I am renovating a 1.5-story house into 4 studio apartments (2 on each floor). The house, which is over 100 years old, is in good original condition. But as I've been removing the surface layers, plank floors, etc., the smell of old wood becomes noticeable. To provide a fresh living environment for future tenants, I plan to install FTX ventilation, underfloor heating, etc. For the underfloor heating and impact sound insulation, I want to tear out and insulate the floors properly. I've now opened up the joists on the upper floor and am struck by the "old wood smell." I know this will decrease when the wood shavings are replaced by mineral wool and new flooring panels are installed, but I want to avoid the new apartments having an "old smell." Therefore, I have a couple of considerations, perhaps someone has faced the same dilemma?
1. Would it be wise to paint the ceiling of the upper floor's joists with a blocking primer before installing the mineral wool? Are there better alternatives (I've read about baking soda, ozone generators, etc., but they might provide only a short-term improvement)?
2. The subfloor of the ground floor consists of plank boards that have gaps down to the crawl space in some places. Is there a smart, quick, and simple alternative to protect the new insulation from rodents and other pests? Age-resistant plastic is not an option, I think, since it should be on the warm side. Replacing all the plank boards with panels is quite a big job... I'm considering if I should visually inspect when the joists are open and all wood shavings are removed, repair with hardboard where needed, and finally paint with a blocking primer before the new insulation is installed.
Experiences, thoughts, and ideas are gratefully received.
1. Would it be wise to paint the ceiling of the upper floor's joists with a blocking primer before installing the mineral wool? Are there better alternatives (I've read about baking soda, ozone generators, etc., but they might provide only a short-term improvement)?
2. The subfloor of the ground floor consists of plank boards that have gaps down to the crawl space in some places. Is there a smart, quick, and simple alternative to protect the new insulation from rodents and other pests? Age-resistant plastic is not an option, I think, since it should be on the warm side. Replacing all the plank boards with panels is quite a big job... I'm considering if I should visually inspect when the joists are open and all wood shavings are removed, repair with hardboard where needed, and finally paint with a blocking primer before the new insulation is installed.
Experiences, thoughts, and ideas are gratefully received.
You probably don't need to be afraid of the smell of old wood, because you probably didn't notice it until you started tearing it down. All old sawdust fillings smell a little. The intermediate floor should be filled with stone wool with as high a density as possible, preferably slightly overfilled to reduce footstep noise. Use flooring chipboard + floor gypsum on the upper floor, double gypsum mounted with acoustic profile Ap25 and sealed with acoustic sealant on the underside. Also keep in mind that apartment-separating walls should be fire-rated and go down through the floor to prevent fire spread.
Yes, the smell became noticeable as the old materials were exposed. Therefore, maybe it's overkill with barrier paint.N Nissegandhi said:You probably don't need to be afraid of the smell of old wood, because you probably didn't notice it until you started tearing it down, right? All old sawdust fillings smell a little bit. You should fill the intermediate floor with rock wool with as high a density as possible, preferably a bit over to reduce impact sound. Floor chipboard + floor plaster on the upper floor, double plasterboard mounted with acoustic profile Ap25 and sealed with acoustic sealant on the underside. Also, keep in mind that apartment partition walls should be fire-rated and go down through the beam to prevent
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