How to fit solid wood floors

[misterfish]

Inteersting and each to his own, I guess. I find the pre-finished floors look synthetic !

I quite agree. We spent a while searching and ended up with 120mm wide oak pretreated with one decent coat of matt hardwax oil. Once laid we the gave it a second coat of oil. As you can get the oil with matt, satin or gloss finish we could choose the final finish.

On the subject of the stick foam backing (Elastilon), we have used it and found it to be excellent!

Misterfish

 

[Dave_G]

.... is to hire a door trimmer and adjust the depth to suit then whizz round the skirting and remove the fillet, s...

Okay I've just checked the skirting and they are only 5mm or so off the floor. I don't really want to take them off, so has anyone got any experience of using a door trimmer to cut skirtings in situ?

 

[RogerS]

.... is to hire a door trimmer and adjust the depth to suit then whizz round the skirting and remove the fillet, s...

Okay I've just checked the skirting and they are only 5mm or so off the floor. I don't really want to take them off, so has anyone got any experience of using a door trimmer to cut skirtings in situ?

Yes. Not a lot to it really. To preserve the blade from cutting into the plaster behind I set the depth to leave about 1mm or so. Then I used my Fein Multimaster to finish the cut.

Mind you, if you weren't that fussed about taking back a blunt blade then you could still do the first step with the trimmer...so making sure that most of the work was done with a sharp blade. Then reset the trimmer dept to make the full cut. If you cut into the plaster then you've not got that much work to do with your newly slightly blunted blade.

 

[houtslager]

pre finished flooring saves a LOT OF HASSLE ! I took my last client with me to my flooring suppliers and let her loose

In the end she choose 140mm wide rustic [ with knots and shakes ] finished in a white paste and oil. Sort of LIMED OAK finish.Oh it was "engineered" flooring ie 5mm oak on plywood sub floor. This gives a floor with minimum movement headaches T & G with a smallish V .
Laid in 2 days on top of old original timber floor [ 100 yrs ] Problems - high probability of moisture / damp due to a high water table, over come by laying a 2mm foam felt, then a thick DPM taped at join and 2" up by skirting boards.
5mm green felt board laid on top of DPM then the new boards on top. Glued up, using floor ratchets, tight at one end and after a run of 4M a cautionery expansion gap of 10mm.

Trimed DPM and now waiting on the plinth DOH ! they forgot to deliver it :roll:

Client very happy, now wants a hexagonal hallway laid in same :shock: :?

Hope this helps you decide on your course of actions,

HS