Laminate Floor - correct way of finishing

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MandaC

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I am getting quotes for my 3 bedrooms for laminate flooring - its about 42 square yards. Quotes are coming in at around €28- 30 sq. yrd fitted and then extra for the beading. (€16 for laminate and €12 fitting) Its v groove stuff.

I have floorboards there aleady, so it will be a matter of putting the floor down on top. At the doorways where the laminate floor will meet the carpet in the landingand there is already a carpet gold bar there, one guy was talking about putting a sticky bar over the existing gold bar. Would that look right? Same sticky type thingy where laminate will meet tiles in ensuite. Is there any other alternative to these sticky type things. Had one in my last house and thought it looked awful. Guy had said that because the carpet bar is already there, taking it up will leave the carpet unravel. I thought the way to do this would be to take up the existing carpet bar and put a new one down?

Also, whats the correct way of finishing around the radiator pipes. I dont want to take the radiators down, will I be left with lots of that filler stuff.

Sorry for the waffle, but dont have a clue about these things. Want to have a decent finish on the stuff.


Thanks!
 
- if not too much trouble I would recommend taking off skirting rather than using beading. In my opinion it looks better when laminate is fitted under skirting.
- can't see how removing existing bar and replacing with other will cause carpet to unravel. I have gold bars about 20mm wide joining laminate to carpet and they look okay
- for radiator pipes I marked point where pipe would be on board. Then drilled hole larger that size of pipe. The cut segment to edge of board to allow board to fit in place. Then fit board and glue piece after wards. You can get plastic pipe covers that wrap around the pipe to cover gap between board and pipe
- don't know if you are into DIY but with a bit of patience I think it can be done by a novice. 42 sq yards @ 12 == 484 euro for you !
 
Thanks Cybermate, thought the sticky bar thing was a cutting corner exercise. I dont know much about these things, but I know when someone is chancing their arm.

Too much bother to take down the skirting, half the wall will probably come away, though I agree definitely looks way better than the beading.

I reckon this is one of those times where I will pay out the money rather than ask someone I know, and I am not going to be able to attempt it personally.

Put up a curtain pole the other night and it was like the master card ad.

Drill €80
Curtain Pole €40
Stress :unmeasurable
Cost of putting up curtain pole personally - Priceless.

No more of that ta!
 
cybermate said:
- if not too much trouble I would recommend taking off skirting rather than using beading. In my opinion it looks better when laminate is fitted under skirting....
Click to expand...
Agree 100%, but if its not possible, then scotia it is


cybermate said:
...
- can't see how removing existing bar and replacing with other will cause carpet to unravel. I have gold bars about 20mm wide joining laminate to carpet and they look okay...
Click to expand...
Agree 100%.

Agree 100%, but you can also get wooden pipe surrounds to match your flooring in Woodies I think, made either by Colron or the crowd that make radiator covers, wooden beading, banisters, etc. They have a section to themselves at the back of most DIY shops.

Richard Burbidge is the name.
 
The bit I don't understand is why you would pay someone to do it and allow them to get away with beading instead of going under the skirting boards- think you will regret this.
 
Skirting boards are well fixed to the wall (all plasterboard), more worried that chunks of wall will come down with boards if pulled off.

Told the builder to leave the skirtings loose downstairs, so the lads were able to go under them, got solid wood downstairs though.

Bedrooms I was going to get carpeted, so skirtings are fixed fast to (plasterboard) walls. Think I will put up with the scotia option, much as the other way looks way better.
 
Vanilla said:
The bit I don't understand is why you would pay someone to do it and allow them to get away with beading instead of going under the skirting boards- think you will regret this.
Click to expand...

I'd go along with this as well. Special saws are available to trim the bottom skirting/doors etc without the need to remove them. Of course, a fitter who's only interested in getting the job done as quickly as possible and collect his cash is unlikely to invest in one of these.
Leo
 
Whether screws or nails are used it's not too difficult to take off the skirting. Don't be worried about chunks of wall coming off, it won't. Any touch-ups are easily done with a bit of polyfiller and caulk.

Yes, your fitter is really looking for soft money. At €12 a sq yard he should be prepared to do this, it's difficult to get proper finish with beading, particularly around door door frames.
 
Ta for the info. Because I dont know about this type of stuff, I am going completely on what people tell me. I still dont understand the bit about the radiator pipe. If the pipe is out say, 3 inches from the skirting board, how does the floor fit over it without lots of that filler stuff 3 inches deep. Dont want to have them taking down radiators.

