Advice needed - poorly laid Karndean with UFH

Discussion in 'Vinyl / Impervious floor coverings' started by Draki, May 4, 2022.

  1. Draki

    Draki New Member

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    Hi All - I'm in need of some advice please...
    We've had our ground floor renovated. We wanted a UFH system with Kardean glue down
    The builder dug out the old floor and laid the UFH pipes and screed in sections - not the whole room at once (we've knocked through a few rooms to create an open plan space so it's quite large)
    The last section of screed had less than 1 month max. to dry/ cure naturally. I'm not sure of the depth of screed, but I think it needed longer
    The floor layer (accredited) - employed by the builder - used a LOT of self levelling latex compound apparently
    The problem we have is that the floor is far from level and very uneven - mostly in the section that had the screed laid last - and of course the most visible area. There are visible waves and you can feel it's uneven underfoot
    The floor layer is very sympathetic and came back to grind out as much of the latex as possible to level the worst area, but he hit screed so there's a limit to what he can do. He's going to come back once the builders are finally finished to see what he can do
    But the floor is so bad in areas I think there's a limit to what he can do. For example, a (new) door to a room won't even open fully - and the carpenter has already shaved off more of the bottom of the door than we're happy with - there's a huge gap at the bottom - and it still won't open fully
    I would just tell the builder to take it all up and start from scratch, but the complication is we have a new, very expensive, open plan kitchen installed

    My questions are
    - What are my options - do I need to take all the LVT up, grind out the latex, level the screed and start again?
    - Is that feasible with UFH - or does that need to go too?
    - Can this be done with the kitchen in place or does that need to be removed too? (Which barely bears thinking about)

    Any advice gratefully received. Thank you
     
  2. Rugmunching

    Rugmunching Well-Known Member

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    All depends how 'bad' the levels are out but the kitchen can stay in but just means the lvt in that area will need taking up, access the levels and fill it up to match the rest. This may result in the plinths need a trim and the level on your side panels higher.

    Sounds like there is humps all over the place and by your door not being able to open due to the level then it may just mean taking screed back down as far as you can and redoing it properly.
    Hard to say without seeing it and knowing how many different levels there is in that part.

    Any pictures of the whole area?
     
  3. Draki

    Draki New Member

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    Thanks - yes, taking up the screed, or at least grinding it down and relaying self-levelling compound is probably what's needed from what I understand
    - Do you think that's possible without damaging the UFH pipes? (Wet system)
    A couple of pics attached - not sure how clear they are as it's still very dusty here due to the ongoing work

    Thank you

    PXL_20220505_064822042.resized.jpg PXL_20220505_064917666.resized.jpg
     
  4. Spacey

    Spacey Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Jesus :eek::eek::eek:
     
  5. Rugmunching

    Rugmunching Well-Known Member

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    Ooooyaaa, that is seriously bumpy you not wrong!

    Your ufh pipes should be atleast 60mm deep in the main slab anyway so you should be OK.

    I'd say take up the karndean and get it ground down enough to allow a fresh fill to bring back up to a solid flat level.
     
  6. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    What’s wrong with builders? I know they don’t actually have to have any accreditations, that pro alton doesn’t help. Sometimes I think they roll out of bed, put a hi vis jacket on and decide to be a builder with no knowledge of the trade. Just know they can charge people tens of thousands to make a mess
     
  7. Rugmunching

    Rugmunching Well-Known Member

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    @Neil Riall come on then give us your expert advice...
     

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