Fitting engineered wooden floor - do I need an underlay/membrane or just glue?

La_La_3

Hi

I've had 2 quotes to fit my engineered wooden floor (I bought it online myself).

I'd like some advice as each joiners would fit the floor differently.

It's click flooring, 189mm wide and 280mm-ish long and the area is 26 sq m.

1st quote - £350. He said I'd need a combined membrane & underlay (for waterproofing & insulation). Either I could buy it online or he'd buy it for me & add it to the quote. No glue required.

2nd quote - £250. He said no need for underlay /membrane - just glue the wood to the floor because the cement floor is cold and the room is warm so the wood will warp if you don't glue it down. He has 25 years joinery experience (and I have none!!) but I still feel dubious - surely I'd need a membrane/underlay?

Some good advice would be appreciated.

La_La_3

Hi Andrew,

thanks very much that's really helped. It's a lovely floor - the last thing I want to do is ruin it with damp for the sake of saving £100.

I've got another joiner coming to give a 3rd quote but I've decided against quote 2 now.

Yes, actually just read the post you mentioned - looks like a good deal and I'll check ebay too.

hotcookie101

Thats a good quote (the first one) I think, I've been quoted £1600 to lay 38m2 :eek: (well initial quote was to do 25m2 +fit kitchen for 1680, 2nd quote was do 38 (3 rooms) +fit kitchen 2780, or floor only 1600! Which made the 15m2 living room £1100!! :eek:

That underlay seems like a good deal, I was considering this one from ukflooringdirect where I am going to get floor [EMAIL="from-@175+vat"]from-@175+vat[/EMAIL], but that seems like much better deal-does anyone know if they are directly comparable?

Thanks

La_La_3

That sounds like an awful lot just for fitting. I went on Yell.com and called some local joiners, it was pot luck really.

Not too sure about underlays. (Personally I'll be looking for a good tog - I live in a stone house on a hill, so 'toggage' will be important in winter!)

You might know already but you can get 6% cashback on UK Flooring Direct through topcashback.com

hotcookie101

Yeah, we were really happy with the initial quote (£1680 incl fitting kitchen) and incredibly shocked when he came back with the second (was originally supposed to quote for all the work, but misunderstanding lead to second quote)
We are getting a couple more quotes though :ROTFL:
Have sussed out the topcashback too-thanks though-sometimes I do forget. Just want to order it now, but really need a date for starting first-so that means choosing a kitchen!

La_La_3

Sounds exciting! Getting a new kitchen has to be of the most best parts of doing up a house.

Good luck with the quotes!

mvteng

We paid £15 per sq.m a couple of years ago for engineered floor, so quote 1 looks in the right ball park.

Ours was Kahrs & was a lot harder for him to fit than he'd expected (certainly much more difficult than laminate).

As above, membrane / underlay was used & no glue whatsoever.

http://62.20.5.242/en-GB/Products/~/media/Kahrs/Documents/UK/Kahrs_Installation_Woodloc5S_Floating_GB.ashx

This is a link to the Kahrs installation guide, which is pretty good

La_La_3

Hm, I'd be scared of making a pig's ear of it if I did it myself. Not bothered about clicking the stuff together but sawing / joining round corners & architraves...

I'll put the underlay down though, if that saves a couple of quid!

Ionkontrol

The glue mentioned in the second quote would be something like Sika or Bona. These are glues that allow the natural movement of wood over time.

The pro's would say glue it down on top of a liquid DPM.