Posted here a few weeks ago looking for fitting advice; wanted to post an update on how things went / are going. Found a fitter, said he's Amtico-trained and works with another guy who helps him fit. Job's taking 3 days; cost £1650, 31sqm to fit. His process was: 1. Inspect floorboards 2. Lay SP101 6mm ply; secure to floorboards using U-shaped staples using air-compressed nail gun. Lots of staples everywhere. 3. Apply this "special" sticky transparent green liquid with a roller 4. Apply 2-3mm of Stopgap 700 screed to the subfloor 5. Lay down Amtico Form LVT using HT Adhesive. He's only used 2.5ltres so far to put down approx 25mqs... I thought he'd be using a lot more as I'm being charged £160 for adhesive and £325 for screed materials (3 bags of stopgap 700 + 1 5tre tub of HT adhesive by the looks of it?!) Thoughts on the process? There seems to be a bit of glue left behind on the floor - I assume this will be removed before they finish / go; will make sure to mention it. What's the best way to remove it? Scratching it off with my nail seems to work, but takes forever. Have attached pics of the overall process as well.
Providing he's using the right staples, it should be fine, yes, screws or ringnails are preferable, but there are still a lot of fitters that use them and not just cowboys
We’re using staples again. Had so many issues with coil nailers. Supply of nails etc..actually been really good. Plenty of stock. No jamming. Got a great nailer. A old American one I bought off a retired fitter. Much better than the Spotnails one. The original staples were so much better too. Actually divergent. Very sharp. The ones on sale now look like they made for school staplers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They shouldn’t use stopgap 700 over staples Should be nailed or screwed Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was surprised to see them using staples altogether. What happens if they use stopgap 700 over staples? We've noticed a weird bump on one of the LVT planks in the hallway. Almost feels like the tiniest stone in the world is under the plank in the middle of it,; I can feel a slight ridge / bump when brushing over it with my foot.
Yeah. If a grain of sugar gets under one of the planks it will look awful. Will need lifting. Not a hard fix Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's flipping annoying!! It's not visible to the eye, but it's certainly apparent on touch when smoothing over with a hand or foot. Is there a risk that it'll slowly lift the whole plank up .. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, could it delaminate/unstick the rest of the plank over time, because its essentially not laid completely flat, but around a teenie stone or whatever it is under there.
You need to work in small areas and sweep sweep sweep and brush the back of each board before fitting. Some fitters just don’t have the patience or eye for detail required for a perfect lvt finish. Saying that, we’re all human and it’s easy to miss small bits hiding in the glue etc.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It was air - he had a compressor going and was going pretty crazy with the stapling. Certainly didn't follow the 4" 6" rule. He was banging them in every 1cm in certain places...
Ahh I see. He should have told us! He was vacuuming a lot, didn't see any sweeping, but we'd occasionally use the hallway to pass through. I would have stayed well clear it if if I'd known any tiny stone or grain from our shoes could get in the way of the finish. Not saying it was me anyway. I wasn't there when they laid the hallway, but you never know. Shame really; I think we ended up overpaying overall too on reflection of the finish we were left with
What happens if they don't use screws? Does the 700 not work properly, or does it ruin the staples or something?
I think the problem is the levelling compound could pull on the staples as it sets and weaken the fixings Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I see. How long would that take to happen? would it be noticeable over say 1 week, 1 month, 1yr, 5yrs?
