Newly laid floor flexes on 3 floors and in all rooms

[Peter Petterson]

Just loosen the baseboards and trim the floor if it is too close, for example with a multi-tool.

It's not that simple, all the baseboards are painted in, wallpapering performed after the baseboards were set to release wallpaper on the baseboard.

Just the baseboards for the house cost 70 grand, then sent away for spray painting because they couldn't be bought in N 0500 - S only in eggshell white.

So in other words, if we tear off the baseboards, the carpenter will have to order new baseboards and re-wallpaper and repaint the walls, and also putty and paint all the baseboards again to hide all the joints and nail holes.

We're talking about costs roughly around 250-300 grand if all the baseboards need to be removed.

 

[Peter Petterson]

Your house? You decide?

Yes, it's our house. Yes, we decide and have said that we do not accept or approve of sagging floors.

At the same time, I don't want it to be unnecessarily expensive or unnecessarily much work for the carpenters either.

I just want a nice floor, without gaps at the joints and so that it doesn't sag so much that you get seasick walking on it, and of course, creak-free.

 

[Roga1337]

It's not that simple, all the baseboards are painted in, wallpapering done after the baseboards were installed to release the wallpaper onto the baseboard.

Just the floor moldings for the house cost 70k, then sent away for spray painting as they couldn't be bought in N 0500 - S, only in eggshell white.

So, in other words, if we remove the baseboards, the carpenter has to order new baseboards and re-wallpaper and repaint the walls as well as spackle and paint all the baseboards again to conceal all the joints and nail holes.

We're talking costs roughly 250-300k if all the baseboards need to be removed

It's not that simple, all the baseboards are painted in, wallpapering done after the baseboards were installed to release the wallpaper onto the baseboard.

Just the floor moldings for the house cost 70k, then sent away for spray painting as they couldn't be bought in N 0500 - S, only in eggshell white.

So, in other words, if we remove the baseboards, the carpenter has to order new baseboards and re-wallpaper and repaint the walls as well as spackle and paint all the baseboards again to conceal all the joints and nail holes.

We're talking costs roughly 250-300k if all the baseboards need to be removed

😮 With that extra cost in mind, I would use a sharp razor blade to cut the wallpaper along the top edge of the baseboard.
Dismantle the baseboards so they can be reused, steam off the wallpaper pieces, and soft caulk the top side against the wallpaper after reinstallation and repaint.
Alt 2. Manufacture the new baseboards 5mm higher, so they cover the wallpaper joint.

 

[Peter Petterson]

😮 Considering the additional cost, I would use a sharp razor knife to cut the wallpaper along the top edge of the skirting board.
Dismantle the skirting boards so they can be reused, steam off the wallpaper pieces and apply a soft sealant to the top edge against the wallpaper after reassembly and paint again.
Alt 2. Make the new skirting boards 5mm higher so they cover the wallpaper seam.

Now, I didn't want sealant on the skirting boards that yellows, sinks.

It's a turn-of-the-century house with tretex, no walls are straight and I've paid enormous money for the prep work and finish to the painting company 300 lök + wallpaper, material.

I'm having a hard time agreeing to a cost-saving solution with sealant.

I think the skirting boards will be very difficult to dismantle so they become reusable but if you take it carefully, it might work.

It's about 250 m2 of flooring, so it should be well over 350 meters of skirting board that need to be dismantled and reassembled. Then everything has to be painted again, etc. 🥲

 

[Roga1337]

Forget the joint instead.
My main thesis was to cut the wallpaper along the baseboard… to at least avoid re-wallpapering in all rooms😉 there doesn't seem to be any better (cheap) option in this case.
If the floor was incorrectly installed from the start, shouldn't the total cost of restoration be covered by the floor installer?
Hope it works out for the best for you👍

 

[Johan456]

When installing baseboards, it's important to press them down firmly, which reduces the gap you see. If I were you, I would wait a little. Creaking floors and such usually "settle" after a while. I would wait at least a few weeks.

 

[Peter Petterson]

When installing baseboards, it's important to press them down properly, which reduces the gap you see. If I were you, I would wait a little. Creaking floors and such usually "settle" over time. I would at least wait a few weeks.

The floors were installed in July!

Now that the rest of the renovations are becoming complete and we're starting to remove the floor protection paper, the problems are emerging. There was such thick protection paper that you couldn't see/feel the flexing before.

So I find it hard to believe it will settle. I imagine it might get better in the winter when it gets drier, but the problem will just return in the summer when it gets humid again, I'm afraid 🥲

 

[C93eriksson]

Hello hello!!!

Installed new flooring on 3 levels in the house.
The carpenters went down to the floor framing, installed new joists on the old ones to level the floor.

