B&Q Oak

Discussion in 'Wood' started by SandyFloor, Feb 5, 2012.

  1. SandyFloor

    SandyFloor Well-Known Member

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    I've recently started nailing down some of customer's own oak (120 sq mtrs) bought from above store.

    http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/floori...ted-Flooring-L-1200-x-W-123-x-T-18mm-10577534

    It's not cheap stuff but the tolerance in it all is shocking with about +/- 1mm between the width of some of the planks. Once the customer stopped from almost crying when I pointed this out they didn't want to return it and carry on with fitting.

    I don't know if these can be fitted without the occasional gap ( frequently about 1mm ) but wonder if anyone has any tips. I'm considering sorting them but that's very time consuming and filling seems very last resort. Any ideas?
     
  2. Matt

    Matt Well-Known Member Staff Member

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    other than sending every plank through a table saw there is not much you can do apart from fill after.

    have you checked the moister content between the different sized boards?
     
  3. welsh wood

    welsh wood Well-Known Member

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    as with most solid wood flooring there will always be a tolerance on the width of the board of a mm or so... unlike eng. products whereby the width IS true & consistent board after board, after board...

    this is one downside to solid wood flooring that no man or beast can improve on & as per Matt's comment you have little option other than to fill & touch-up once complete!

    i have found in the past with the B&Q products that the short boards quite often are the 'problem' boards with this issue...

    find a worst case wide board & highlight the issue to the customer in order to alleviate blame ;)
     
  4. flooringman

    flooringman Well-Known Member

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    Had the same problem with B&Q solid oak a customer had bought about 18 months ago. Not only were the widths slightly different he didn't like the variation between the colour of the boards so each night he would go through about 25 m2 ready for the next day - just left them in a pile in the corner for me. Then he would take the rejects back to B&Q and get some more boxes. This went until the job was done - about 75m2.

    It obviously took longer than expected and he wasn't happy when I charged him more for the job.

    The timber wasn't as expensive as the stuff you've got Sandy but the guy still thought it should have been perfect - I was amazed that B&Q were prepared to swap it up for him each time.
     
  5. SandyFloor

    SandyFloor Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the feedback guys. All pretty much what I expected .....and yes it is mostly the short boards are the worst.
     
  6. admin1

    admin1 Well-Known Member

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    Could be me, but where on the B&Q page does it mention random lengths?

    Length (mm): 1200

    Width (mm): 123

    Thickness (mm): 18

    As for the sanding solution: it's a handscraped (sculptured) board, sanding it would destroy the effect they paid - no doubt - over the odd for (in "value for money" comparison).
     
  7. SandyFloor

    SandyFloor Well-Known Member

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    In the instructions it mentions laying it floating by glueing the tongue and groove :eek:
     
  8. tarkett85

    tarkett85 Well-Known Member

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    Craptastic :D what's wrong with these morons, just print nail down or full stick on the instructions would save tons of replacements for fitting it incorrectly :roll: or just state unless fitted by a qualified installer all guarantees null and void simples ;)
     
  9. bladerunner

    bladerunner Well-Known Member

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    B=q are interested in volume not fitting techniques.The flooring industry is always to blame for progress im afraid.More flooring courses and more people trained up against less work to go round asks for more people pricing against jobs allows cheaper quotes.More and more outlets for selling flooring also so its competition all round.
     
  10. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    It's all DIY at the end of the day. There not gonna sell it to joe public and then tell them they need a £300 nailer to install it or a £100 tub of adhesive
     
  11. Matt

    Matt Well-Known Member Staff Member

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    Not sure how flooring courses are to blame ? we do have the odd person ...... well 3 so far that have not come from a flooring background on our courses over the last 2 years. That is a average of 20 people per month, so lets say we say 400 people and only 3 of them not from flooring back ground? so less than 1% new to the trade. Also the 3 that came on the course send that there was more to it than they thought and went back to there normal day job !


    We used to get a lot more chaps new to the trade on courses a few years ago when there was plenty of work about.


    As for apprentiships, well these are young chaps that have got a job normally to replace the chap that is retiring, teh added bonus is that they get to come to training centers free of charge.

    This sort of thing has been around since the early 80's, i think Dazlight got into the trade this way? also we have owen that did a course a few years ago.

    They are not stealing work, there simply is lack of work due to people doing it themselves! blame all these TV programmes that fit a floor and decorate a whole house in 60 minutes! they make people believe they can do it themselves and then add in sites giving out this sort of crap - http://www.ehow.com/how_5915905_glue-vi ... oring.html so many bits that are so wrong !
     
  12. Fitafloor

    Fitafloor Member

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    Hi This is not an uncommon issue with B&Q or indeed Wickes. Sorry to say but it comes back to you get what you pay for (usually). These products are usually a 'bargain' but where do they come from? Products manufactured in Eastern Europe or China don't have the precision applied to Western European products such as those made in Germany. Likewise the density of Oak sourced in some countries can vary tremedously. Some Oak planks in a B&Q box can also vary in weight and density.

    I think you did the right thing by pointing it out to the client, but I would NOT fill the gaps. Good luck
     
  13. admin1

    admin1 Well-Known Member

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    Don't take me wrong here, but Germany = Western Europe, Scandinavian = Western Europe, The Netherlands = Western Europe, Belgium = Western Europe.

    If there is top quality in flooring coming from anywhere it is from the above countries, so not sure if you are mixing up your geographic's or never had the pleasure of working with wooden flooring from the above areas?
     
  14. Fitafloor

    Fitafloor Member

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    Sorry I got those the wrong way round! I meant the quality from Western Europe is far superior to the products manufactured in Eastern Europe and China!! Thanks for putting that right :) Edited Now
     

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