Skimming the floor for vinyl flooring question - Does it really take 1-2 weeks to dry?!?!

JenP85

Hello.
i'm moving into a new house with my mum and it needs new hardwood/vinyl flooring due to get needing a wheel chair/Sarah Steady (Mobility equipment). We went to our local flooring shop (Carpet right and an independent carpet place) and i got some weird information which i need clearing up.

Sadly, as we don't get the keys till the 20th we're not sure what is under the carpets i.e Floorboards or concrete.
I was told by the independent carpet person that the floor "Probably needs skimming" due to the age of the house and it could take a few days to dry.

When I went to Carpetright the sales person said the same BUT it could take 1-2 weeks to dry.. They were also extremely pushy on us buying their 'Luxury vinyl planks' range and said the normal Vinyl (That comes on rolls) WILL rip and tear with a wheel chair and a sarah steady use Even the thicker one. I'm not sure if to believe this as the rehab unit she's in at the moment has the 'normal' stuff and they've said doesn't rip or tear even with the heavy hospital beds being rolled around on it.

Is this true that the skim could take a week or two to dry before they put the flooring down?

 Additional: We have asked if we could pop into the new house and look for ourselves but apparently the family that live there (and own the house) don't really want to move and werent even that keen on letting me look around before buying it lol The estate agent said they weren't keen on letting us back in. It took a while to convince them to let the survey in. 

flashg67

A self levelling screed, if it's needed, is only a few mm thick and in my experience doesn't take long to dry in normal temperatures - a day or two? My daughter had plywood laid to even out her floorboards which has worked well. 
I've found our local independent carpet shop much better value and gives better advice & service than the big nationals. To be fair, heavier duty vinyl may be better for a heavy wheelchair

FreeBear

flashg67 said:

A self levelling screed, if it's needed, is only a few mm thick and in my experience doesn't take long to dry in normal temperatures - a day or two? My daughter had plywood laid to even out her floorboards which has worked well. 
I've found our local independent carpet shop much better value and gives better advice & service than the big nationals. To be fair, heavier duty vinyl may be better for a heavy wheelchair

Self Leveling Compound, depending on conditions & thickness will dry fairly quickly (I put some down in my kitchen and it was dry in under 24 hours). But it does take time to harden and reach full strength. 24-48 hours before you should walk on it.

Vinyl is pretty robust and will take all sorts of abuse. Much of it depends on how well it is fitted. If CarpetRight are telling you that their stuff will rip, that says all you need to know about their installation service.

Doozergirl

I think it's fair to say that a hospital will
not have 'normal' vinyl.  Certainly not the stuff the off the roll spongy stuff that Carpet Right will be talking about.  A hospital will have heavy duty flooring.   

Carpet Right are hugely overpriced.  I'd go to an independent flooring shop based on not just the price, but you'll get some sensible advice.   

Without knowing what your sub floor is made of, no one can really advise what the prep is, but they can run through all of your flooring options and the price implications of each.    

ThisIsWeird

Hi Jen.
If the underfloor is concrete, then a levelling/smoothing skim will be needed to make it suitably smooth for glue-down vinyl. As said above, this is usually a thin layer, 2 or 3mm, and should dry within a few days. 
If the floor is wooden boards, this will likely require first ensuring it's fully nailed/screwed down to prevent any movement or creaks, and then a ply or hardboard layer is secured on top to make it suitable for vinyl.
Although I agree that it's best to go to an established and reputable independent - make sure they are - I'm not going to condemn Carpetright out of hand as my understanding is that they are not necessarily 'bad', but that you can usually do better!
I suspect their comment about vinyl 'tearing', for example, is referring to thicker, loose-lay, vinyl sheet - especially 'cushioned' types - that aren't glued down. I would agree that this would not be suitable, as it has some 'give', and can also move under the more focussed pressure of rolling wheels. So, your vinyl choice should be the thinner fully glued-down type. 
And then you have the option of 'click'-together laminate. As far as I know, provided the sub floor is reasonably level - below a certain number of mm variation over a certain distance - then this should be layable straight on with just the use of a suitable underlay - the floor 'floats'. That should be a much quicker job, provided, of course, the subfloor is good enough - which in most cases it should be.
Consider only thicker planks, say 12mm and above.
As with vinyl, if going laminate check the stated 'wear' layer carefully, and it's resistance value, usually given as an 'AC' number. I think that '4' is considered 'commercial', so should be fine?
NB: The above is just a rough outline to try and give the main options - I don't know the full technical details, and I hope I didn't get any of it wrong.

If neighbouring houses are of a similar build, you could consider knocking on their door, introducing yourselves, and asking if they know what type of subfloor they have?

Mutton_Geoff

JenP85 said:

Additional: We have asked if we could pop into the new house and look for ourselves but apparently the family that live there (and own the house) don't really want to move and werent even that keen on letting me look around before buying it lol The estate agent said they weren't keen on letting us back in. It took a while to convince them to let the survey in. 

That would ring the biggest alarm bells for me. So serious, I'd be concerned they were hiding something.

The vendor needs to realise you are their customer, buyers are few and far between and they should be bending over backwards to accommodate you.

For the flooring, stay away from the national chains when buying. Have a look at Polyflor products, very hard wearing, used in car showrooms etc. And get a local independent to quote you.

ThisIsWeird

Mutton_Geoff said:

JenP85 said:

Additional: We have asked if we could pop into the new house and look for ourselves but apparently the family that live there (and own the house) don't really want to move and werent even that keen on letting me look around before buying it lol The estate agent said they weren't keen on letting us back in. It took a while to convince them to let the survey in. 

That would ring the biggest alarm bells for me. So serious, I'd be concerned they were hiding something.

The vendor needs to realise you are their customer, buyers are few and far between and they should be bending over backwards to accommodate you.

For the flooring, stay away from the national chains when buying. Have a look at Polyflor products, very hard wearing, used in car showrooms etc. And get a local independent to quote you.

I suspect they are tenants. Or are being repossessed :-(

BikingBud

ThisIsWeird said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

JenP85 said:

Additional: We have asked if we could pop into the new house and look for ourselves but apparently the family that live there (and own the house) don't really want to move and werent even that keen on letting me look around before buying it lol The estate agent said they weren't keen on letting us back in. It took a while to convince them to let the survey in. 

That would ring the biggest alarm bells for me. So serious, I'd be concerned they were hiding something.

The vendor needs to realise you are their customer, buyers are few and far between and they should be bending over backwards to accommodate you.

For the flooring, stay away from the national chains when buying. Have a look at Polyflor products, very hard wearing, used in car showrooms etc. And get a local independent to quote you.

I suspect they are tenants. Or are being repossessed :-(

You actually quoted that they "own the house"!

I too would be suspicious, the "legitimised" restriction on full viewing that was mandated during lockdown should not still be in effect. If vendors do not want, and maybe even block, potential buyers to undertake due diligence then alarms start ringing.

The only option in that situation is to ensure you do not over expose yourself and you retain sufficient funds, offer lower, to correct any issues that may arise.

It is likely that this leads to a breakdown of the sale but you need to manage that risk from a position of knowledge.

silvercar

We are having a new vinyl floor laid at the moment. They have put a levelling screed down that was dry to walk on within 4 hours, but they said to wait 24 to be sure.

I can still see some darker areas, 3 days later and a couple of small dips have appeared. So I am not surprised that they are waiting longer before laying the new floor

stuart45

The deeper areas take longer. Some of the compounds aren't suitable for a deep fill.