AlanUK

Thanks nod. Silly question - When you say "counter baton", do you mean laying the boards out horizontally across the joists? I think I will need to do that anyways, to make up the depth of the diagonal boards that are stiffening the rafters together, so yes, that would work.

Stud wall between joists I have a detached garage with room above, and I’m splitting the room into two, with a stud wall. I want to place it running midway between two joists, running parallel with them – see the picture. I will put noggins ever 400mm under the wooden floor between the pair of joists for the stud wall base to go onto. Would this be ok? For the walls and ceiling, can I just do the same, with small noggins? Also, the insulation that is to go into the roof, would it sit behind the noggins, running the full length, or would I cut up small pieces of insulation to put between the noggins? See my terrible drawing, showing a section through the room. Would the insulation run behind the smaller noggins (as shown in the black hatched option) or would it sit between noggins, as shown in the red hatched option? Thanks, Alan

Yes, I forgot that I can easily hide the nails with the plasterboard etc. Sounds easier than the plug cutting approach. Thanks all. That nailing device looks pretty clever but I'll go with the tongue tite screws. Saves the hire cost.

Thanks, they look ideal. I guess for the first board I'll need to put nails or screws in the other side of the board to keep it in place. Or is there something else I should do for that one?

Good call - I've not heard of one of those before.

No, it will be fine as the plasterboard isn't up yet. And also, as I've not fixed them down I can add more along two of the walls to reduce the thickness. Should I use screws or nails in your opinion? I like the removability of screws (to cure squeaks etc.) but clearly nails are likely to look better.

An advantage of cable is that it can't be jammed. It wouldn't be difficult to jam a WiFi signal by burglars who go equipped to do so.

No, it will be fine as the plasterboard isn't up yet

Hi, I've bought my redwood floor boards, which are now mostly laid in the room above the garage, but aren't fixed down (I'm letting them acclimatise for a bit) . One of the walls consists of a large full size window - see the attached image. On the three sides where there are concrete blocks I've left around 20mm gap, but I don't want to do that by the pictured door, where such a gap will not look good. Is it ok to leave them cut flush as I've shown, or is there something else I should do? I don't really want to put a skirting board up there, as that wouldn't look good either. The boards will be nailed or screwed down on that base board , and so won't be able to move much. Can I leave them flush like that? Thanks,

Ah, thanks. That suggests it doesn't much matter then. The boards don't have a chamfer, so both sides are the same.

I notice the tongue isn't centrally placed on the board edge, but is slightly closer to one side. Does it matter which side is uppermost - the side nearest the tongue, or the one further away? Or is it a matter of just picking one and going for it?

Absolutely, yes. I had pine floor in a previous house which coped fine with a wheeled chair, but that was old very dry boards. I'm sure new ones won't be as hard wearing.

it's an office room above a garage - a new build garage. So yes, that's a good point, and I'll need to protect it pretty well during plastering etc.

Mr Punter - I've considered those sort of floorings, and what you say is right. I was going to use the wood as the surface though, and didn't want to put any carpet etc. on the top. Hence going for the softwood. Temp, I suspect you have hit the nail on the head there. I need to confirm the cheaper quote's wood type, and I suspect it will be the whitewood. So, is the redwood harder than the whitewood, or just has a nicer look to it?

Yes, true. Even so, one quote seems to be almost half the cost. I'll need about 270m of the thinner one, rather than the 230m, which would make the second quote more like £330 - still a lot cheaper.

Hi - Yes, it's outwardly thicker, but it says it's 19/20mm finished size, whatever that means, which is the same as the second quote. That's why I'm confused.

I've had two quotes from different places for T&G softwood boards, that are wildly different. So, I'm wondering what I'm missing. Quote 1: FSC 25mm x 150mm PTG Flooring Redwood, - Finished thickness 19/20mm 230meters = £590 + VAT Quote 2: 19mm by 120mm = 230metres = £280 + VAT Obviously I'll need to buy a bit more of the narrower stuff from quote 2, but not that much more. So, why is it so much cheaper? Is it inferior, or will it be thinner? And what is "finished thickness"? Is that the thickness that I get it at? Thanks.

Thanks Tim and Temp. I've seen the Osmo for sale close to me, so that shouldn't be a problem, and heard good things about it elsewhere too. Temp, those floors look fantastic, but I suspect they will be outside of my price range. Nice though.

In the room above the newly built garage, I'm thinking about putting pine floorboards down. I'll be using the 21mm ones (due to 60cm joist spacing). Are there varying quality boards, or is one company's boards much the same as another? Also, any recommendations on where to get them? (I'm in Worcestershire).

Great, thanks - I'll take a look at that.

Hi, I'm intending to build a very basic oak frame to act as a 1st floor balcony. Dimensions will be maximum of 4m by 3m, with the long edge being against the building. I would like to calculate how many supporting posts would be needed. I.e., would one on each corner be sufficient (along with diagonal bracing?) or would a central one at 2m be needed too? Any ideas where I could find out how to work it out?

Thanks John. Would you concur with Mr Punter above about watering down the first coat too?

Thanks all, that should do it.

My new garage is built from brick and block, and I want to paint the inside blocks. Which paint should I use? And is an undercoat needed?

Thanks. I agree about the potential for overlooking. the land is semi-farmland anyway, as the owner keeps sheep on there. They do rather get a bit anal about "privacy" though, and grow the hedges really high, so I'm expecting a complaint.