Had a new wooden floor fitted, not happy

mae

Hi we had to have a new wooden floor fitted as ours was damaged accidentally so the insurance have paid for a new one. We chose exactly the same floor. Our original floor had beading round the edges except around the fireplace hearth where the fitter did a very neat job of cutting it as near as possible without needing beading and it looked great. However this time we asked seen as we were having to have a new floor fitted could they take the skirting off and so beading wasn't needed and we thought it would be a nicer finish, they said yes.
The fitter came and he did this but then proceeded to tell me I had to have either some of the wooden door plate stuff (sorry don't know the technical name) around the fireplace or beading? I said we didn't need it round the fire on the original floor but he said we had to, which I felt defeated the object of asking for a nicer finish when the main feature was going to have it round and it didn't on the original? I told him how unhappy I was with this but he would not budge, then my OH phoned him and told him the same that we were not happy with that finish, he eventually agreed to my husband that he would get the wood as near as he could and use mastik (sp). We didn't didn't have mastick the first time but we were happy to compromise.

Anyway the upshot is he finished it and it looks awful round the fireplace. He has cut a section to about 10mm and filled it, then the rest of the length is cut right up to hearth and he has cut one small section out of the front in error and filled it with mastik and at the other side of the hearth he hasn't even bothered to fill it with mastik?!
Last moan is the skirting boards where he put the back on they look a mess but when my OH mentioned this to him he said oh thats for a decorator to sort out? Does this sound right?

So after all that waffle my question is have we got a right to complain? Or can he just say well I did tell you that you had to have beading round the hearth? I just wanted my floor exactly the same as before but with the improvement of NO beading.

Thanks

wallbash

insurance have paid for a new one

If you are not happy ( after speaking to the fitter) get on to them.

Debt_Free_Chick

I fear you could have a fight on your hands with the insurer. The insurance would pay out for a straight like-for-like replacement of what you previously had. But you've added to the job by asking for the skirting boards to be removed and replaced - hence, the finishing of the skirting is not covered by insurance and will be at your own cost.

However, the finish around the hearth should be part of the insurance claim so call the insurers and explain. They should ensure the job is done satisfactorily.

mae

Thanks I agree about the skirting boards although I do think its shoddy of them I changed it so don't really have a come back although they were paid indirectly as instead of ordering the wood beading they said they would charge it to the insurance but do the skirting boards instead, hope that makes sense.

We are going to ring the carpet shop today and tell them we are not happy, if no joy we will have to get onto the insurance.

Thanks

phill99

I run a Maintenance Company and do a lot of insurance work. Its often a bizarre situation woith insurers but the upshot is this: if the insurers paid the floor fitters directly then the contract exists between the insurance company and the fitter. You therefore must contact the insurance company as they have the liabilty and need to rectify it. However, if the insurance company paid you a sum of money from which you paid the fitter, the the contract exists between you and the fitter and therefore you have the normal redress as if you had gone into any flooring shop and contracted them ie, Trading Standards, Small Claims etc.

Flyfisher_2

Is your flooring solid or laminated wood ?
Floating(fitted with no fixing to sub floor) or fixed(screwed,nailed or glued to a sub floor or flooring joists)
Laminate will require a gap for expansion usually 8-10mm around the edges.

mae

Thanks for all your replies

Phill the insurance are paying the floor company direct so if I don't get any joy when I speak to him tomorrow then I will contact the insurance.

Flyfisher not sure what laminated wood is? I'll find out exactly what is off my OH later. But the floor is not floating it has been glued to the ashphalt (sp) floor. There does need to be a expansion gap but there is one all around I just wanted there not to be one around the fire hearth for cosmetic reasons and because that is what the last fitters of the origianal floor did and did a beautiful job with no problems.

Thanks again

poppet

Quick reply - please excuse typos

"no beading" is not an improvment im afraid.

Industry guidlines state that an expansion gap of 10-12mm should be left around all edges. Including your fire hearth.
Sounds like your original fitter did a poor job and the new guy has adviced you correctly.
Unfortunaly becasue you didnt go with his advice and insisted on no beading or trim and to use mastik instead, the cost of putting this right and having a fireplace trim or beading supplied now, will be down to you and not the new fitter.

Skirting boards should be part of the quote, in order to replace a wood floor you need to take the old skirting off and replace with new (using the skirting to hide the gap) BUT a flooring contractor will not decorate the new skirtings for you. He will supply and fit them and then you will need to sand and decorate them.
If the insurance company arranged this fitter on your behalf and you didint get to see any quotes, then you should expect the insurance company to supply a decorator. if YOu arranged the quotes and just asked the insurance company to forward a chq to you, then you need to get a decorator yourself.
hope that helps

chaddythebear

I'm a joiner and have fitted loads of floors, all types eg laminate, solid wood, engineered wood.

I would never fit beading, it is very diy, its very easy to pop of skirting boards, mark them where they go and refit them, minimum thickness of a skirting board is 12mm so you can always get a 10mm gap around the floor.

As for round a hearth, i have always fitted it as the first fitters had, cut it right close to the hearth, far superior job and the customer will love you for it.

As long as the floor has been left in the house with the central heating on for a minimum of 3 days there really should be not much movement.

mae

chaddythebear wrote: »

I'm a joiner and have fitted loads of floors, all types eg laminate, solid wood, engineered wood.

I would never fit beading, it is very diy, its very easy to pop of skirting boards, mark them where they go and refit them, minimum thickness of a skirting board is 12mm so you can always get a 10mm gap around the floor.

As for round a hearth, i have always fitted it as the first fitters had, cut it right close to the hearth, far superior job and the customer will love you for it.

As long as the floor has been left in the house with the central heating on for a minimum of 3 days there really should be not much movement.

Thanks for this, I started to think it was me. The original fitters did do a far superior job to this one and the very least we should get is the same standard in my opinion.
We are waiting for someone to come out and inspect the work so will see what happens from there.

Thanks

mikey72

chaddythebear wrote: »

I'm a joiner and have fitted loads of floors, all types eg laminate, solid wood, engineered wood.

I would never fit beading, it is very diy, its very easy to pop of skirting boards, mark them where they go and refit them, minimum thickness of a skirting board is 12mm so you can always get a 10mm gap around the floor.

As for round a hearth, i have always fitted it as the first fitters had, cut it right close to the hearth, far superior job and the customer will love you for it.

As long as the floor has been left in the house with the central heating on for a minimum of 3 days there really should be not much movement.

What do you do when they are nailed into the door frames, or the plasterer has skimmed over the tops of them, or the clout nails rip half the plaster off the wall? I've had all three, and given up when the central heating pipes are clipped to them.
Is there an easy trick to get them off, without too much brute force?