Hi there. I'm Burney - I'm a punter looking for advice. I'm a landlord too so I use flooring contractors for professional work, but this question relates to my house. I have just had a hard wood floor laid in my living room, and also in my hallway. Because I did the jobs at different times with a few weeks in between, the flooring guy used a room divider to separate the two, and I agreed to this, even though the floor is the same level in both rooms. A few weeks have gone by and I am regretting it, and wishing I had gone for a seamless look from one room to the other. I have some left over wood panels, and would like to use them to bridge the gap. I understand to do this would mean cutting and removing parts of existing panels, and cutting off edges of new panels, so it is unlikely to be a flawless finish, but I am confident it will be an improvement on the existing. I have found it impossible so far to find someone who is willing to do it - I want to know from any professionals, am I asking too much for expecting someone to want to help me with this? I understand that it's not a straightforward job but I am prepared to pay someone for their time. NB - I do not want to use the contractors who originally did the work, due to other issues related to their work on a number of jobs in the house. Many thanks in advance for your advice. B
If you do find someone then you should expect to rip both floors up and restart again that's if the floor has been laid correctly from the start . As It's a solid wood floor I see.
First off, I am assuming that the flooring has been fully bonded, or nailed down. If not then I refer you back to Deasil10's post. Start again, but with someone who knows what they are doing!! The existing boards in the doorway need to be cut out which will not be easy or cheap as it will take some time so that the existing flooring isn't damaged. Then remove the underside of the grooves from the new boards. This enables them to be placed into the floor using only the new Tongues into the Grooves of the existing flooring. The new boards will be held in place by the adhesive (fully bonded) negating the need for the lower part of the Groove on the new boards. I have seen this done numerous times by a guy who is now retired from fitting. You will need someone who knows what they are doing and is good at it. Also, I would suggest that you don't use the little bits of "firewood" that you have shown in your picture. It will look worse than the T Section that you have now.
From another forum: "Provided the floor levels are the same then to combine the two rooms is relatively easy. I presume that the oak flooring is the same thickness in both rooms. Cut a parallel width between the two rooms. Choose a nice looking board and rip it down to the same width. Using the standard board will save you trying to recreate the chamfered edge. Cut the lower part of the groove off of the female edge. Rip the tongue off the other and using a router with appropriate spindle cut the same remaining part of the groove on the other side. A membrane should have been fitted below the existing floor, with a bit of luck this will when cut away allow enough clearance for the edges of the two sections to be routed with a tongue. The adapted standard board should then be able to be fitted between the two areas.Reinstate the underlay/membrane to ensure the heights and integrity are maintained. Then glue the edges. The board can also be almost invisibly screwed down using tongue tights and or screwed. The holes rebated and plugged. The change of direction acting as a threshold would under a door, or just seamlessly introducing one area into another."... Helpful.
Floor is fine mate, just don't like the room divider, that's all. Found someone now, a carpenter, they tend to be better at the more complicated wood work. thanks
As I said earlier, if it's a solid wood floor & it's floated it's wrong. It may well be fine now, and I do hope it remains so, but after the winter and the resulting seasonal movement there is the distinct possibility that you will not be saying "the floor is fine". I have no ax to grind, you asked for and received advice, which is sound advice. PS: A carpenter/joiner is quite likely to float a solid wood floor because whilst they may have a sound knowledge of wood in general carpentry, they usually know little or nothing about wood floor. The reverse is also generally true.
Thanks, the 2nd paragraph of your first response was helpful. Additionally: The floor is not floated. Plenty of planks left, the 'firewood' was a convenient way of showing what I wanted to achieve without opening a new box of flooring. Carpenter is not laying the whole floor - obviously - if someone didn't like a room divider very much, its quite silly to propose ripping it up, unless they were an Arab prince. As an adult I understood my options 1. Keep it the same 2. Rip it up and start again 3. Is there another way - it was 3 that I was looking for help with, or I would revert to 1. Therefore, it turns out I just need a carpenter with the right tools, attention to detail, and a bit of patience. Thanks, I did appreciate your advice. Hopefully will be sorted soon.
Could be a idea to change the door trim to a one that's less proud. Quickstep incizo bars or a flat wood effect metal. The problem with running it straight through is if the hall and living room aren't 100% in line then that will cause problems. They need to be in line to the mm so the planks won't be twisted. Could be better to take up about a 1n2 in the hall side where the door is Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good luck, please Post up some pics when the jobs done. Be good to see how it looks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk