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Original poster

Flooring and Bifold Doors

17 replies

LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 12:11

Our builder has miscalculated the threshold for our bifold doors and now our internal flooring is 20mm higher than the door threshold. He is suggesting doing a bullnose step down to bridge the gap but I have no idea how this would look-- my guess is crap. Anyone else faced a similar problem? How did you solve it?

Thanks!

OP posts:
redshoespurplehat · 17/02/2014 13:27

my honest reply is this : its a fundemental error on his part and he should redo the flooring or fix the doors so that it's is at the correct height. You shouldn't have to live with his mistake! it's not as if he's working for free!!
I'm sorry to any builders reading this, if you think this is harsh - but I seriously think this is an error that should have been avoided .

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 13:46

Yes, I agree he should fix it as having done some research it's actually a significant trip hazard. However, there is no easy way of redoing the floor. We would need to either order new bifold doors (which cost 6k) or rip up all the flooring, joists, underfloor heating etc that have gone done-- which would cost even more. If we push for that my guess is he'll lose so much money he'll simply walk off the job. We may end up having to do that but would rather figure out an alternative.

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redshoespurplehat · 17/02/2014 14:19

if it's a solid floor could it be sanded into a slope over about 400mm so it's very gradual?

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 14:25

Its and engineered floor as we have underfloor heating otherwise that would be a great solution. Really staring to panic now.

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gymnasticrobotics · 17/02/2014 14:34

does the bifold door company do any different profiles for the threshold? maybe ring them up to ask for advice?

gymnasticrobotics · 17/02/2014 14:40

sorry just seen that the doors are ordered already.......

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 14:54

The doors are installed already! Starting to feel sick as I think this might be the straw that breaks the relationship. However, I just can't live with it...

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Ginformation · 17/02/2014 15:07

We had a similar fuck up in our kitchen/diner extension. The doors were installed and the floor did not allow us to put down the finished floor (also engineered wood). Our builder redid the floor so it has a gentle slope towards the doors by unscrewing the joists and adjusting them. We do not notice the slope now. The kitchen fitters had to fit a tapered kick board to compensate for it, but again you don't notice it. Not much in the rest of the house is straight anyway! This would only be possible if you have a suspended floor though.

Ginformation · 17/02/2014 15:10

And it didn't involve ripping the joists up, just unscrewing the joist hangers and twatting the joist with a big hammer. Well, that's what it looked like to me! We don't have under floor heating though.

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 15:14

I do have a suspended floor and the carpenters (who don't work for the builder-- they are fitting our wardrobes) are the ones who pointed out the problem over the weekend and suggested exactly what you did as the solution. Its 20mm over 6m length so the slope would be very gradual so I don't mind that.

The complication is that underfloor heating has been installed so its not just about lowering the joists. They would have to rip up the underfloor heating as well I imagine? Did you have underfloor heating? How long did it take your builder to redo the floor? I can't work I am so sick with anxiety about this so it good the hear you managed to fix yours! Ginformation!

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Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 15:20

x- post. How long did it take them Ginformation. I'm hoping the underfloor heating won't bose too much of a problem as its all in the centre of the the room. However, I think they have some supporting work that might make it fiddling to drop the joists easily.

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Ginformation · 17/02/2014 16:07

It took less than a day, the builders were quite sheepish at their mistake, and I was 8 months pregnant with dc1 at the time so they didn't argue with me! Hope it all works out for you, as it did for us to the point that I had forgotten about the incident until I clicked on your thread! Good luck.

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 16:28

That's a relief-- I'm not sure how long it will take or if its possible with underfloor heating but if it it came to it I would rip out the underfloor heating to avoid the trip hazard into the garden.

Do you remember if your joists were only supported at the walls or if they had a beam running in the middle of your room to provide additional support?

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Ginformation · 17/02/2014 17:00

It is defo worth doing properly now or you will always regret it. It will set you back some time but hopefully that is all.

I am sure there was a central support, can't quite picture it now, but it is a wide stretch of floor. We had the added excitement of having to tie it in with an existing solid concrete floor but even so was resolved well. Don't panic, there is always a solution!

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 17:44

I feel better now. I just need to keep my nerve as I fear my builder might threaten to walk-off. I just need to stay calm.

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Floggingmolly · 17/02/2014 18:02

Why are you so afraid your builder will walk off the job? I presume you've held enough costs back to make paying someone else to finish a non problem?

Original poster
LondonGirl83 · 17/02/2014 18:15

We have a 5% retention and all work has been valued by our architect after its done and we only have paid in arrears of work being completed so we could bring someone else in easily. However, when you are only weeks away from finishing a project that has taken 7 months, the idea of organising individual trades (builders typically don't like stepping into other people's mess) to finish things off is enough to push me over the edge. At some point you just want things done and finished. However, financially we are very secure if he did leave so that's not part of the issue. Just the delays and additional stress it would cause... Also, I hate him and am dreading the confrontation.

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