Solid floating floor with insufficient space at edges

BlueSky

Hi,

I'm looking for suggestions please, or names of highly-skilled, experienced carpenters who would be able to fix/partially re-lay a floating solid click-system floor that was laid incorrectly a couple of months ago.

It's about 80 square metres of a floating solid beech click-system floor, of the kind that can be lifted and re-laid if necessary.

The guy who put it down for us didn't follow the product instructions about leaving space (and using spacer gadgets) all around the edges. He assured us at the time that it was unnecessary, and we took his word for it Meanwhile the floor has expanded into/under the gap at the bottom of the plasterboard wall in a couple of places :-( Also at one of the doorways, two planks separated by a couple of mm.

We haven't called the original guy back, as we don't believe he has the ability to fix it.

The floor was laid over a good quality foam underlay with a damp-proof membrane on the under side (as recommended by, and bought from, the manufacturer of the floor). The underlay went over a concrete floor that had been laid at least 18 months previously.

We have a decent amount of spare wood (including several unopened packets) that has been kept indoors ever since at the same temperature as the floor itself. Oh, and a box full of unused spacers :rolleyes:

1. Is there a way to resolve this short of lifting the entire floor and starting again?
2. Could we lift the planks that have moved under the plasterboard? What tool(s) would be suitable?
3. Would a skilled carpenter be willing to do this kind of job? If so, how much would it be likely to cost?
4. If you know someone who has done good work using this kind of flooring system before (and preferably who would have recommendations and might let us see a similar floor he did to assure me that he knows what he's doing), PLEASE feel free to send me a recommendation (either posted or by PM).

All help appreciated!

Thank you,

BlueSky

dahamster

Have you an invoice from him? If so get him back to fix it properly. If he can't or won't take him to the small claims court

Qwerty?

I've fixed this problem before using a Biscuit jointer to remove a strip around the room. It's a little slow, but faster than lifting the whole floor.

BlueSky

Hi,

Thank you both for replying.

Dahamster, nope, no invoice, not even an address. Our tiler knew him (and the tiler was great, which is why we asked him if he could recommend someone) but clearly he hadn't seen work from this guy that involved a floor like ours.

Qwerty? wrote:

I've fixed this problem before using a Biscuit jointer to remove a strip around the room. It's a little slow, but faster than lifting the whole floor.

Qwerty, I read another thread here about a month ago that involved a biscuit jointer, (maybe it was you?!), but I wasn't sure whether it would be suitable for non-laminate. I asked about it in Woodies at the time, but they didn't have them in stock and seemed to have no idea about them really.

• Where could I buy/hire one?
• Is it a DIY job for someone who can drill holes and stuff like that but wouldn't be able to do anything that needed major experience?!

Thank you,

BlueSky

Qwerty?

BlueSky wrote:

• Where could I buy/hire one?
• Is it a DIY job for someone who can drill holes and stuff like that but wouldn't be able to do anything that needed major experience?!

You could buy one in somewhere like B&G, woodies even Lidl/Aldi have had them from time to time I think. I wouldn't be worried about brand name for this job, cheap and cheerful will be fine. If you can manage taking the skirting off, using a hammer and chisel etc, you should be able to manage it. The only places that cause trouble will be at doorways and behind radiator pipes if you have them.

BlueSky

Interim update! B&G don't stock them, and actually neither do most of the usual places based on the phone calls we made. One shop recommended McQuillans on Capel Street, so we tried them. They had two 'professional' ones - both in the 200-300 range - but the blade position wouldn't have been the easiest for our purposes.

When we explained what we were trying to do, the shop assistant reckoned that a jam saw would be easier to use to cut into floorboards that are flush against the wall. They are even more expensive to buy though, so he suggested just hiring one (and not from them btw - they don't hire tools) by the day for a once-off job.

We'll phone tool hire folks this week and see what they say!

Thanks again Qwerty for putting us on the right track

CJhaughey

Buy an Arbortech blade for a "4 grinder and use that, they are basically a chainsaw shaped disc.
Woodworking/or woodcarving shops sell them or if out of luck try arbortech.com.au.

Qwerty?

CJhaughey wrote:

Buy an Arbortech blade for a "4 grinder and use that, they are basically a chainsaw shaped disc.
Woodworking/or woodcarving shops sell them or if out of luck try arbortech.com.au.

Dangerous in the hands of a DIY Newbie...

cormac_byrne

It's not necessarily a problem if the flooring is going under the plasterboard, unless it's hard against the wall or battens etc...

Even then you could be ok if there's expansion room on the opposite side of the room.

Use the power tool option router / saw to cut a channel to make the gap at the doorway wide enough to insert a cork strip or whatever spacer material you're using.

N.B. as already pointed out these tools are dangerous if not handled properly.