Solid wood flooring, is it really this difficult?!

[paulrockliffe]

LeadFarmer said:

ClaphamGT3 said:

Catz said:

ClaphamGT3 said:

Flibble said:

I agree with the above about doing it yourself, really not that hard. You don't need a fancy hammer thing either, mine went together with a normal hammer and a block of wood.

This was the first t&g flooring I'd laid, came out alright, the bay window was a chore though.

That is actually giving me a headache looking at it

Why?

It's laid in the wrong direction

I always thought wooden/laminate flooring should be laid across the room when looking at the windows and considering where the light is coming from, not along the room. Am I wrong?

It goes both ways, depending on whether you want to make the room look wider or longer, but it is generally better with the light source running down it than along it.

Was it a funny layout that left you with the floor this way when running through multiple rooms? I did mine by undercutting the door frames (well as it was new I left the right gap when fitting the frames) then I measured from the door frame to the far wall and started with the right width board to leave a full board across the door threshold. I went a few rows into the hallway without fixing the boards, then through another door from the hallway. To do that room I worked back so I ran a load of boards in without fixing them to get the starting point on the far wall, then laid that room to the hallway. Hallway last and with the two rooms effectively aligned that all went in with out any gaps.

If the house was built so the space essentially turned 90 degrees on itself I'd have been tempted to set the rows so they finished with a perfect stagger at the width of the boards where the two floor areas meet. You could then run a floor in at 90 degrees, I think the T&G would let you do that without having to bust out the router table.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

If you think that looks like success, then crack on

[85Carrera]

LeadFarmer said:

Is it called self depreciating?

No

[essayer]

What’s the white stuff

[sandman77]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

What’s happening at the end closest to the camera? Why doesn’t it end at a wall?

[bimsb6]

essayer said:

What’s the white stuff

Emulsion

[Greendubber]

Those blokes have no idea what they're doing.

[bimsb6]

paulrockliffe said:

LeadFarmer said:

ClaphamGT3 said:

Catz said:

ClaphamGT3 said:

Flibble said:

I agree with the above about doing it yourself, really not that hard. You don't need a fancy hammer thing either, mine went together with a normal hammer and a block of wood.

This was the first t&g flooring I'd laid, came out alright, the bay window was a chore though.

That is actually giving me a headache looking at it

Why?

It's laid in the wrong direction

I always thought wooden/laminate flooring should be laid across the room when looking at the windows and considering where the light is coming from, not along the room. Am I wrong?

It goes both ways, depending on whether you want to make the room look wider or longer, but it is generally better with the light source running down it than along it.

Was it a funny layout that left you with the floor this way when running through multiple rooms? I did mine by undercutting the door frames (well as it was new I left the right gap when fitting the frames) then I measured from the door frame to the far wall and started with the right width board to leave a full board across the door threshold. I went a few rows into the hallway without fixing the boards, then through another door from the hallway. To do that room I worked back so I ran a load of boards in without fixing them to get the starting point on the far wall, then laid that room to the hallway. Hallway last and with the two rooms effectively aligned that all went in with out any gaps.

If the house was built so the space essentially turned 90 degrees on itself I'd have been tempted to set the rows so they finished with a perfect stagger at the width of the boards where the two floor areas meet. You could then run a floor in at 90 degrees, I think the T&G would let you do that without having to bust out the router table.

Also the planks are not mixed very well , big dark areas and big light areas .

[guindilias]

sandman77 said:

What’s happening at the end closest to the camera? Why doesn’t it end at a wall?

That's where the bathroom isn't going.

[paulrockliffe]

sandman77 said:

What’s happening at the end closest to the camera? Why doesn’t it end at a wall?

Read the other threads, he's told the Planning Officer that he's leaving it all open-plan and not putting a bathroom or a kitchen in. So that gap is for where the stud wall isn't going to go.

I'm more interested in the expansion gap that's been left?

[paulrockliffe]

bimsb6 said:

Also the planks are not mixed very well , big dark areas and big light areas .

That's true, but giving the benefit of the doubt, once the furniture is in that isn't going to be noticeable. It's a legitimate design choice to select the boards for the visible areas and leave the too fussy/ too dull boards for the other areas.

I think that floor will look great when the room is properly occupied.

[Black_S3]

paulrockliffe said:

Read the other threads, he's told the Planning Officer that he's leaving it all open-plan and not putting a bathroom or a kitchen in. So that gap is for where the stud wall isn't going to go.

Yup, the sockets also change height to where a worktop and oven isn’t going. Probably not worth worrying too much about the issues heavy gym equipment could cause on the floor

[Jediworrier]

What are those guys real jobs, clowns?

[Stev8s]

Not read it all but isn't there going to be a massive step in the doorway

[TorqueDirty]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I have been watching this thread with a mixture of interest, horror and sympathy.

Can I ask why you are point blank refusing to take any of the advice being posted on here? Is it because you want to avoid any unpleasant conversations with your "builders"? I get that this would not be an enjoyable chat BUT you are going to be living with this for years, and these guys will simply bugger off to the next poor sod and ruin their flooring as well.

I'd partially understand if their method was easier and cheaper but with a less ideal end result. At least there would be some positives. But their method is harder, much more expensive and the end result will be horrendous.

I genuinely feel bad about saying the above because this must be quite distressing to witness, but please listen to the folks who know what they are talking about on here. Ripping it all out and starting again will be a nightmare, but nothing compared to what you will end up with if you carry on like this.

Doing this the right way would take 2 days to lay, would look great and would be rock solid.

I have to assume that there are underlying issues that have driven these guys to use battens. Perhaps the floor is too low and the battens are there to raise it?

Anyway, I really hope these guys manage to pull something out of the bag so that the end result is bearable, but I'm struggling to see how this will happen.

Oh and do you have underfloor heating in the concrete floor? If so there is a good chance that they have put holes in the pipes so suggest you pressurise the system NOW to find out.

Not sure what else to say really. I'm actually getting quite stressed just watching this develop!

[Mr_J]

The finished surface looks very uneven - presumably they're going to have to sand it once laid?

[jeff666]

I hope the OP isn't paying them by the hour ?

[Jediworrier]

jeff666 said:

I hope the OP isn't paying them by the hour ?

Omit the last 3 words and I'm with you!

[DBSV8]

Flibble said:

Normally you would either float the floor on underlay like laminate or glue it down to the subfloor. You can also screw or nail it down but that requires a wooden subfloor. What you have seems to be some weird halfway house with the worst of both worlds.

Also 20 mins a board, what are they cutting it with, their teeth?

that's crazy ,who is fitting it Selwyn Froggit ?? obviously not pro's

i fitted solid floor in the hallway with glue all skirting removed and repainted its a floating floor , took two days ,

[21TonyK]

Simpo Two said:

I think what's kackered them is that those boards have T&G at the ends, and from what I can tell they've cut them to fit the batten spacing, which has lost the T&G...

OMFG I think you're right!!