This will seal the surface and prevent further dust arising. If the floor has projecting nibs of concrete, remove these with a bolster and club hammer. If the floor is uneven, it is best to use screening compound to level it. You can buy this either as a powder that you mix with water, or ready-mixed in a tub. Clean the floor thoroughly, then use a little of the compound to fill any holes and cracks. Allow these repairs to set before you apply the screening compound over the whole area. Simply pour the compound out on to the floor, brush or trowel out, and leave it to find its own level. Concrete or tiled floors Bare concrete floors or securely fixed old quarry tiles can be painted with a special flooring paint designed to stand up to e Once you have removed all splinters of old tile, use a trowel to spread a layer of ceramic floor tiling adhesive in the hole you have created. Level the adhesive and make sure coverage is even. rough wear and tear.
But do make certain that the floor is clean and dust free before starting. If it is dusty, treat it in the same way you would a solid floor, sealing it wit a solution of one part PVA adhesive to for parts water. If the floor is in poor condition however, coat it with a screening com- pound to provide a new surface. If you have an old property in which flay stones have been laid directly on the heart! and these are causing damp problems, yo will need to seek professional advice. Lifting the stones to attend to the damp problem and then relaying the stones requires specialist skills and equipment. Flagstones that are dry but merely unsightly can be cleaned and their surface polished to a pleasing finish. Timber floors It is just as important for a timber floor to be smooth and sound as a solid one, so examine it carefully before laying any type of floor covering. Remove any old tacks an, unwanted nails and hammer down any floor nails that are standing proud of the boards. If the floor is uneven, then you have tw: options. The first is to lay sheets of hardboard, rough-side up, over the whole floor flay hardboard smooth-side up only i the floor covering is recommended for laying that way).
This seals any gaps and cracks between floorboards and improves the evenness overall. It also has the e Press the new tile into position and scrape off any excess adhesive with the trowel. Read the manufacturer’s directions regarding drying time, and avoid walking on the tile until the adhesive has set. • Repairing and replacing floorboards Good-condition floorboards are essential even if you intend to lay a floor covering on top of them. Uneven boards will cause any surface covering to wear out that much quicker, and loose floorboards will squeak every time they are walked on. o If you have tongue-and- groove type of floorboards, you will first have to saw through on either side of the board to free it from its neighbors and allow you to work on it.
To lift an ordinary floorboard, insert a floorboard bolster in the crack between the boards and lever upward with the help of a claw hammer. .Once the floorboard nails have come free from the joists, use a scrap of wood to hold the board while you work toward the other end with the bolster. o You will need to support a cut floorboard after it has been replaced. To do this, nail a small piece of scrap timber to the side of the floor joist. e To allow access to pipework or wiring, screw the patch in place rather than using nails. advantage of adding to the floor’s sound- proofing quality. A disadvantage is that it makes it difficult to get under the floor at any future date if you need access to pipework or wiring.