Trapdoor in 2 layers of floorboards

Hi there, these would be my ideas ... maybe some help?

- Try a good studd finder, they may go through two layers of boards to see the joists.
- If you have spare boards then you could drill a tiny hole to start with (about where you would like the centre) then if that doesn't hit a joist open it up a bit so you can get a jigsaw in there. Then start to cut outward in each direction until the hole is large enough or you come to joists.
- Interms of cutting it once you have determined wher the joists are ... you could mark the outline of the hole then use a circular saw (i'd set the depth shallow just in case you missed a joist) then you could go around the edge with a router to clean it up ... you could even rebate it to make a nice draft proof seal on the new trapdoor.
- If possible chose a location that is out of the way ... like in a wardrobe, under a bed or a rug?

Thanks for replies so far, all very helpful, looks like I'll need a circular saw and quite a bit of patience (do they sell that at Bunnies?).

Ashore - not a bad idea, I could go in under the stairs, I'll have a think about it,

OBob / Bleeding Thumb - thanks for the detailed responses.

Please feel free to keep adding more ideas

Do any of the other rooms have the original floor exposed. If so you could work oout eth joist spacing from them and hopefully (fingers crossed) the other rooms are the same. But I would go in under teh stairs or wardrobe if that is an option.

Originally Posted by thejazzlord

.......and quite a bit of patience (do they sell that at Bunnies?).
.........

No, they don't sell it, but you may learn some waiting for........

cheers
Wendy
_____________
Disclaimer: This may only be true some of the time, for some of the stores, for some of the employees and for some of the people who shop there.

In regard to my questions above, I can't actually see any nails at all in the top layer of boards, would it be possible that they glued on the new floorboards to the lower ones? or maybe just used really small tacks?

Regards

Mark

The top floor could be a floating floor (what do the unused board look like are they solid timber or some sort of manufactured board). Otherwise the top boards may be secret nailed ie nailed through the toung of the board, nails are then hidden by the susequent boards.

If you can see any part of the original flooring, under carpet, or at a ducted heating vent and determin which way the boards run it will be safe to assume that the room your intending to work in will run the same way.

Once you have the board direction, obviously the joists will run in the opposite direction, so, once you have figured out the joist direction simply measure about 440mm off the skirting board, and that should be your first joist, and then measure at 450mm intervals across the room and that might see you with cutting marks above the joists. If the room is either 1800mm,2250mm, 2700mm, 3150mm, 3600mm and so on you should be right, as all those sizes are divisible by 450mm which is the standard joist spacing.

However, if your room is an odd size you will have to perform the same action, but this time starting from the opposite wall.
The reason, in the case of an odd sized room, I'm suggesting you make those measurements from both ends of the room is because we have no way of determining which wall the original builders started to lay the joists from.

Once you have a fair idea where the joists should lie I suggest the you drill some thin pilot holes in unobtrusive places, like where furniture usually hangs out, or a rug or mat lies to see if you hit the joists.
You will know if the drill bit either hits or misses the mark.

Once you have successfully located the joists the rest of the project should be just the normal, standard Aussie renovation nightmare.

Gotta love the building game.
Good luck.

Dusty.

Dusty / Julianx, thanks for the advice - very sensible, I suspect I have enought to go on from now. I'll do some measuring, drilling and sawing and I suspect I'll get there somehow, minus a few fingers, pride and various expletives. Still baffled as to why someone would completly seal a room in an area known for damp, maybe I'll find a few bodies down there.

The upper layer of boards are some sort of manufactured board, not solid, I suspect they use some sort of hidden nails in the tongue to locate them on the layer of boards below - hence they have no relationship to the joists at all. The boards actually compress and you can here a sort of 'crushing' noise when you apply pressure around a small area (like through your heel), so I suspect they were quite cheap.

One day, the whole lot is coming up!