Reply With QuoteWould you not just run a quadrant bead round the bottom of the skirting to fill the gap? Who laid the base to the flooring, that’s the real problem as it does not look flat. Would have self levelling on that before laying the amtico.
Morning all, we're nearing the end of a large build/renovation with a few of the last touches to be completed. To cut a long story short we've been waiting about 2 months to get the skirting put down (delays with 3rd party window contractor bottlenecking the finishing of the build) however over the last couple of days my builder has sent one of his boys to fit the skirting to the entire downstairs. I've been away for a few days and only just returned and and am irked to see there are gaps between the skirting and flooring (amtico). It looks like the skirting was just laid down without scribing, is there any way to rectify this now without having to pull it all up again? He's completed about 4/5th's of the downstairs and its everywhere, the worst of it can be seen in the below pic of the kiddies playroom. We were told to put the skirting down after the floor was laid as the finish would be better....., this is just crap though. Would 2 part filler work?
Would you not just run a quadrant bead round the bottom of the skirting to fill the gap? Who laid the base to the flooring, that’s the real problem as it does not look flat. Would have self levelling on that before laying the amtico.
Quadrant bead looks so cheap... And why should it be needed when everything is new?Originally Posted by AndyMilts
Those skirting boards need to come off and be scribed to the underlying floor level to achieve a closer fit. It's nothing like acceptable how it is... Which is why I never ever employ 'builders', they have zero attention to detail. A joiner is who you want for final finish stuff like this.
Thanks Andy, i'm not a fan of quadrant beading as i prefer the cleaner look without but realising it may have to be an option. The floor was laid by a local amtico approved fitter, it was latex screeded before the floor was laid so i assume the sub floor should be more level than it appears to be? Shoddy floor fitter?
My current house has the quad bead along the skirting board and it looks awful. Always does. I would fayvthay was very much a last resort. The boards should be lifted and properly fitted.
I agree thay the initial fault lies elsewhere, either with the slc or the amtixo laying, but would be difficult to address that now.
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This ^^^ I don't think the skirting is the problem.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Looks to me like the floor is all over the place and the builder has done the best of a bad job.
Best solution will be to mask the floor and fill the gap with white stixsall, or something just as sticky.
Last edited by adrianw; 18th September 2018 at 09:40.
The floor should have been done with self-levelling compound but it might have been you would have needed a thick layer to smooth out all the floor irregularities. We have the same issue with our suspended floor. You can try and force the skirting down before running the screws into the wall to hold it in place; there will normally be some give in the underlay. However if the builder used no-nails to fix the skirting then that won't work. In which case use some decorators caulk to fill the gap.
Thanks all. Ok i just called the flooring company who are washing their hands of it (quelle surprise), said the builder should have put a self levelling screed down first even though their fitter came twice to survey the area before laying and never mentioned this woulds be needed (obviously we'd have done whatever they said). Builder is pointing finger at flooring company. I think i'm going to tell the builder to rip it all out and do it again, i'm not paying good money for this shoddy finish although it won't be pretty as the skirting is glued and screwed. I doubt i'll get as positive a response as the poster yesterday who's builder agreed to remove a concrete slab and re-lay a new one
Not the worst I’ve seen!! The saving grace is you’ve got painted skirtings, caulk the gaps with a good quality decorators caulk then finish with a square fugi tool to give you a sharp finish.
Caulk, then paint.
Shame the amtico was laid straight all the way to the wall, I would have asked for a border, otherwise people will just think it's laminate.
Difficult to see from your photo but how big is the gap under the rad?
Looks to be 3mm.
If we put caulk down am i not creating myself an issue later on, ie potential cracking of the caulk which will need removing and replacing?
3mm lol looked like 6-8mm. Get a good quality chaulk to limit shrinkage & make sure you get a good amount pushed under the skirting, not just a quick gun bead across the gap. This should help limit any cracking.
Believe me once furniture is in & the room is in use you will forget about it.
Personally I think the floor layer should take a little more responsibility for latexing the floor, but for 3mm and all the stress involved caulk the gap relax and enjoy your new room.
Last edited by Coronet king; 18th September 2018 at 23:02.
As above caulk the gap...a lot less stress and if done to a good standard only you will ever know.
Think beading looks terrible.
Simplest solution is to use caulk.
Alternatively redo skirting, planing to allow for floor (what you meant by scribing?).
No need to rip up floor, re-level etc.
Thanks again all for the feedback, i'll get the builder to caulk it then and put the issue to bed.
