Wooden Board Effect Vinyl Flooring very slightly off straight

Section62

20vt-rs said:

DullGreyGuy said:

If it's off only on one side that would point to the room not being true rather than the vinyl. Would you rather it true to that one wall and off all the others?

I thought that might be it, as houses are never completely true. But it’s all sides, so it’s been fitted a bit off. 

Threads about flooring being a bit out of alignment come up from time to time on this forum... more often about tiling.  In general, after much debate, it tends to appear the person doing the laying has chosen an alignment they thought best - either aligning to something else, or an alignment they felt was the best compromise, for example the one which looks 'straight' when viewed from the most critical point.

My 2p worth is usually the same - if you employ someone to lay flooring and have a specific alignment you want then you need to communicate that to them before they start work.  Otherwise you are leaving it to their professional judgement and discretion.

Altering the alignment probably involves redoing from scratch, so the trader is unlikely to be enthusiastic about doing it.  If you refuse to pay for the job or otherwise get into a legal dispute, you are likely to need to demonstrate that the flooring has been laid so badly that no reasonable professional would do it the same way.  A claim that the trader should have known what you wanted, or that your preferred alignment was the only 'right' way to do it, is unlikely to be successful. (not saying this is what you are saying, but pre-empting where this thread might go)

And if your partner thinks it is Ok as it is, then you've probably already got a good guide to how third parties (e.g. a court) would view the situation.

Section62

20vt-rs said:

Here’s a pic to explain, you can see from the door threshold it runs to the left.

Can you do one showing the whole floor area visible from the doorway - i.e. not zoomed in.  One which gives an overall feel for the room layout and alignment.

victor2

Is it also aligned with the wall opposite the bath? That might be where the fitter started aligning it.

I agree it does look poor when viewed from above at the doorway, and that is the first view people get.

It would require a whole new sheet to "correct" it, but no harm in contacted the company and seeing what their reaction is to your dissatisfaction. The second picture illustrates it better. Can you post a wider view, so we can see the other walls?

20vt-rs

Section62 said:

20vt-rs said:

Here’s a pic to explain, you can see from the door threshold it runs to the left.

Can you do one showing the whole floor area visible from the doorway - i.e. not zoomed in.  One which gives an overall feel for the room layout and alignment.

Here you go, and thanks for the above feedback. I did ask them for boards to run this way, but neither of us spoke about how to align them. It might be ok after a few days and i forget about it ! Maybe the house is a bit wonky too, and this exaggerates things.

victor2

It just looks wrong. You have every right to complain IMO.

Section62

20vt-rs said:

Section62 said:

20vt-rs said:

Here’s a pic to explain, you can see from the door threshold it runs to the left.

Can you do one showing the whole floor area visible from the doorway - i.e. not zoomed in.  One which gives an overall feel for the room layout and alignment.

Here you go, and thanks for the above feedback. I did ask them for boards to run this way, but neither of us spoke about how to align them. It might be ok after a few days and i forget about it ! Maybe the house is a bit wonky too, and this exaggerates things.

Was the fitter the owner of the company/self-employed, or was it just a worker?

I understand where you are coming from, as things being out of alignment bother me too.  However, through experience I've learned and try to remember that the average person doesn't necessarily see things the same way - in fact in this context there's not really an 'average person' as we all view things and thing slightly differently.

The camera position above the floor at the threshold certainly shows a significant angle between the floring alignment and the threshold, but the overall impression isn't so bad.  The 'looking down' view represents what some people might be looking at as they walk into the bathroom, but others (I'd suggest the majority) will be looking up and/or in other directions.  Some people would argue the most important view is what you see while sitting on the toilet.

If the fitting was done by an employee you might be lucky and find the boss is so horrified that a customer is unhappy that they agree to redo the floor at no cost to you.  If so, make sure this time you agree the exact alignment.

But it is probably more realistic to expect pushback from the trader if you ask them to redo the job at their cost... so ultimately it might be a case of how long you think it might take you not to notice the issue, vs going through the hassle of a (potential) legal dispute which you may not win.  Ultimately it comes down to personalities and acceptance... some will say there is no harm in asking for it to be redone, but before you do, consider how you would feel and react if the answer is a rude 'no chance'.

Only you (and you partner) will know the answers to the key questions.

20vt-rs

Section62 said:

20vt-rs said:

Section62 said:

20vt-rs said:

Here’s a pic to explain, you can see from the door threshold it runs to the left.

Can you do one showing the whole floor area visible from the doorway - i.e. not zoomed in.  One which gives an overall feel for the room layout and alignment.

Here you go, and thanks for the above feedback. I did ask them for boards to run this way, but neither of us spoke about how to align them. It might be ok after a few days and i forget about it ! Maybe the house is a bit wonky too, and this exaggerates things.

Was the fitter the owner of the company/self-employed, or was it just a worker?

I understand where you are coming from, as things being out of alignment bother me too.  However, through experience I've learned and try to remember that the average person doesn't necessarily see things the same way - in fact in this context there's not really an 'average person' as we all view things and thing slightly differently.

The camera position above the floor at the threshold certainly shows a significant angle between the floring alignment and the threshold, but the overall impression isn't so bad.  The 'looking down' view represents what some people might be looking at as they walk into the bathroom, but others (I'd suggest the majority) will be looking up and/or in other directions.  Some people would argue the most important view is what you see while sitting on the toilet.

If the fitting was done by an employee you might be lucky and find the boss is so horrified that a customer is unhappy that they agree to redo the floor at no cost to you.  If so, make sure this time you agree the exact alignment.

But it is probably more realistic to expect pushback from the trader if you ask them to redo the job at their cost... so ultimately it might be a case of how long you think it might take you not to notice the issue, vs going through the hassle of a (potential) legal dispute which you may not win.  Ultimately it comes down to personalities and acceptance... some will say there is no harm in asking for it to be redone, but before you do, consider how you would feel and react if the answer is a rude 'no chance'.

Only you (and you partner) will know the answers to the key questions.

It was a worker for a local company (small local business), I have used them before several times and it's always been good. If you're not looking for this, it's all ok but my OCD eye always finds things out of true, something like you say not everyone will see.

You are right about the toilet seat view, this is where you can see it against the door threshold, maybe I am better off looking at the ceiling whilst contemplating life 

I might mention this to them, but not push for anything. Maybe they will agree and do something, but there might well be a good explanation. For example, the alignment against the bath side is better than the other side, so something isn't straight in there anyhow.

I'll have the conversation, certainly don't want to go down a legal route, it's not worth it. But wanted to get some opinions on what this looks like from others in case I'm just being stupid!

Thanks for taking the time to send that detailed reply, really helpful 

grumpy_codger

victor2 said:

It just looks wrong. You have every right to complain IMO.

What exactly looks wrong?!
It looks aligned with the wall on the right side - the most reasonable alignment IMO.
If the room isn't square and the alignment is so important for the OP, they should have chosen some other pattern.

MysteryMe

I think it looks OK TBH, when you enter the room you are going to be slightly going leftwards before shutting the door. I think at the moment it looks worse to you as you have it on your mind but after a while you wont even notice it.

20vt-rs

MysteryMe said:

I think it looks OK TBH, when you enter the room you are going to be slightly going leftwards before shutting the door. I think at the moment it looks worse to you as you have it on your mind but after a while you wont even notice it.

Yeah I think you might be right, need to stop looking!