Glued and screwed following all the rules.
Pre-drilled chipboard panels, similarly glued and screwed following all the rules.

Aluminum plates with correct spacing mounted.

The floor, they say, is also laid with enough gaps towards the walls, thresholds, etc.

Now to the problem, the floor is almost floating on an air cushion nearly everywhere. Both along the skirting boards and in the middle of the floor.

At portals where it is the tightest, the floors creak and groan as if they have risen significantly.

Short joints have started to develop large gaps and are not tight in many places.

In other words, major major issues.

Anyone have suggestions on what's wrong and solutions?

I suspect too little play towards the walls and that the floor

The floors were laid in July!

Now the rest of the renovations are getting finished, and we're starting to remove the floor protection paper as the problems are becoming apparent. The protective paper has been so thick to prevent damage to the floors that you haven't seen/felt the sagging before.

So I find it hard to believe that it would settle itself. I can imagine it will get better in winter when it gets drier, but the problem will reoccur in the summer when it gets humid again, I'm afraid 🥲

I have similar issues with our Barlinek floor, which is also laid on slotted floorboards with plates. However, we have pulp paper underneath, so I don't think it's the foam sinking, as someone mentioned. I'm planning to take up the floor in the hall to see if there's something that can be done about it. What we've done is press down the skirting boards firmly all around, but we still feel sagging and get creaking in certain places on the floor. Very annoying... ours has been in place for over two years and has maybe improved slightly over time but very marginally.

 

[Baskavoda]

My guess is that it's due to high humidity. Check what the supplier recommends regarding RH. I work with new housing production and we have had significant issues with tonight, in particular, starting to give way after a while. We use Kährs and it is prescribed that the RH should be between 30-60%. This past summer, we have had significantly higher humidity, which causes problems. My tip is to log the climate so you can keep track of temp and RH and possibly set up a dehumidifier in the hope that the floors settle then.

 

[Anonymiserad 275268]

The floors were laid in July!

Now the rest of the renovations are starting to be completed and we are beginning to remove the floor protection paper, the problems are starting to appear. There has been such thick protective paper to not damage the floors, so we haven't seen/felt the sagging before.

So, I find it hard to believe it would settle. I can imagine it gets better by winter when it gets drier, but the problem will probably come back again next summer when it gets humid, I'm afraid 🥲

So, the floor was laid when it was at its wettest outside and then covered with protection paper, probably milk paper that hasn't let out any moisture. No, I would wait and see what happens next year!

 

[HEM2121]

Hello hello!!!

Installed new flooring on 3 levels of the house.
The carpenters have been down to the joists, mounted new battens on the old ones to level the floor.

Glued and screwed according to the book.
The tongue and groove floorboards were prepared the same way, glued and screwed according to the book.

Aluminum plates with the correct spacing were installed.

The floor, they say, was also laid with enough gap towards walls, thresholds, etc.

Now to the problem: the floor seems to float on an air cushion almost everywhere. Both along the moldings and in the middle of the floor.

At portals where it is tightest, the floors creak and squeak as they have lifted significantly.

Short joints have started to have large gaps and are not tight in many places.

Big, big problems, in other words.

Anyone who has suggestions on what is wrong and solutions.

I suspect there is too little room for movement at the walls and that the floor is under tension?

How long was the joist in place before you installed it?
Are the pipes properly pressed down into the grooves?
Here, they hadn't cleaned the grooves of sawdust, and there were even screws in the grooves.
We had to tear up the floor, vacuum, and lay new piping.

 

[Alfredo]

possibly set up a dehumidifier in the hope that the floors will settle.

Is that a reasonable solution in a normal room/home?

 

[Baskavoda]

Is it a reasonable solution in a normal room/home?

Yes, I mean temporarily now when the humidity is very high

 

[Peter Petterson]

So the floor was laid when it was the wettest outside and then covered with protective paper, surely milk paper that didn't let out any moisture. No, I would wait and see what happens next year!

Hello!!

I think I will have enormous problems with a complaint if I wait until next year to try to make a claim on the floor/job.

We want to move into our new house, but it doesn't feel possible until we find a solution to the problem.

 

[Peter Petterson]

How long was the subfloor in place before you installed it?
Are the pipes properly pressed down into the grooves?
Here they hadn't cleaned the grooves from sawdust, and there were screws in the grooves as well.
We had to tear up the floor, vacuum, and lay new pipes.

The subfloor was in the garage for 2 weeks before installation. Then it was installed without the floorboards for about 4 weeks. There was a vacation in between, etc.

The carpenters have been very careful to vacuum and keep it clean underneath. The underfloor heating pipes are properly laid in the grooves.

I'm going to buy an RH meter today and see what we're showing in the house ✅