Skirting should of been scribed but you can on go so far with scribing ,has said previously easiest way now is to caulk and paint.
It’s easy to say but if the first element was done right everything will follow suit ,doesn’t always work like that though.
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As a previous poster said using a Fuji profiling tool will give a very sharp result when using caulk.
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Scribing is basically a fudge where you are already stuck with a wonky floor. In this case there is no reason why the floor shouldn't have been laid flat with correctly used self levelling screed. The only thing the builder did wrong was to not point out that the floor was out to allow debate before starting to put the skirting boards on. Personally I don't like scribing any more than a well applied caulk, neither look quite right to me and the wonky floor would always bug me.
Not a builder but have had Amtico flooring put down in the past and it looks to me that the flooring installers have not done their job and agree that the builder should have held off on installing the skirting.
Just ran skirting in a customers house myself, had a nightmare with the floor as it is very much the same situation as this - the floor was not laid on a level base.
As previous posters have noted there is a limit to scribing, there's no way this could be salvaged with scribing.. for one they'd be there for weeks and for another it's not feasible to do it on that scale.
Try scribing the entire base of a board then running your joinery.. That'l have you pulling your hair out.
Shame your brand new floor isnt laid level, or flat being the correct word, but I've definitely seen worse..
Latex screed should self level and be better than this, scribing the skirt to the floor is not something we normally do, ask the builder to do it as an extra as the fault is with the floor not the wood. I note the wall is painted scribing will lower the top edge and make decorating another job.
Indeed - poorly laid/screeded floor is the problem.
I would not (personally) fit quadrant beading, the problem needs solving and scribed skirting is a bit of a bodge for a newly laid floor.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I would put a spirit level on the floor in a few places - you will quickly know if it is the floor or not.Thanks all. Ok i just called the flooring company who are washing their hands of it (quelle surprise), said the builder should have put a self levelling screed down first even though their fitter came twice to survey the area before laying and never mentioned this woulds be needed (obviously we'd have done whatever they said). Builder is pointing finger at flooring company. I think i'm going to tell the builder to rip it all out and do it again, i'm not paying good money for this shoddy finish although it won't be pretty as the skirting is glued and screwed. I doubt i'll get as positive a response as the poster yesterday who's builder agreed to remove a concrete slab and re-lay a new one
To be fair on the builder they may feel they contracted to fit skirting not scribe the skirting in.
If you can’t get resolved either pay for scribing in or you could try decorators caulk which they usually use to fill the gap between the wall and skirting if walls not exactly straight and flat.
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The problem isn't the floor being out of level - it's that it's uneven and therefore not flat, theoretically if the whole lot was out of level but entirely flat along its length the problem would be far less obvious.
[QUOTE=~dadam02~;4887394]Looks to be 3mm.
If we put caulk down am i not creating myself an issue later on, ie potential cracking of the caulk which will need removing and replacing?[/QUOTE
Do not use caulk on those gaps two months down the line it will have lifted and be dirty. If you are going to seal it and make it look neat and sharp it needs to be someone who is good with a mastic gun and a few tubes of Silicone
It’s the floor that’s not flat and as you say the self level is non existent or poorly done, but scotia bead?! That stuff is grim! The whole point of replacing skirting at the time of flooring is to avoid that unsightly stuff.
Nothing wrong with a gap as long as it’s neat and even.
I very much doubt its the latex screed as it's only a thin application, if it self levels like most assume then you wouldn't have a high spot. It's likely that the subfloor wasn't level. Self leveling screeds don't self level. They need to be worked level.
This ^
[QUOTE=hilly10;4887843]Absolutely this. Don’t use caulk, use a decent white silicone since fortunately the skirting is also white so you’ll not have an issue matching the colour. You don’t even need to be particularly brilliant with a mastic gun anymore - just buy a Fugi kit and you’ll never see the gaps again.
Fugi: https://www.amazon.co.uk/FUGI-PROFES...words=fugi+kit
I’m in a chippy would not generally scribe skirting camp, it’s my trade.
Floor should have been latexed prior to any hard floor finish.
Pitch
Silicone is the wrong thing to use because it doesn't take paint.
I would say if you want a proper job then scribe the skirting. 3mm is nothing to scribe. Ive not seen this flooring before but a quick Google it seems expensive. Is it floating or stuck down? If floating even just applying pressure on the skirting before drilling/ fixing may close the gap. If you have spent a lot of money on this then I know people ive done work for would not want gaps and I doubt would like shoving silicone or caulk in it. The latter is an option though apart from the silicone if your ok with that.
