Laying wooden flooring in a Victorian property

[jupiter999]

I am looking for advice as to what the best wooden flooring is to lay in a Victorian property which won't have been damp-proofed. In a previous Victorian property that I owned, I chose a very good quality engineered wood that looked completely authentic. However, the person who layed this floor, said it had to go up against the skirting boards, thus reducing the height of the lovely Victorian skirting boards by about 18mm. It also had beading running along it, which I also didn't like much.

I am considering buying another property where I would also like to lay a wooden floor but want to know if there is a a better way of doing this? I've recently seen some pictures of a Victorian house online, where someone has obviously laid a new looking wood floor, but maintained the height of the Victorian skirting boards, and there doesn't appear to be visible beading. Would they have removed the skirting boards first and replaced? Or would this ruin the original skirting boards?

Also, is it possible to lay a real oak floor in an old house without getting problems of moisture etc? Or is it better to stick to an engineered product? If a real wood floor can be used, can anyone recommend a good quality supplier who can supply and fit a really nice french oak for a period house?

Thanks

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

With regard to skirting boards the only practical way to achieve the 'proper' look is to do the job properly, i.e. to remove the skirtings, lay the floor up close to the walls, replace the skirtings. This is much easier said than done, as there will inevitably be damage done to the skirtings and plasterwork during the removal, plus your doorframes and architraves will also need to be adjusted. This is why the standard DIY approach to fitting an overlay floor is to work up to the existing skirtings, then use beading to cover the inevitable gap. Easier, but looks crap.

The nature of the existing floor will dictate the succes with which you can use the various types of overlay flooring. If you're working onto a solid floor which has no dampproof layer then any sort of wooden overlay will start to curl up if the subfloor is at all damp. Laying an impermeable layer under the wood might help the new woodwork, but might displace dampness into the walls. If you're working onto an existing suspended floor then you should be ok with any type of overlay, so long as you let it acclimatise to the room for long enough.

As always, there's more to it than you'd first suspect, so do your research before buying a nice load of oak.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Why not refurbish the existing floor?

 

[yamin]

Where are you jupiter?

I can recommend a good supplier of french ok in warwickshire. Really pleased with our floor. I'll search out a pic and post it later. The fitter we had was extremely thorough and may I say pernickety! Exactly what you want in your floor fitter! I'm sure others will concur that the fitting cost more than the actual floor, but as Andrew says, its not easy to do it really properly.

 

[jupiter999]

thanks very much for your responses. I think that maybe I won't bother then! I definitely don't want to reduce the height of the skirting boards at all. The hallway of the new house has a lovely Victorian ornate floor, so I'll keep that anyway, but may just carpet the adjoining rooms as that will be easier I think!

Thanks anyway