Garage Conversion - Raised Floor

[Iggle Piggle]

Helping a friend raise the floor in his garage conversion. Used 4" timbers to fill gap with noggins. Floorboards on top. Fine for a few weeks but floor has become uneven. Can I drill holes and fill void with fill n fix foam or what is best? Don't want to lift all boards again!

[RATTER15]

You need to lift the floor and find out why it has become uneven. If you fill it with foam and it foam doesn't work, you will then have a real mess to sort out!

I don't for one minute thing that foam will work anyway.

[RATTER15]

think not thing!

[murraymints]

nowt else for it ..has to come up to investigate reason

[Iggle Piggle]

Yup, best to lift boards to check but the walls have been dot&dabbed with plasterboard - over the board edges! It will be a pig of a job to raise boards now. :-(

[The Builder]

I don't quite understand what you mean by "uneven", Iggle. Is the floor bouncing? Or has it sunk in places?

[-Talbot-]

I doubt the garage floor has a dam-proof membrane in it. Have you laid timbers and floorboards straight on top?

[Iggle Piggle]

Hi builder, the Higgins are maybe 2mm lower than the bearers. So main support is every 600mm on 18mm thick floorboard. So the boards 'bounce'. Just thinking there must be something I can squeeze through holes in the boards to add support. I'll take the spurs off my boots when I'm finished...

[Iggle Piggle]

Higgins = Noggins!

[-Talbot-]

Sometimes you have to question why you bother.

[Togo]

I think I would have set the joists at 400mm spacings Iggle Piggle.

[The Builder]

18mm chipboard needs joists at 400mm centres, Iggle. For 600 centres you should use 22mm boards.

So you're not getting joist bounce then? Just floppy boatds?

[Iggle Piggle]

Yeah, just the 2mm gap causing slight bounce. Firm enough over the bearers. Slight oversight, not like me at all. #embarrasing!

[The Builder]

^^^ boards

I honestly can't think of anything to help you out except overlaying maybe 12mm plywood on the chipboard.

[The Builder]

If your problem is only over the noggins, then this might help....

Get some 65mm screws. Those that are threaded the whole way up the shank...

Screw the board down tight to the noggin... There will now be a 2mm depression...

Back the screw off a couple of turns to let the board e back up level. The threaded shank should hold the board steady. You may be lucky and it might stand the test of time.

Still thinking......

Pre-drill the board with a 5mm bit (not into the noggin). Try to squirt some carpenters polyurethane into the hole.then put in fattish screw. That type of glue is thixotropic. Ie it will expand as it cures.

[The Builder]

Experiment with the glue. You may find you need a bigger pilot hole to get the glue nozzle into the hole.

[Baldric]

This one's for you Iggle

;o)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxIuIxqo2So

[-Talbot-]

I assume the garage floor would be concrete, so you should have gone for a floating floor. Jablite, deck boards/ply and a finish of the owners choosing. (far easier too than what you have done) Eventually there will be a regret if you did just cover the garage floor with er 4'' timbers noggins and floorboards.

You haven't made things very clear but who am I to argue with John Wayne.

[Iggle Piggle]

Thanks builder, big bag of screws it is then, and I must learn to stop flippin helping people all the time. Guess I'm just a nice chap.

[Dodger666]

My kids were always asking me to do things in their houses. When I started bodging a few jobs they stopped asking.