Seems to be split opnlibions now, caulk, don't caulk, silicone, don't silicone, scribe, don't scribe
Builder wants to use silicone, purely as it'll last longer due to flex.
But it doesn’t need to painted - both skirting and silicone are white. Caulk will split and look terrible.
[edit] Obviously if the skirting isn’t staying white then that’s a problem.
The builder is correct.Seems to be split opnlibions now, caulk, don't caulk, silicone, don't silicone, scribe, don't scribe
Builder wants to use silicone, purely as it'll last longer due to flex.
You can get flexible caulk plus the whites will never match up especially with age, you will have to paint them anyway.
Where is Josh B when you need him?!
Thought his were rubbish!
V. frustrating when jobs don’t go well, especially when there’s no good reason; floor should’ve been flat and it obviously isn’t.
Sometimes these things look far worse than they are, it’s human nature to focus on faults and I’m as bad as anyone for this. If you step back from it, picture the room with furniture etc, and try to see the fault in context, it may seem less of an issue. Not ideal, but it’s possible you’ll be able to live with it and not be too bothered.
Using quadrant as a finisher can look OK If you use wood quadrant and do a good job of fitting, I laid a laminate floor many years ago and that’s what I did, I didn’t want to remove skirtings. After painting the quadrant looked fine, it still does, but it needs fitting carefully to get a good finish. Mine’s quite thick and it matches the curve on the top of the skirting, the overall effect is good.......not to be confused with the plastic stuff that folks used to fit! Took some time to cut, fit, and paint but it's one of those jobs I’m still pleased with. I think it took as long to fit the quadrant as the floor, it’s a hallway with lots of doors and ‘ins and outs’.
I wouldn’t use caulking to try and hide the gaps, I think the result will be disappointing. I would either try living with it or fit wood quadrant carefully and paint it.
Paul
Caulk may crack. Can be refilled/painted. Silicone will discolour over time and will probably see the join. Scribe should have no problems.
Easiest solution? Silicone.
Edit; if this is a floating floor I wouldn't use either caulk or silicone. I'd rather keep the 3mm gap.
Caulk will shrink back and crack as the floor naturally expands and contracts, so not a good idea.
The subfloor IS the problem without a doubt, however the man who laid the skirting should have scribed where the hump was.
I'd personally live with it as is as any patch job will look just like... a patch job. Or, if it REALLY annoys you that much, just scribe it, rip it off and refit.
Carpet?
I’ve had our karndean fitters back twice now to rip up the transition between our dining room & garden room. Was karndean both sides, but with solid roof added to the conservatory we pulled out the doors and had it refitted.
First time there were undulations all over the place where the door used to be. Fitters blamed the conservatory people, luckily I had a photo of how the floor was prior to the floor fitters starting, so was clear it was their issue. Plus the conservatory people are my FIL’s company, so good luck arguing that!
They re levelled and it was perfect, but now a couple of weeks later as things have cured / dried, we have another bump you can feel underfoot. They’re great & coming back out to review, as we all went over it with the second fitting and there were no bumps / issues at all, so the floor can ‘change’ after fitting. It’s just how companies then deal with it. We went from level, to a 5mm raise / drop in a fortnight & they have again taken ownership.
The floor company should be taking responsibility here, I’d raise it to Amtico for a second opinion on the fitting.
I hear the posts of others saying to look past it etc. I hear those but do feel for the OP as it draws your eyes, mind and energy towards it. Beads, caulk or mastic are only the tools for a DIY install, not a floor of this cost. I’d keep fighting the floor guys.
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If you are putting a floating laminate flooring down, with a movement gap to an existing skirting, then you use beading to cover the expansion gap.
If you have a fixed flooring that runs underneath the skirting (wherethe skirting is fitted after the flooring), then you do not need/have beading.
This.
Given what you have paid to have an Amtico floor laid i really think your flooring company need to accept their responsibility if their are accredited installers, this is not a budget product but a premium product with a price level to match and if they will not play ball get on to Amtico.
Thanks Mart I do agree it irks me the flooring company have washed their hands of this, and I've been digging around for documentation as it's bugging me this is what they effectively left me with. We paid £6k also which is not an insignificant sum of money. But question to you, in my shoes what would you expect them to do to rectify it, if they will at all cause I'm not sure I know where to point the finger anymore. This is what Amtico installation instructions say, and our floor certainly isn't level.
I am not in the flooring business but surely the flooring contractors know what their business is especially if they are accredited installers i had an Amtico floor many years ago and the prime concern was getting the base right prior to the lay.
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