Have I been fucked over here...

[Midsommar]

...or do I just need to pull up my big girl pants and calm the fuck down?

I have booked a guy to fit laminate flooring in my hallway and dining room this Friday.

During the booking process the guy I spoke to told me the floor might need screeding (levelling out, depending on the state of the concrete underneath). He said the floor probably won't need screeding as the house is fairly new build.

I have text him today asking him about Friday and if he needs to screed will it all be done in one day - he has dropped the bombshell on me now that if it needs screeding he will need to book in on another day to get the actual laminate fitted. This may be weeks/months away.

He never explained this to me at the time of booking; he made out that it would be done under one booking.

I'm really annoyed about this and feel like I've been conned a little bit - he never made it clear to me that I would potentially need multiple appointments. I was under the impression this could be done in one go (from what the fitter said to me).

I'm probably being hugely unreasonable but I needed to vent!!

If a tradesman is booked for months, it means they are a good builder, anyone that can come and do a job at the drop of a hat is probably not worth employing and not very skilled.

I used to work for a flooring manufacturer and I would be surprised if a new build needed screeding

[quote Midsommar]@Redcherries please see my previous responses regarding the screeding and one appointment. I'm not that daft to think he would wait around for a day for it to dry! I was under the impression it would take a couple of days (a couple of days being the one appointment). Is it not too late to look for another tradesman?

@namechange2020onceagain no lumps or bumps from what I can see. The screeding isn't essential then?

Thank you all for your responses by the way, appreciate you all taking the time to read and comment.[/quote]
I doubt it. What is down on the floor now?

Unlikely to need screeding

Are you having the underlay cushion? That should smooth the way without screeding

@Namechange2020onceagain the current floor is a very ugly carpet, haha. I believe it is concrete underneath.

@Hoppinggreen I hope you are right!

I think you're making a drama out of it, if your house is a new build chances aren’t it won’t need any screeding.

I agree with our dh , relax.

£400 seems a lot for screeding too, you can buy Mapei Ultraplan for £15 a bag from Screwfix at the moment and one bag covers 6 m2 at a depth of 3 mm... I can't imagine your floors will be that I level that you'd need a huge depth of screed but it will take a couple of days or so to set properly before laying flooring down on top.

How big is your room? Putting the leveling compound down is not totally easy but it is possible to DIY after watching some YouTube videos ...we've just done our own hallway, lounge and conservatory - which took 10 bags in total - but some areas were very uneven (our house is 70 years old though!) .

Dont even talk to me about tradesmen right now. I will murder the next one and bury him under the new patio.
Ditch the floor and get carpet. It all sounds like way too much hassle to me.

£400 to pour some self levelling concrete over your floor?
I did my front room myself in lockdown!

With the carpet there is likely to be gripper rods along the edges to hold the carpet in place. These will need to come up and they are usually just a couple of nails holding them in place so that shouldn't cause any problems.

You my need to get new doorway threshold strips as the vinyl would probably be thinner so that's something to think about too.

Can you lift the carpet and have a look at the concrete? If it is smooth, you will be okay. If it has lines (they tamp it down when trying to level it out) in it, it may need the screed.

If it looks like the edge of this, you are good, if it look like the middle, you will need screeding.

You could just lay the carpet back over the screeding loose (after it has cured for a few days) while you are waiting for them to come back and fit it.

He should have made it clear -he is meant to be the flooring specialist after all

Surely if you're having work done then you familiarise yourself with as much about the work as possible and if something else is mentioned then you ask about it. I'm amazed that someone doesn't know what screeding means and thinks the floor can be laid on top of it on the same day!

@mrsBtheparker

He should have made it clear -he is meant to be the flooring specialist after all

Surely if you're having work done then you familiarise yourself with as much about the work as possible and if something else is mentioned then you ask about it. I'm amazed that someone doesn't know what screeding means and thinks the floor can be laid on top of it on the same day!

Some people pay others to know this stuff, no need to be spicy.

Surely laminate is laid on a liner? No need to screed?
Vinyl flooring needs screed, I'm surprised about laminate! There were two kinds of liner last I looked, a thin foam type and a thicker felt type for reducing noise. But the liners meant that there was no need for screed unless it was a really uneven floor.

Wooden laminate will definitely not need screeding. It will need a underlay, it can be either thin foam like sheet or a thicker cardboard type. I don't know why I thought you said Vinyl, I have had a lot of sun today.

I don't get it though. How is he going to rock up on Friday with the right materials if he does not know what needs doing. Who has measured up? He was never likely to work over into a Saturday.