badly installed laminate floors

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mir2001

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Hi
I've been looking at buying a house but it reeks of bad DIY. It has laminate flooring throughout but they left a gap of approximately 5-10 cm between the flooring and the wall. Also because of the bad fitting some of the boards are starting to move apart in the middle of the floor too. They have left the (very) old skirting boards in place too. I'm wondering how easy this would be to fix? is it something I could fix myself with a DIY book or would I need a professional and would this be expensive - there are 3/4 rooms with this issue.
Also what kind of price would I be looking at to remove all wallpaper from a 3 bed house?
Any advice gratefully accepted, thanks
 
You can surely remove the wallpaper yourself but please check that the walls are actually plastered undeneath or you'll have a nightmare job on your hands.

Modern click-lock laminate is very easy to lay. No glue or ratchet straps to keep it all tight. A book should see you right. Removing and replacing skirting is easy. You'll need to buy a mitre box to cut 45 degree joints and i'd recommend using "no more nails" as it is less violent and doesn't risk cracking plaster like nails do.
 
mir2001 said:
Hi
I've been looking at buying a house but it reeks of bad DIY.............I'm wondering how easy this would be to fix? is it something I could fix myself with a DIY book or would I need a professional..............Any advice gratefully accepted, thanks
Click to expand...

If you've never attempted this type of DIY work before what makes you think you can do better than the previous owner? I'd rate this type of work as intermediate level DIY; using uni-click flloring instead of glued boards does make the job easier but the skill level required is still the same when it comes to cutting and scribing boards to fit, fitting skirtings etc. It might be an idea to tackle a small straightforward room first before you start ripping the lot out. Stripping wallpaper (from skimmed walls, as opposed to taped and jointed drylining) is a straighforward job with a professional steam stripper.
 
i'd recommend using "no more nails" as it is less violent and doesn't risk cracking plaster like nails do.
Click to expand...

We tried no more nails, but the skirting came off again. The walls were uneven, so this might be why. We ended up using screws instead.
 
Thanks for the advice on the skirting boards - it seems more approachable now.

What I'm trying to figure out here is how possible it is to do this work yourself and also I'm interested in how much it would cost to get somebody else to put it right as I dont have a lot of free time.

To carpenter:
what makes me think i can do better than the previous owner is willingness to finish off a job properly - I have a good idea from looking at the place that they didnt put much effort into the more difficult bits - also the fact that they put a thin wire through a plasterboard by creating a 2 inch hole gives me some clues too.
 
leghorn said:
We tried no more nails, but the skirting came off again. The walls were uneven, so this might be why. We ended up using screws instead.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I used it on walls which weren't straight (they rarely are) and put s few heavy toolboxes up against it as it went off. Skirtings holding firm now some years later.
 
Forgot to mention another concern - in one of the bedrooms the built in wardrobe looks like its coming away from the wall. Anyone any idea how easy it is that to fix that kind of thing?
 
mir2001 said:
Forgot to mention another concern - in one of the bedrooms the built in wardrobe looks like its coming away from the wall. Anyone any idea how easy it is that to fix that kind of thing?
Click to expand...

That would be an easy fix for any half competent DIYer.
Leo
 
Leo said:
That would be an easy fix for any half competent DIYer.
Leo
Click to expand...
Brilliant thanks for that Leo, been looking at houses with a friend of mine and she thought this would be serious.

I have been looking at another house - one thats very very run down and I think has only had one offer in 6 months. The problem is the walls in all the rooms have such a multitude of holes and dents in them that I suspect they need replastering - Does anyone have any idea how much it would be to get three bedrooms (approx 3.3m by 3.3m) and a living room (not sure about this size) and a kitchen (5m x4m) replastered? Thanks
 
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