Unhappy with my oak flooring fitter

[sxtrail]

Hi there

I was hoping to get some professional advice and reassuarance.

We've just had a solid oak floor (brushed and oiled) fitted in our lounge. The lounge has a concrete base and the fitter has glued the flooring directly to the concrete. I'm unsure of the type of glue but it was in a large metal tub, quite thick, beige in colour and was spread across the floor with a straight edged float.

So my first concern is moisture... Will this glue protect the floor from small amounts of moisture in the concrete?

My second concern is movemnet... Will there be enough flex in the glue to allow for movement in the wood over a long period of time?

My third concern is dips in the concrete. The concrete was fairly flat but there was some slight dips where the flooring may not have made proper contact with the glue. Will this cause problems?

Finally, I'm rather annoyed at the wood glue residue that has been left on the joints. The fitter had used some wood glue on some of the joints and done a poor job of wiping away the access. This has left shiny patches where a very thin coat of glue remains. What is the best way to remove the residue as it will cause problems when I come to oil the oak.

Any advice and thoughts would be much appreciated

 

[WoodYouLike]

Glueing down a wooden floor to a concrete underfloor should be done with a notched trowel, not sure if that's been the case here.

Light sanding before you oil the floor (it is an unfinished floor, not, or are you talking about applying a maintenance product?) should remove the spilled adhesive, as long as it wasn't a silicon based adhesive.

 

[sxtrail]

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply. The glue was applied with a straight edged float, not a notched one. It was defnitely applied with a smooth finish. What affect would this have?

Is the glue likely to be removable with hot water and a bit of elbow grease?

The fitter hasn't even checked in the walls are parallel and so the flooring runs out at the most important area of the room

Should I be concerned about moisture from the concrete floor?

Many thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

The effect of not using a notched trowel is that there is a risk that the floor doesn't bond completely (over its whole length and width) with the adhesive.
You can compare it with tiling

If you haven't had moist problems before on the concrete floor then, besides any unexpected leaks, you should be al right.

Hope you haven't settled the bill with the fitter yet?

 

[sxtrail]

I haven't settled any bill yet. I know for a a fact that parts of the floor haven't bonded with the adhesive because of very slight dips in the floor where no more adhesive was applied and so the wood hovered above the adhesive. I questioned it but he said the wood would settle into the dip. I'm not convinced and even if it did the glue will have long gone off.

What would you advise? I'm annoyed as I've been working on the house for months amd tackled many jobs myself. I had the floor fitted by a so called professional but I'm confident I could have done a much better job.

Many thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

Adhesive is adhesive, not a filler. You can't use more adhesive to fill a dip in the concrete - it spreads out! A floor does settle, but not into the adhesive! It settles to your normal house climate. And it isn't carpet, wood is rigid and doesn't settle into dips - whatever gave him that idea?

If you are not happy with the result call him back and have him correct things. Don't let him insert expanding foam into dips, worse thing he could do.
In the ultimate event the whole floor should be lifted up, any major dips filled first and the floor installed again - with a notched trowel if you want to glue it down again or installed floating on a combi-underlayment.

 

[sxtrail]

Thanks again for your advise. Can the flooring really be lifted back up after being glued down? Isn't there a risk of permanently damaging the wood?

He said that because it is natural wood with would bend to shape into the dips

The adhesive was not only spread flat but also very thinly as I know he was concerned with how much he had left.

I may just have to negotiate a discount. I'll also have to mention the fact he almost broke the front window, left rubbish everywhere and gave away lots of offcuts to a neighbour for their wood burning stove.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Carefully lifting the floor up should work (and since he hasn't used that much adhesive it might not be so hard after all). Cleaning the back of the boards is the main thing and hoping that the T&G's don't damage that much.

To be honest, I think your fitter is a nitwit! (Or used to be a carpet fitter?)

 

[sxtrail]

I had a feeling it was all going to go wrong as soon as he pulled up, first impressions count for everything. I'm guessing he used to be a carpet fitter actually. He came across as a nitwit and his assistant was definitely a sandwich short of a picnic. The fitter is contracted by the place we bought the flooring from who I trusted implicitly

If I can live with it then would you advise I leave it alone? Or is it worth redoing for the sake of the floor? I guess thats a difficult question to answer without seeing it.

Many thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

Personal decision indeed.

Also suggest you go back to the place that recommended you this fitter to discuss your experience.

 

[mattysupra]

if there are dips in your concrete base and you suspect moister etc why did you let them install the floor with out speaking to them about the problems. If you did not belive there answers then why did you not seek advice from else where before letting them carry on and fit it, And im sure he was trying to keep your neighbour happy when they asked for scrap bits. May be you should tell your neighbour not to come round asking for scrap bits of rubbish.

 

[WoodYouLike]

The fitter is contracted by the place we bought the flooring from who I trusted implicitly

This might have been the reason, matty. When you trust a company and they recommend a professional fitter you almost automagically trust the fitter.
Hence my suggestion he should also discuss his experience with the supplier, it effects them (their reputation) too and nobody likes to hear that someone they recommended didn't do a proper job.

 

[joe-90]

Personally, I don't like the idea of a floor that molds itself to 'dips'. It would look pretty shabby from a distance.
We hear this problem time and again about floors not being levelled before work commencing. Not sure who's responsibility it is though. The least I would do is go back to the shop and get them to give you a guarantee in writing covering your concerns. BTW, how do you ALMOST break a window?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Personally, I don't like the idea of a floor that molds itself to 'dips'.

Joe, the only floorcoverings I know that molds itself to dips are carpets, vinyl etc. Floorboards never and even parquet (herringbone or mosaic) has problems with that.
Agree with you that carpets and vinyl with dips looks shoddy.

 

[sxtrail]

Matty, as I said, I trusted them implicitly. I didn't suspect moisture prior to fitting, I'm merely questioning if it is a possible issue now that I've read up on it a little more. If it's not likely to be an issue then no problem. Yes, I'll be having a word with the neighbour as he tried it again today, but the fitter shouldn't give anything away I've paid for.

As for the window, the handle was turned the wrong way which scratched the PVC and the key was forced and bent to a point it became unusable. Its now not broken because I've managed to bend it back.

The floor is now finished. The last piece does not run parallel to the wall and its daft slither so looks poor. Thin glue residue is left on every joint which I'm cleaning up myself. More rubbish was left behind again. I'm discussing the issues with the shop.

Thanks again for all advice