Removal of floor ducting system. How to patch timber floor.

[jmn]

89279Hi all

Just want to know the best way I can patch the hole which will be left once I remove the vents from the floor. The whole house has the vents in each room. The floor is Tas Oak. The 3 bedrooms will be carpeted.

I have added a photo of floor and vent

[chrisp]

You might need to define "best".

They'll be many ways, and it'll depend upon whether the ducts are along or across the floorboards and how many have been cut into. Also, what is the access like to the underfloor?

[Bloss]

If you can get access underneath just fix any old bit of timber to cover the hole (screws of the correct length are best) then measure carefully and fill the gap with some Tassie Oak if you want to be a purist - or anything of the same thickness really since it will have underlay and carpet on it. If you cant get access you just use shorter pieces fixed at each end by pre-drilling and sticking your hand under to fix in place, then same process as described. Doesn't matter which way boards are running since you just want the hole closed not a matching patch. Take care to pre-drill - to make it easy to place the backing board underneath and double check screw length - you don't want them coming through from underneath - if the patch board is 19mm and the flooring is 18-19mm (after sanding) then a few 32-35mm screws will do the job.

[jmn]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Yes I can get access under the house. Thanks for the info Bloss. I did think you could do it that way. I thought I could use any timber for the carpeted rooms and then I will get Tas Oak for the rooms without carpet. Thanks

[Farmer Geoff]

We had the same problem with a polished tallowwood floor. I tacked two guide timbers down so they were parallel and used them as fences to run saw along on the hole side of the nail line (ie leave nails in the boards that will remain). Set the saw to just graze the joist. Then cut some joist type timber to use as splints to attach to hole edge of existing joists and long enough to extend a couple of board widths beyond the hole in each direction, clamp up tight to underside of those existing boards then pre drill and screw to the edges of the existing joists. Cut any exposed tongue off the existing board then get some near to matching boards as possible and make the piece to fit the hole then pre drill and nail to your splint joists. Even though you plan to carpet the floor, you have such attractive boards that one day you or a subsequent owner may want to lift the carpet and polish the floor so your care with this repair will be appreciated. If you can't find T&G matching timber then cutting some wider ones down to size and butting them together and glueing a piece of scrap underneath them before you nail them in will give you a near enough result. We did our job from above - no need to get under the floor and no need to put any nails or screws into the old remaining boards - we never notice where the hole used to be. Good luck.