there for months.

    Just repair what you have done and change tack
     
    Jord86 likes this.
  9. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    Dewalt do a superb nail puller, but it doesn't really matter because as Goldenboy says, if the ply is glued down you can forget removing it all quickly and cleanly. If you're adamant then I'd set a circular saw to the flooring depth and run it between each joist to remove the bulk, then chisel the rest off the joists once you've pulled all the nails out. Better option, leave it down and opt for plan B.
     
    richard_baker likes this.
  10. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    How big is the room you are doing?

    Whats the proposed new floor?
     
  11. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    Hmm well plan b is lay new 18mm flooring throughout the whole 1st floor, but that doesn’t solve my problems in regards to access to the central heating pipes. 1 Bit of the old floor is up now after almost 2 hours. Serves me right for buying a timber frame house. Next one il make sure it’s floor planks rather than boards
     
  12. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    I’m doing the landing at the minute. The new stuff going down is moisture resistant chipboard osb? The proper terminology?

    Then the bathroom as I’m starting that project on Easter week, booked some time off work to get it done
     
  13. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    How much have you actuall took up?
     
  14. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    Take part of or all the ceiling down in the room below. Quicker but more mess.
     
  15. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    If you are doing the whole upstairs then i would genuinely step back and reconsider what you are doing.

    You will find studwork fixed on top of plywood and not joist as they never intended it to all be pulled out.

    Why do you need to access the ch pipework.

    If you want an even floor just patch the damaged area and overboard with a 9mm ply for the entire floor
     
    WillyEckerslike likes this.
  16. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    You may find a studwall is running in line with the joists and between the joists supported by the ply.
     
  17. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    Wish I had seen this thread before you were advised to just go cutting around the perimeter and to attack the flooring with a shovel.
     
    richard_baker and Jord86 like this.
  18. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    As above. You can get access kits for working under a sheet material floor. Using a router or special hole saw it cuts out a large hole which you then replace with a pre-manufactured plate.
     
  19. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    That trend routabout with the plastic inserts would be ideal.

    Take a big step back OP and have a cup of tea and a reconsider.

    Whats the proposed floor covering
     
  20. richard_baker

    richard_baker New Member

    Well I have to cut around the bottom of all the walls as
    Haha don’t worry I didn’t even acknowledge that idea, so what i have had to do is use my mini circular saw and cut along the base of the walls, use a whole cutter over the screws then use 2 crow bars working around the edges of the ply breaking up bit by bit
     

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