Hi,

Just after a bit of advice please.
I'm getting a new hardwood floor laid over an existing old timber floor.
The boards are getting laid at 90 degrees to existing, they are 80mm secret nailed.
He started laying the long hallway, then continued an area 1-2m wide in the same line as the boards running down the hall way. So I have a strip of floorboards from the hallway going through 2 connecting rooms. The problem is, the in the 2 other rooms are clearly out of square with the walls. The laid strip is basically in the centre of both rooms and when I measure from the edge of the strip laid so for, it is about 50mm out of square. That is over a 5m long wall, both rooms are basically the same. I don't know how to post a drawing, sorry.

Should I ask him to rip it up and relay this part? Would it be difficult?
He's done about 10sqm so far out of 75sqm. It's really frustrating me that it's so far out of square, as the rooms are not out of square.

Looking at it now, he could have put a board across ways where the hall meets the bigger room to slightly change the ange of the floor boards, as it seems the hall is a little off square to the other 2 rooms. The thing is, you will notice the floor 50mm out of square so much more in the living rooms than the hallway. It would also show alot when lining up furniture, rugs etc with the walls.

Please advise as he is coming back tomorrow to continue.
He is a nice guy and says he;s ben laying floors for 16 years, but he seems to have made a mistake here.

Should I ask him to redo it?



Thanks very much.

This is a bit of a toughy. You need to speak openly about this to him, perhaps he hasn't noticed and will be as annoyed as you. You said you measured to the far wall and its out by 50mm, but is the line of the first joint parallel with the wall nearer the hall or not? you didn't say and if it is it means the rooms are out of square.

Cheers
Michael

Edit - hang on I get it now how the boards are running and I see that there's a strip of boards though the middle of both rooms. If you place a board across the threshold of both rooms and rejig the angle slightly as you suggested, then when you look down the hall into the rooms, that change of angleof the joints will be verrry noticeable. Also if you align with the rooms and run off the hall, over a long distance that might also be noticeable. Rooms can be furnished and hide these things and you might be suprised how quickly they don't become noticeable.

CHeers
Michael

Thanks for your reply michael.

My rooms are definately square.
What I have is 2 large rooms about 7m x 5m and have a strip of floorboards about 2m wide in the centre of both rooms (continued from hallway). The boards are running the 5m length in both rooms. So there will be a wedge 5m x 50mm on one wall and then one the other wall 7m away there will be an opposite wedge of flooring. This is the same in both rooms.

I think it's going to look bad.

check my edit above

Cheers
Michael

I agree with mic-d, bring it up first thing and resolve the problem before it goes any further. I have laid many floors and such problems do occur. You should be able to find a solution, even if it is a compromise, but to allow him to lay the rest without discussing it will cause a big problem.
He probably didn't notice that the hall was in a (obviously slightly) different line from the other rooms. It sounds like an unusual situation. Or he may have made the decision to continue because he had no other instruction.
Good luck
TM

Tell him to humour them in. If he planes 2.5mm off the groove of each board at one end, and 2.5mm of the corresponding tongue, then he can pick up 50mm in twenty boards, or 1600mm. If he takes 5mm off each then he can do it in ten boards but it won’t leave as much bite between tongue and grooves.
It’s obviously a bit more work and if your rooms are out of square to your hallway then you may have to pay him extra, but it’s one way of getting out of it so it’s not noticeable, and without having to rip up what he’s already laid.

__________________
Cheers, John

Short Stack (my son's band)

Thanks very much for the advice.

I'm not sure he'd want to be planing down 40-80 x 5m long boards though!!

I can probably live with it I suppose.
It's just that the whole house has had a complete 100% new renovation, inside and out so it's dissapointing to have a new floor out of square.

Thanks

Go with pawnheads advice. We did a job just reciently wher we had to take of a 5mmover 5mt Starting at omm at one end and to 5mm at the other end. it was over ply so we did not have to regrove the boards, We had to do this to 8 boards so that it would become parralell with the wall. When the house was built the opposite wall was out by 40mm . after we trimed back the boards and completed the install, you could not tell that the boards were narrower at one end. You need to bring it to his attention. Make sure that his first board he laid is parralell to the wall he started of. Talk to him , he will know what to do.