Laminate - possible to fit with raised wooden "divider" in the floor?

dizziblonde

Hopefully this makes sense - if I'm still struggling to explain it I'll try to find the camera and upload a picture.

We're about to buy a house and cream carpets and a black cat are not good for one's sanity. I want to fit the aged-wood type look laminate (as opposed to the generic Ikea-styleee) stuff downstairs. Room was originally two rooms and, like most of the houses down here has been knocked through at some time in the past, unlike some of the houses around here, it's got an archway instead of the whole wall being removed. Under the archway, where the wall would originally have been there's approx a 1cm above the level of the carpet raised stained strip of wood. It's got rounded off edges, and the carpeting currently runs up to this strip and then continues on the other side. I'm assuming that because of gripper rods for the carpet needing to be fitted, the strip is much deeper in reality.

I just wonder if it's going to mean that we're going to have a battle on our hands to fit laminate in downstairs - because of how its curved, I'm not sure we can fit the beading along that section, and until we get in and get carpets up to see how this is fixed into the floor - I don't know if we can remove it (I know it must be possible because we currently rent down the street in a very similar house and don't have this strip along the middle - we've got an identical one going into the bathroom rather than a standard carpet room dividery thing, and I can't see how that's fixed to the floor to get a better idea of what's doable). Am loathe to start taking decent condition carpets up to find it's not in fact do-able - but we really would like the flooring changed if at all possible. Both total DIY novices - hence the very obvious question.

Carpet is liveable - apart from we want to rip out the hideous 1980s throwback brick built in TV/VCR unit in the corner of the room which it's only carpeted up to, but won't go down that road until we know if changing the flooring to laminate is a go-er. I know laminate's an ongoing point of debate - but with a cat who seems to make it her mission to shed the black fur on cream carpets and the white fur on dark coloured bedding - it's about the only option for my sanity after being driven crackers by cream carpets in our current rented place for 2 years!

keystone

The strip will, inevitably, come up and you can lay laminate right through - assuming the substrate is level of course. You won't know until you take it up though.

Cheers

missile

I am struggling to picture this. I guess it is a wooden threshold?

If the floor is the same level both sides the neatest way would be to remove the threshold and lay laminate continuous from one room to the other. Most fitters will want to lay a joint as this is easier.

Most laminates ranges have matching threshold and better quality like Quickstep have a variety of shapes.

This is my floor>

dizziblonde

Yeah I'm guessing it's a threshold. Floor is level both sides - like I say, we currently rent an identical house which has continuous flooring all the way through, have no idea why he's left this divide in place when he's put the same carpet both sides tbh! Just needed to know if it was doable - thanks guys

Missile that's almost the kind of look we're looking for Beats the attractive cream+cathair+hoover combo!

missile

I would suggest you remove and refit the skirtings too. IMHO much neater than using edging stip.

DVardysShadow

:money:Save money. Swap out the cat for one matching the carpets. You know it makes sense.:money:

keystone

DVardysShadow wrote: »

:money:Save money. Swap out the cat for one matching the carpets. You know it makes sense.:money:

or swap the carpet for one that matches the cat?

Cheers