Annoyed about fitting of new flooring

[shelldockley]

We recently had karndean type flooring fitted for the whole downstairs. I love it, it looks great, however it isn't completely level, there is a lump underneath in the main corridor, not massive but like a flattened molehill. Had it about 3 weeks now and got the guys out to look last week coz I keep slightly tripping/catching my feet on it. They basically said it had to be like that because our floor was so many different levels before. I don't really understand but I don't see why, I think we've been fobbed off

Yes - they sound like cowboys. What is the sub-floor? Was the floor ply boarded before the lvt was laid? This should have helped level it out. If it was really bad, it should have been levelled (with a levelling compound). Only an idiot lays lvt on a bumpy floor.

I mean the flooring people are idiots!

Thing is they did level the floor first, it was concrete of different levels so they concreted up to the highest level, came back the next day then supposedly used some self levelling stuff as they were laying it, does that sound right?

The self levelling screed? I think that's what it's called. When I had my karndean fitted the screed had to be left for 24 hours so it could.... Um, flow about, or something technical language lacking

Keep complaining! Good luck

How did they prep the floor? It should have had a layer (or several) of self levelling compound on top of a concrete floor, or a plywood layer on top of boards at the very least. If they haven't done that then yep, you'll have an uneven floor.

What do you mean by Karndean type? Karndean, Amtico et al have approved fitters so if your fitters were approved by the manufacturer then you could talk to the company.

This is what I was wondering about the screed, I thought it had to be left to level for 24 hours, but it was definitely concrete that they did and left

VeryPunny it's by Adore but they do also do Karndean

It didn't "have to be like that" at all if they'd levelled it properly. Definitely push this one and if they don't resolve it say you'll speak to the manufacturer. A large chunk.of their business probably comes from being an approved fitter so they might pull their fingers out if they think that's at risk.

I might try the manufacturer then and see what they say. I can't see why it had to be like that either, and if it did need a slight hill somewhere surely it could have been more to the side rather than right in the middle of the corridor!

Our fitter would have discussed it at the time as well. Not just done something odd and not mentioned it.

Are they approved Karndean fitters? They should have let you know about this.

Ok I've just looked at the Karndean website and they're not listed. Adore don't seem to list approved fitters on their site

I also think they should have mentioned it at the time. I was concerned at the start about the floor levels because raising it much higher would have meant the washing machine would no longer have fitted under the worktop. They assured me it would be fine though.

You've got wonder whether it wasn't appropriate for your floor unless it had been dug out and levelled then. If they won't sort it out, you could try Trading Standards.

You also need to leave fresh concrete to dry for a long time before you can put self levelling compound on top - we had to leave our new concrete floor for over a month before we could start working on top of it. So you've been done if they've said it's fine to chuck concrete down, wait 24hrs and then glue down laminate.

Oh god, really?

If I were you I would go and visit an approved fitter in your area, describe your floor and ask them what you would need to have done, including timescales, in order to have lvt fitted. That will at least give you some idea whether they have completely cocked up or not.