D.I.Y and Trades

Quoted from Sandford1981

Just had another quote for the same job and the Labour is  £750 which to me is much more like it and what I would say is fair.

You could always have a go at doing it yourself; it's not that difficult a job. You managed your damp proofing yourself.

Quoted from ginnywings

You could always have a go at doing it yourself; it's not that difficult a job. You managed your damp proofing yourself.

True and I perhaps would have but I have a glass back (loss of curvature, degeneration of and bulging discs) and it popped taking everything up. I just want to get it done asap.

Quoted from Sandford1981

True and I perhaps would have but I have a glass back (loss of curvature, degeneration of and bulging discs) and it popped taking everything up. I just want to get it done asap.

Feel your pain. I've had back trouble on and off for years due to the nature of the job and bending over laying bricks low down is no fun.

Think I would be tempted to do it with joist hangers and forget the bricks were it my house.  

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

8 x £14 = £112. Just saying.

I’ve got a patchwork of uneven floorboards in one room where I need to lay some laminate, must be a 15mm variance between some boards. Anyone know the best way to get an even level that isn’t “sand everything down to the lowest point”? Underlay boards?

Do you have some newer boards down that are thinner than the surrounding original boards, or is it a case of some boards being higher on one side than the other, like they have twisted or come loose?

Have you had some heavy handed plumber/sparky massacre the boards to facilitate wiring and pipework under the floor?

Any loose or raised boards could do with screwing down, especially on raised edges. Try standing on the board near the raised edge and screwing down into the joist below, making sure you don't skewer any services.

Underlay boards are always best on floorboards; the green fibre type ones that come in squares. You can put extra bits in the low spots, but try and get the floor as flat as you can before you lay the laminate. If the sub floor is really bad, you may have to take more drastic action, from overlaying the floor with ply to removing the sub floor altogether.

Things that will help is to fit the laminate at 90 degrees to the floorboards, so it traverses the high and low spots and doesn't run in parallel with the joins in the floorboards, which can cause the floor to unclick when you walk on it.

The other thing is to use a thicker, rather than thinner laminate, which will also help to keep it solid over the uneven floor. Don't be getting 6mm or 7mm stuff. At least 8mm thick and preferably thicker. 12mm would be my choice.

Quoted from ginnywings

Feel your pain. I've had back trouble on and off for years due to the nature of the job and bending over laying bricks low down is no fun.

Think I would be tempted to do it with joist hangers and forget the bricks were it my house.  

I’ve been helping a mate of mine renovate a house for the past year before he moves in and a lot of it has been labour intensive. Ive been able to manage it over that period. First job of my own and it goes, which I think they call Sod’s Law!

Quoted from ginnywings

Do you have some newer boards down that are thinner than the surrounding original boards, or is it a case of some boards being higher on one side than the other, like they have twisted or come loose?

Have you had some heavy handed plumber/sparky massacre the boards to facilitate wiring and pipework under the floor?

Any loose or raised boards could do with screwing down, especially on raised edges. Try standing on the board near the raised edge and screwing down into the joist below, making sure you don't skewer any services.

Underlay boards are always best on floorboards; the green fibre type ones that come in squares. You can put extra bits in the low spots, but try and get the floor as flat as you can before you lay the laminate. If the sub floor is really bad, you may have to take more drastic action, from overlaying the floor with ply to removing the sub floor altogether.

Things that will help is to fit the laminate at 90 degrees to the floorboards, so it traverses the high and low spots and doesn't run in parallel with the joins in the floorboards, which can cause the floor to unclick when you walk on it.

The other thing is to use a thicker, rather than thinner laminate, which will also help to keep it solid over the uneven floor. Don't be getting 6mm or 7mm stuff. At least 8mm thick and preferably thicker. 12mm would be my choice.

Cheers brother. Previous owner had a fireplace removed/bricked up, so the boards where the old hearth used to be are set lower than the rest of the room. Plus there are some other odd secrions where it looks like pipes have been put in, probably for the central heating, and boarded over at another different level.

Just time consuming, pain in the ārse for a paper shuffler like me.