Laying LVT (or laminate I guess)

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Never done it, but bought a load of LVT and planning on doing the whole of downstairs. The carpet is about 15 years old, and as the pups are now pretty much trouble free I think it's time to replace. A waterproof hard floor has an appeal just in case, and the price was right so......

But as I've never done it, and don't like rushing into things unplanned, I thought I'd ask here in case anyone had any top tips. I know the subfloor will need to be pretty much perfect, so the living room needs a lot of attention as boards can be seen through the carpet where they are warped. I'm hoping I can ply over the top but aware I may need to replace the boards themselves. The kitchen seems pretty good, and just has a concrete floor, so hoping that will be less trouble.

Underlay is an interesting one, as most seems designed for underfloor heating systems. I want to keep heat in, not let it pass through, so guess I need to choose wisely here. I'm guessing the thinner the better for LVT, but any hints appreciated.

Last obvious issue, height differences. There is a step down between the living room and kitchen of about 25mm, this has potential to increase if ply is used in the living room. What the hell do you edge it with?

All in all it looks to be a huge job, which will cost enough to negate the savings on the LVT :roll:
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Underlay helps deal with floor imperfections a bit, and if the floor is concrete (sounds like yours isn’t?) it takes the edge off when stepping on jt, and a layer between your floor and that massive thermal mass that can be mighty cold at times

You may find a Contour Gauge handy as you can get the edge shape from it and then use it to template the cut on the perimeter pieces, assuming there’s no space below the skirt to tuck them in.

Oh and get beading along the skirt, otherwise there’s always a gap that shows up and it takes away from the finish. This also means you don’t need to be as accurate with your edge cuts

Disclaimer: I write code not lay floors, I get our office maintenance guy to do that stuff

Our mutual friend can probably help out with this (and probably laugh at my suggestion of a contour gauge, he may also just say I’m full of shit so who knows)
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Underlay helps deal with floor imperfections a bit, and if the floor is concrete (sounds like yours isn’t?) it takes the edge off when stepping on jt, and a layer between your floor and that massive thermal mass that can be mighty cold at times

You may find a Contour Gauge handy as you can get the edge shape from it and then use it to template the cut on the perimeter pieces, assuming there’s no space below the skirt to tuck them in.

Oh and get beading along the skirt, otherwise there’s always a gap that shows up and it takes away from the finish. This also means you don’t need to be as accurate with your edge cuts

Disclaimer: I write code not lay floors, I get our office maintenance guy to do that stuff

Our mutual friend can probably help out with this (and probably laugh at my suggestion of a contour gauge, he may also just say I’m full of shit so who knows)
I also do code not floors, and I have a contour gauge ready ;)

Its a job for in a few weeks, we don't even know whats under the living room carpet. there is definitely floorboards, as they're warping, but no cellar so wonder whats under them? Extension is concrete.

Finally got a call about insulating the extension roof, so will get that work done then sort floors as I may be replacing a door too.
 
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tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
OH is away with the dogs so finally got the carpet up (and ripped it lots so now it has to be fixed!). The floor is mostly wooden boards, some more recent P5 chipboard and concrete where the old fireplace was AND IN EVERY GAP! It looks like the last persons way to make a flat floor was to brush concrete, maybe self levelling, into anywhere the wood wasn't fitting. The plans to rip it up and re-lay new boards from scratch are now looking unlikely.

So I guess I'm boarding over the top, too tired to think about it right now.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Interested to see what you do with the 25mm drop, we have similar between the kitchen & lounge, and it really needs attention, but I have no idea what to do with it...
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Used to be a fireplace:
k4TDi7m.jpg


Used to be a wall:
tr1pnqY.jpg


Boards aren't as bad as expected TBH, debating a planer and a sander on the concrete:
t2L2Lqu.jpg
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Ahhhhh! I didn't know that type of thing existed! Thanks.
It seems as many people move from carpets to harder floors the joiny bits are often an issue, there are quite a few variations depending on the gap distance on height. Annoyingly most are 3ft in length though, and I need more like 5ft.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
So I did some measurements, there is a 3cm difference between the highest and lowest section of floor, and that highest point is between rooms. No amount of boarding will fix that :(
 

kilmaccumsey

Well-Known Forumite
We were going to do what you are planning. But decided to get it done professionally. Glad we did took 3 whole days to do, we are very happy with the result
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
We were going to do what you are planning. But decided to get it done professionally. Glad we did took 3 whole days to do, we are very happy with the result
Did they need to level the floor to do it? I'm really scratching my head at this one, how to level wood boards that form a high point towards the middle of the room made of concrete (that contains a gas pipe). I could try to raise the rest of the floor to meet it, but then I have a much bigger step. The boards go into joists, but there is concrete between them all. Maybe if I measure the height of the joists rather than use the boards I'll have a better idea.
 

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
I'd like to help you out on this one as over the years I've laid laminate flooring throughout my bungalow. But looking at that I'd be as baffled as you are ... My floors were all dead level and any little ridges (and they were little) was taken up by the underlay. I completely cheated with the expansion gap around the edges, I just ripped out all the skirting boards (had to do a bit of filling in the nail holes) and replaced them with new afterwards which covered the gaps, and I screwed them to the wall so now they can be easily removed.
@sandonia may well be the best advice. Either get a pro or seek advice from one. It is important the laminate is flat or you will get problems.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
I clicked on this, now all i'm getting when I go on Amazon are suggestions for home improvements!
I'd love to empty the house of everything and strip the walls back to brick and start all over again. But I can't.
Looking at it, I think our drop is slightly higher than that, not sure it'll work :(
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I'd like to help you out on this one as over the years I've laid laminate flooring throughout my bungalow. But looking at that I'd be as baffled as you are ... My floors were all dead level and any little ridges (and they were little) was taken up by the underlay. I completely cheated with the expansion gap around the edges, I just ripped out all the skirting boards (had to do a bit of filling in the nail holes) and replaced them with new afterwards which covered the gaps, and I screwed them to the wall so now they can be easily removed.
@sandonia may well be the best advice. Either get a pro or seek advice from one. It is important the laminate is flat or you will get problems.

It's a tough one, advice has varied between rip it all up and start again to get an industrial sander on the lumps and drop self levelling latex on the dips!
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
How high is it?
It's about 1inch, but the higher level is wood somehow attached to concrete that has horrible tiles that have pulled away, and the lower part is laminate. I just want to cover it over somehow.

Carer thinks the Amazon bar will fit! D'oh!
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Hit the gas pipe with the SDS, was mm below the surface. Called a plumber, told it's not exactly legal to use plastic hosing under your living room!
 

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Hit the gas pipe with the SDS, was mm below the surface. Called a plumber, told it's not exactly legal to use plastic hosing under your living room!

I don’t believe it’s legal to use plastic hosing for gas full stop…
 
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