Hello, We had Karndean fitted throughout our open plan area and hallway. The open plan floor was only 9 months old when we decided to get Karndean fitted to replace a very temporary cheap laminate. We had underlay down for the laminate which has been left under the Karndean. Basically, as it stands the floor is chipboard -> laminate underlay -> 9mm ply -> lots of screed and then Karndean. Now the floor has been completed it is super creaky and has quite a few lumps as you can see from the pictures below. I'm not sure if this is because the ply has not been secured properly or the underlay is allowing movement. The shop which fitted the Karndean has accepted responsibility and said they will pretty much half the bill or replace the whole floor. If I'm to let them get their hands on the floor again, what is the best procedure to make sure we get a great result at the end? Should we strip back to the chipboard and go for some super thick plywood 12mm/18mm to completely eliminate the chance of creaking? The creaking bugs me much more than the lumps The last thing I want is a creaky lumpy floor. I would be tempted take the half price bill and keep the floor but I know I will live to regret it when I'm pulling it all back up in the years to come. The pictures were taken on a dark and gloomy day, it looks even worse on the rare sunny day. Being a new member I can't link directly to the video of the creaky floor. Thanks in advance for any comments.
Flippin'eck Where do I start.... Well first thing I noticed was the 'waves' in the screed....wow someone knows what they are doing dont they whoever screeded that needs the trowel taking off them for good or swiping across their wrists! Let me start again, what a very poor job and no wonder you are pissed off, you have every right to be. DO NOT accept half the bill you will regret that for the rest of the time you have to stare at it....or every time you trip over the humps!!! Half the bill back might be a lot of money and sound great but you would be crazy to accept that and let them get away with it. How long has this been down? Why the hell did they leave the underlay down? Did they give you an explanation as to why?....something like "it will give you extra warmth under foot".... ridiculous and just pure lazy. The company need to come back and start right from scratch and depending on how low the floor drops after the several layers id be inclined to go 9mm minimum but before they do that whilst its back down to chip board check for the noisy areas and attend to them before any ply is being fitted on top. Id say the noise is coming from the poor fitted ply over the spongy underlay, there will be a fair bit of movement the way they have done it regardless how many 'screws' they have used....providing they have used screws and not pins/nails.....or perhaps 'no nails' Thing is with this crap attempt do you really want to let them loose on your floor again? If so then Id be insisting their best fitter (if they have better) but before they even try and put it right id be asking to see some of their work before they have another crack at it and once its redone then check it over very carefully before handing any money over. Cant believe cowboys like this can even think its remotely acceptable to leave what supposed to be a finished job looking like that, pure amateurs. Bloody pisses me off and a disgrace to the pro fitters that sometimes have to Graft their asses off to do a immaculate job when some can get away with this shite!
I know it's awful, I am absolutely gutted it turned out this way. We might as well have kept the cheap laminate! As crazy as it sounds, they started the job in November then the fitter went on holiday and the shop only managed to get him back a few weeks ago to finish it. They suggested keeping the underlay to bump up the height so that it was level with the floors to the other rooms. At the time I asked to use 12mm ply instead but they insisted that the underlay would work. I think they may now regret this choice. I originally asked about the creaking / popping noise before any karndean was fitted and was told new plyboard is always creaky and will settle over time. Unfortunately, since I have found out this is not the case. I have included a 20-second video below of the horrible noise it makes!
They used the underlay to get the height back on the skirting. Should have used thicker ply without the poor screed job. It needs to come up and be redone as that's terrible. Being a darker floor will show any specs of dust like an I sore..
They fitted the plywood with a nail gun too! After some reading, this seems to be a bad idea? Should he have used proper screws which will not come loose over time?
I fit all my ply with a nail gun ! Thats not the problem here The problem is theses guys have no idea what there doing what so ever. Its up there in the top list of horrific failers unfortunately for you. It's all wrong start to finish
Thanks for all the comments. I only seem to have two options. 1) Do not pay them. 2) Let them fix it. I do not really want to go down the route of not paying, specially if they are offering to do it again. If I speak with the shop tomorrow and say that I want to them to start again, what is the right process? Unfortunately I do not really know much about flooring. From how I understand it, the process should be... - Take it all back to the chipboard. - Put 12mm Plyboard down - skim the edges and screws - Lay Karndean The more I know hopefully the more chance I have of getting a good end product. The shop which is recommended by Karndean as my local fitter's dose have another fitter so I will ask for him. I might be looking into this a bit too much now, but is there better plyboard which can be put down? One which will last longer. Also it worth me looking into replacing the chipboard with engineered plyboard before the Karndean is laid again? I've read a lot of stories how chipboard will start to creak over time and the last thing I want is to fix the popping noise to later down the line get creaking from the sub floor. Again thank you for any help
That creaking would defo drive me nuts to and keeping the underlay down to help with the height issue is pathetic, amateurs like I say. So with the 12mm I take it you wont need the screed over the top then but if it was me id opt for a diamond grade 9mm and a nice smooth coat of screed over the whole lot but like I say thats what id have. 12mm top grade is the other option though. Did the chipboards creak before? (When you had laminate) I wouldnt go to the extreme of changing the chipboard if its ok as its just an extra expense for nothing. If you dont pay them then you then have to pay another firm to come in and do the job but the rip out might cost you a bit more than you think, just give them the 2nd chance and dont pay till you are 100% happy with it. I use a nail gun on my 6mm ply jobs but 9mm+ I always use the screw down method. Make sure they acclimatise the ply before fitting it. They should know about acclimatising the karndean before fitting but just let them know what you expect. Makes me think what would have been the shoos attitude if you had already paid them.
Congratulations on showing me one of the worst floors I've ever seen - these come reccomended on karndean's website? God help them, complaint to karndean directly too if I was you. Do not pay for something that you're not happy with, fill rip up and start again.
It's a shocker. I don't think you can trust any firm that puts down a levelling compound that bad. Get your money back and go somewhere else. You should also ask them to take it up. If your subfloor is creaking, using a thicker ply screwed down can sometime help. The thicker the better Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's truly aweful fitting., start to finish. Unfortunately a lot of retailers don't have their own trained LVT installers., and call people in. ( I know that., as being an independent installer., my rep recommends me to retailers) Do not accept half the costs.. It needs taking up back to boards., and installed correctly. It's worth contacting Karndean., and informing them of the aweful experience you had from the retailer you used. Send photos and details etc. [email protected] Tel; 01386 820196. (Monday-Friday) They will arrange for inspection., and submit a written report., and chase up the retailer to get you floor resolved.
Horror show!! My 5 year old could screed better with a saucepan.. Speak to Karndean and don't pay a penny
Hey Guys, Sorry for the late response. I've just spoken to the shop and they are going to rip it up and start again! I do not think they were best pleased but after checking it themselves they agreed it was a crap job. I spoke to Karndean first to see where I stood and they said the would get involved if the shop refused to fix it. Let's hope round two is more successful, they have booked me in for the 24th April with a new fitter which apparently has 50 years experience. I will post new pictures, when the new floor is down. Thanks again for all of the advice and information.
50yrs experience lol..they sending you a dinosaur Well least they are admitting to the poor workmanship and doing something about it. This guy they sending has to be touching 70 ha
