running cables under floor, help !

Hi

My brother in law is moving into a older type house and we need to run
some network cables under the floor boards to different rooms. Luckily,
these are real tongue and grove floorboards, not sheets of chipboard. What
is the best, quickest, easy way to cut the tongues of the boards to enable
them to be lifted and then refitted, as my sister wants to retain the floor
boards and not fit carpets.
I know you networking guys will have been there before.

cheers

Dave

And you were born knowing all about ms windows....??



dave Stanton

a strong knife
at a angel to the board that you want to get up \-----/




"Nic O'Demus" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:bjd8ug$i068h$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Rob Morley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) .com...
> > In article <(E-Mail Removed). co.uk>,
> > (E-Mail Removed) says...
> > > My brother in law is moving into a older type house and we need to run
> > > some network cables under the floor boards to different rooms.
Luckily,
> > > these are real tongue and grove floorboards, not sheets of chipboard.
> What
> > > is the best, quickest, easy way to cut the tongues of the boards to
> enable
> > > them to be lifted and then refitted, as my sister wants to retain the
> floor
> > > boards and not fit carpets.
> > >
> > I just run a circular saw along the gap. If you're careful it will be
> > straight, but it can end up wide enough to be a bit too obvious - maybe
> > not a problem if you do it along the edge of the floor, or where it will
> > be mostly covered by a rug or furniture. It's neater than using a
> > chisel, and a lot less work than a hand saw. If it's on the ground
floor
> > you might be able to get under the floor by lifting a few boards in an
> > alcove where it won't be so obvious, and run the cables under the
joists,
> > if it's on the top floor you might prefer running the cables in the
attic
> > and chasing out the walls - it's easier to patch plaster than make good
> > an old wooden floor.
>
> I use a jigsaw rather than circular - kerf is much smaller. If you plan it
> carefully
> you only need to cut the tongue on one board in order to remove it.
> Adjoining
> boards can then be lifted (carefully) using any/all of claw
> hammer/bolster/wrecking
> bar or other suitable tools. Depending on the layout of the floorboards,
it
> is sometimes
> easier to removing skirting where required. If lifting a lot of boards,
mark
> the underside
> so that they go back in the proper order. Beware of underfloor services
> (electric, water etc).
> When relaying try to avoid gaps and subsequent drafts. Where unavoidable,
> tack
> some polythene or dpc underneath where the gap will eventually be.
> HTH
> Good luck
>
> Nic.
>
>
>


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In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:07:36 +0100, dave Stanton
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> >My brother in law is moving into a older type house and we need to run
> >some network cables under the floor boards to different rooms. Luckily,
> >these are real tongue and grove floorboards, not sheets of chipboard. What
> >is the best, quickest, easy way to cut the tongues of the boards to enable
> >them to be lifted and then refitted, as my sister wants to retain the floor
> >boards and not fit carpets.
> >I know you networking guys will have been there before.
>
> Okey, you should be able to lift an area of floor quite easily once
> one board has been taken up. If the property has central heating
> you'll almost certainly find some boards have been taken up and
> refixed to lay pipes for this, and the boards will probably come up
> again quite nicely.
>
> Be VERY VERY careful when using saws, powered or otherwise to cut
> boards. Although cables *should* be layed deep enough to avoid being
> hit they rarely are on rewire jobs and may well be loose layed in
> notches on the top of the joists. Trust me, you do not want to cut a
> mains cable. It hurts.

I've found it generally just goes bang :-)

> Likewise a central heating pipe would spoil
> your day too.

That's why I like a circular saw - set the cut depth to slightly less
than the thickness of the boards and you'd need to be very unlucky to hit
anything, plus it sails over joists and through nails.

> If you're trying to pass cabled through joists, drill the holes as
> small as you can, into the middle third of the joist where possible,
> as this area is under less stress than the top/bottom.

I wish more people would take note of this, but I guess it's too much
hassle to do it properly so they just weaken the structure rather than
using the right tools and techniques.

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.

Dave