Along some of the walls, there is actually a gap between the existing floorboards and the skirtings already, so if there were special saws, it might not be that difficult to trim another bit away from skirtings and get in under them. The fitters who did downstairs for me did that under the door frames (but that was totally different ball game (approx. €100 per yrd stuff) and it looked great.

As the rest of the house is finished to quite a high standard, I would prefer for this to be too. Thanks for putting me straight on it.
 
ninsaga said:
........didn't know that - what's the name of that type of saw Leo?

ninsaga
Click to expand...

It's a flush trimming saw... something like the following

[broken link removed]

Mafell don't make cheap tools, not 100% that that saw is suitable for flush cutting of installed skirting boards but some are...

Some biscuit jointers can also be used.. at least the blades are cheap if they get wrecked... it's not something I have ever done but obviously you'd want to watch out for pipes, electrics and gas.. I reckon it'd be easy to screw up..

Cheers
Joe


Here's another type of one, quite cheap./..
[broken link removed]

Just checked the price of the Mafell one.. from some American site
KFU 1000 E - 230 volt
$1,928.00

He he he, good tools aren't cheap... but if you're a pro they're good, I have some specialist Mafell tools myself for cabinet making, not that one however... I'd happily pay 300 to 500 Euro for a specialist tool or for an extremely well made 'normal' tool, i.e a router etc. Makita are good enough for most things.
 
I just finished laying a floor- I took off most skirting boards except one where I knew cause it was nailed and glued that the board itself would split if I took it off. I used a knife to take strips off the bottom. The finish is uneven but I will put caulk next and get a perfect finish. I prefer this to beading which I think makes the floor look cheap and the finish dreadful.
 
Yep, Joe is spot on. These are beyond the requirements of any DIYer, but for a professional floor-fitter who is prepared to put in the effort to do a quality job, quality tools such as these should pay for themselves in time saved and results.
Leo
 
Next question, is €12 per yrd an acceptable price for professional floor fitter?

any of the quotes I have got are from Carpet shops, and because I said the skirting boards are already up, not one has variated from the beading option. (plus its €5 per length)

Now that you have told me it can be done a certain way, thats the way I am going for it. Also, saw more of those sticky door type things in another shop today, I dont want them at all.
 
I'd say €10/12 is about right for laminate, but a profesional fitter wanting to do a professional job would be prepared to remove and refit skirting for that price.

Not surprised that the shop recommends the beading option, they make more money from you Also, they probably know the fitters anyway and know that they want to make the quick buck.

Only problem for you is that most fitters will probably have plenty of work and can afford to not entertain your request. However, at €16 a sq yard it sounds like you have bought a quality laminate so stick to your guns to get the proper finish to set off the floors
 
Not sure if the economy is hitting the likes of floor fitters as well, think it may well be!

Havent actually bought the laminate yet, but I have just got a brainwave. I have an idea where one of the guys who quoted me the fitting price buys the laminate.

This Balterio (if its any good) retails anything from €21 - €28 per yrd. in carpet shops. Its €16 per sq. yrd in Budget Decor (think thats what its called) Am going to call to the place where I think fitters might be buying to see if its any cheaper there. Will let you know how I get on.


I know some of the Builders Providers are now selling semi-solid oak for €12.99 per yrd and dont know if it would ok quality wise, as its cheaper than the laminate.
 
we have Balterio in dining/sitting room and it does look better than cheap laminate - not as nice as the solid wood we have in the hall but nicer - more textured looking, than the cheap but similar style and colour laminate we have upstairs. We were fine with the cheaper stuff in bedroom though.
 
I would love to put the same wood upstairs that I have downstairs but at €90 sq yrd. fitted, its not an option. The Balterio I have picked out is the same shade as my solid wood, but obviously not half as nice. The balterio looks lovely in the brouchure and I will be happy enough with it in my bedrooms even though I am not really a laminate fan in general. Have to say though, its come on in leaps and bounds from the original laminates of about 7-10 years ago.

Just as an aside two of the people out with samples of the laminate picked up that there was real wood downstairs without being told. One of the others actually asked which laminate range it was that it was very real looking, so he wont be getting the job!

Thanks for all the advices.
 
I put laminate flooring down in my bedrooms. My house is steel frame and taking the skirtings off is not an option -much too hard to replace. I hate the beading trim recommended so decided to install another skirting over the existing. It is 20mm shorter than the original and the end result is a lovely neat finish to the flooring and a more ornate looking skirting. My bedrooms open onto a tiled hallway and I used a metal trim from a tile and carpet supplier that is designed to go over flooring of differing thicknesses. Looks great. I cannot see how taking up the carpet trim will cause the carpet to unravel - lazy installer I think. Good luck with everything.
 
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