Hi guys, I am a homeowner and new to the forum. I apologise in advance if I am asking a question in the wrong place. The flat/apartment I just bought had laminate flooring. I bought engineered wood and planned to lay it instead of the laminate. But after the flooring tradesman started ripping out the laminate, he found parquet (circa 1980s or 1990s). We were all very surprised! There are scratches and deep dents (something sharp falling on it) and little pieces out of place or loose, but overall it’s still very elegant-looking. The tradesman said I should leave it, he won’t rip it out, and we should just lay the engineered wood planks on top. I am leaning more towards a good sand-down and perhaps some remedial work here and there. I am guessing he does not want to get involved in the tedious process of ripping the parquet out (what’s the point of laying two woods on top of each other?), and that he does not want to sand it as that would be a “smaller” job. We also already bought the wood, so we’d have to return it. What do you guys think? Alex
Never overlay a wooden parquet there is a good chance the floor will fail as you are taking it out of equilibrium causing it to sweat and possibly popping off the subfloor. Bitumen has a shelf life / working life of about 30 -40 years so remedial work would be expected.
Many thanks, Brenchy, for your reply. Are you saying that the old parquet should be ripped out and the new wood installed on the concrete floor?
Most definitely yes if you are laying another flooring other than carpet. Dont let your 'labourer' fit that wood flooring over the top
Don't let Bob the builder fit the floor. Also if you do have it ripped out you will need a fair bit of subfloor preparation before laying the wood, consult a expert flooring installer. you could re sand and seal / repair your old flooring (any pictures) this again for the avoidance of doubt contact a expert wood flooring installer / sanding and sealer Bona certified or BWFA approved etc
Thanks, Brenchy. I am moving away from the idea of remedial work and rescuing the old parquet. It’s only in one room and the hallway, and they have different shades. Not one continuous colour/shade between the living room and the hallway. “Bob the Builder” insists that tearing out the old parquet would be a waste of my money. He says he’s happy to do it, will cost me extra, not make a difference and change the levels of rooms against each other. The existing parquet is very firmly attached to the floor and does a fantastic job of noise absorption. It is not uneven — only a couple of single pieces here and there. Btw, the laminate flooring was far too echoey than the old parquet underneath. I don’t know how good this parquet is and what vintage. I will send pictures later.
Please don’t let the builder anywhere near it he obviously hasn’t got a clue, get a professional wood flooring installer to prep the floor and install it correctly Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Fair enough, guys. I am going to get a professional in. It’s going to cost an arm and a leg, you know that!
It would be cheaper to have the parquet restored and if you like it, then i can't see any reason why not, it's down to your preference, but as everyone else has said, if you opt for the new floor, the parquet has to go
Fair enough. I am on the way now to meet a flooring contractor for a second opinion. Called a couple of people and hopefully tomorrow, I’ll have a third and fourth opinion. With your opinions to boot, I’m golden. Bob the builder (I know we don’t like him, but he’s an honest gent) made the point that ripping out the old will make the new floor colder as it will be directly on concrete (only underlay in between). Okay ... you can slay me now!
I’m sure you can find a underlay with a higher tog rating than that 10mm thick wood block. Yes there are levelling issues and moisture tests needed but overlaying parquet is a risk. You could ask the flooring manufacturer how your warranty stands if you to overlay it. They will certainly say no guarantee or warranty. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It may cost you more but least you'll only pay once!!! If your labourer is let loose on it then it may cost you twice...
Does your labourer deal with this kind of job often then? We ain't here to bring you down or slag your labourer off but he clearly doesnt know the correct method to guarantee you'll have no issues etc in the future and you asked for our advice and we have gave you that so it's entirely up to you really but your guy clearly doesnt know what he's dealing with. You might be a lucky one you never know but do you really want to take that risk. Make sure you get a 'proper' flooring pro in and not the floorlayer that will tell you it'll be ok because there is fitters out there that I've known to 9mm overboard parquet and fitted Lvt then several months down the line you can see where the 8x4 sheets are giving away under the lvt. ....and if your labourer has the nerve to slag our advice off then give him a slap from me ....before you kick him out along with his silverline gear.
Right .. an update is needed. A trained, professional, qualified wood flooring man of more than 25 years’ experience came over to the flat this evening. He absolutely, resolutely said the “finger mosaic” (as I found out) must be ripped out before laying anything else. He said he’d happily sand it and re-glue/tap down any pieces that are off. That would cost me the handsome sum of £800. He pourer scorn on my 10mm engineered wood. He tried it out, laying a few planks and clicking them. He was not impressed at all. More or less accused me of massaging my ego buying such crap (in his opinion). People like me should buy laminate he says, 12mm laminate, and get over ourselves. On the other hand if I wished to raise the value of my property by upto 20%, I should get proper TG hard wood. He would lay it for me for about £25/sq m. He claimed that he lays laminate for £12/sq m. But actually refused to do the job and said let my builder do that job. He droned on about the quality of the standard Wickes underlay that got. It’s not good enough for sound proofing. I need to buy a 5mm underlay that he sells. But when I floated the idea that I could be swayed into going for solid wood and wouldn’t mind him as installer, he said the Wickes underlay would do just fine. That’s my full briefing.
Are you trying to save money? Always best to do the Preparation correct on your sub floor. If you needed a new roof you would get one or get wet. A lot of sub floors weren’t designed for modern adhesives used now. So that’s why best to rip up an start again. For me I’d go. grind old Adheisve off Apply 2 coat liquid dpm if needed Screeding compound for any dips to get floor flat. Lay Quickstep Impressive ultra 12mm Laminate
