Just pie in the sky at the moment but I am wondering if we can afford to have an oak floor fitted.

Any tips on how to lay it, I could either lift existing boards and lay on the top the joists or straight on top of existing. What's best?? :confused:

What if I had someone in to do it....? Would it cost a fortune?

You can get solid hardwood flooring its designed to be put on top of original floor its about 30mm thick and different widths - 100mm 150mm etc. Its tongue and grooved, a pack comes with a many different lenghts so you can make sure you dont line up any joints. Its expensive and you can expect to NOT use up to 15% per pack (this pointed out in the pack leaflet + from experience) as there can be different colours of wood, Knots and sometimes chips, scratches in the finish.

Dunno if it's any use to you, but me and the Mrs have laid 75 sq m of CHESTNUT flooring at our property in France.

It's laid onto the joists, and secret nailed, using this: Porta-Nailer Portable Flooring Nailer - Screwfix.com, Where the Trade Buys (http://www.screwfix.com/prods/58172/Hand-Tools/Flooring-Tools/Porta-Nailer-Portable-Flooring-Nailer?cm_re=SEARCHPROMO-_-FLOORING%20NAILER-_-58172)

The flooring was bought locally in France, (Haute Vienne/Dordogne border), and cost best part of €2000, which was around £1300 at that time, so just over £17 per sq m.

It came in lengths from 900 down to 200 mm, and is tongued and grooved on FOUR sides, and MUST only be laid one way up.

Boards were all sound, knots were present, but no holes, voids or damage.

Waste was practically zero, a few ends and some boards that were cut to match the wall profile, which, in a 200+ year old property, were not all square:D

The first row of boards were set onto a previously drawn chalk line, screwed through pre-drilled holes, then had plugs made from the end-offcuts glued into the holes and first chiselled, then sanded flat.

Laying it took best part of a week, the Mrs chose boards so that lengths were mixed, no board-ends were in the same place in two adjacent rows, and no small pieces were placed so as to only have t&g support, they all crossed joists;)

I then tapped them into place, and secret nailed through the tongue.

We finished it by hiring a floor sander, then LIGHTLY staining it and two coats of a special flooring stuff sold over there that looks like a waxed finish, but allows the wood to breathe.

We've since had a blockage in the drainage around one of the Velux windows, which caused quite abad leak, and the water just stood on top of the floor:luxhello:

Hardest part was lugging the bundles of boards up from below onto the platform we'd created to work from, then splitting bundles to use a mixture.

Alcazar

So if I allow say £20.00 per sq m for materials, how much should I allow for fitting if I cannot not to do it myself?

Thanks so far...

Dan.

I just laid an Oak floor on top of the exsisting T&G floor. I used a 3mm foam that has adhesive on one side which has a peel off paper covering it. It comes in rolls 1m wide X 10m long.

How you do it.

Lay the foam in strips over the floor in line with the T&G.
Lay a row of Oak boards at 90 degrees to the T&G.
Then what you have to do is pull the peel off paper back as you press the board down on to the adhesive. You only pull the peel off covering about half the width of the board, which is enough to hold it in place, then lay another row of boards and do the same again. It took me about 6 hrs to lay on my own and cost about £1000 for 20 sq m room. The boards were about £45 sq m + foam £40 roll.

B & Q sell loads of different Oak Flooring and the adhesive foam, they also have a DVD, cost about £1, showing exactly how to do this and the secret nail method as well.

So if I allow say £20.00 per sq m for materials, how much should I allow for fitting if I cannot not to do it myself?

Thanks so far...

Dan.

Labour for fitting could be from £15+ a sqr mtr

Thanks all...

:thumb:

Solid oak 90mm x 18mm sanded and finished in natural oil NOW IN STOCK RESERVE YOUR ORDER BEFORE IT GOES! (http://www.carpentersofyork.com/cgi-bin/carpo.cgi?Command=ShowFloorProduct&db_fpid=2610)

We've just had ours re fitted last saturday 28th June, and all look oak soa far, but this is how we were two months ago with SOLID Oiled OAK Flooring..

FROM MY POST in APRIL

a nightmare week of having wooden floors fitted


Monday 31st.
The first day of fitting OAK solid floors.
a bit a screeding done and floors get laid :)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/salsachatta/westdale/March051.jpg

then they ran out of stuff and had to fetch more for the next day..... should be done for dinner!!


Tuesday 1st
carries on fitting floor, all looks good. they ran short of some wood.... so will be back Wednesday (today) to finish off...2hrs max.
as they leave i notice a a high spot on the boards. He said this will go down when the skirting's fitted!!!!!
They leave about 1pm.
After 30mins i start looking at the rest of the HALL floor, dad does too and we notice as someone walks over the boards it acts like a wave effect (up & down)
I ring the shop, told them my issue and the manager came out.
he looked at the floor said yep its not 100% and if I wanted it taking up they would re do it. But also said he it would go down with time once we move in and get heating on.
OK.... i said we'll see how it goes (not totally happy though). I said i wouldn't tell Jo (my wife)
Jo walks in through the door, stands on the floors and guess what she said... 'whys this floor like a spring board, look its all like it!!'

Then I told her what had gone off that afternoon. She hit the roof!!!
Said not happy with a floor that's like that.

Wednesday 2nd
Fitters turn up and i tell them not happy with the floor and want it taking up. after a discussion with the manager he said no problem.
floor comes up.. spirit level goes back on the floor.... yep.. floor runs out big time, that's why the boards were springing.
2pm a second fitting team come out and screed all the floor...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/salsachatta/westdale/April001.jpg

so they will be back Friday to re fit.


Jo comes in from work at 4:50pm to see how the floors come on... sees whats been done and not been done.... walks on part of the floor in the dining room and that also had a wave/spring in it. she rings the manager and he said he'll come look Friday. Fine.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/salsachatta/westdale/April002.jpg
15mins later the more we look at it and put spirit level over it, it's plain to see that there's an issue in this room too.
Jo's now rang manager again... left answer phone message (as out of hours) saying not happy with the floor and should it come up too and be re screed ed?


no wwe're waitig to see what they say tomorrow.


Long and short of it..
we were told screeding would need doing.
Fitter comes and does next to no screeding.
Fitter says he's not the one who does big screeding jobs!!!

or put it another way, bad pre is costing money and time for someone.


dead line date is Monady as we have carpets being fitted t the rest of the house!!


can you tell how annoyed i am!!!!!!!!!!!!


THE FOLLOW ON FROM THAT WAS THIS........

it's down.. he finished about 7pm!! poor lad was working so hard all day. But it now looks fantasic. No bounce. No spring. Its down very well. :)

hall way
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/salsachatta/westdale/April034.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/salsachatta/westdale/April036.jpg


he'll be back first thing in the morning to fit the door bars. :)



over the moon now... Jo's also V Happy.

8 weeks on, the managers been out this week as we're not happy with how the floor has expanded!!! its up by about 2" from floor level on one part, can'r open/close dining room door as its rubbing bad.
manager says.. not a problem we'll take a few planks up and release the pressure then re fit.

:(

trouble is all the skirting are now on and painted, hope they don't get damaged.

Thank you. Some good advice there. How much did it cost to have that done?

two room, about 27sqm just under £2k fitted.
today its fine, still ok. keeping fingers crossed, it does look good and doesn't have that cheap laminate sound when you walk over it, also not worried if someone drops something on it.