Flooring fitter in Fulham for laminate and engineered wood

Laminate, engineered wood and vinyl explained

Laminate is a board with a printed wood or stone pattern under a tough clear top layer. It is hard wearing and good value, which is why it is so common in rental flats. Engineered wood has a real timber top layer glued onto a stable core, so it looks and feels like solid wood but copes better with the heat from underfloor heating and the changes in a centrally heated room. Click vinyl, often sold as LVT, is a flexible plank that is quiet underfoot and handles splashes well.

All three usually fit as a floating floor. That means the boards lock together and rest on an underlay rather than being nailed or glued down. It makes fitting quicker and lets the floor move a little as the room warms and cools. We can talk through which one suits the room, but the choice of product is always yours.

The part you do not see: getting the subfloor right

Most problems with new floors come from what is underneath. In Fulham's Victorian and Edwardian terraces, the ground floor is often old timber boards over joists, with gaps, loose boards and the odd squeak. Before anything new goes down, loose boards are screwed tight, high spots planed and dips packed out. Sometimes a layer of thin plywood or hardboard goes over the top to give a smooth, even base.

Concrete floors in newer flats and kitchen extensions need checking for level and for damp. A damp proof membrane, which is a plastic sheet that stops moisture rising into the new floor, is often needed over concrete. Skipping this preparation is how you end up with boards that bounce, joints that open up or a floor that swells near the back door.

Flooring in Fulham flats and the lease

A lot of Fulham homes are converted flats or flats in mansion blocks, and the people living below will hear footsteps on a hard floor far more than on carpet. Many leases have a clause about floor coverings. Some ask for carpet in certain rooms, some ask for a particular type of acoustic underlay, and some need the freeholder's or managing agent's permission before you change anything.

Please check your lease before you order flooring. It is much easier to buy the right underlay at the start than to lift a new floor after a complaint from downstairs. If your lease names a product or standard, tell us when you ask for a quote and we will work to it.

Finishing touches from a careful Fulham handyman

A good floor is judged at the edges. Floating floors need a small gap around the walls so they can expand, and that gap has to be hidden. In period rooms with tall original skirting, the neatest way is often to take the skirting off, lay the floor and refit it, rather than adding a strip of beading in front. Where skirting is fragile or painted many times, beading or a scotia trim can be the better option.

Door frames are undercut so boards slide underneath instead of being cut around the shape of the frame. Thresholds are fitted where the new floor meets carpet, tiles or another room, and doors may need trimming so they open over the new height. These small jobs are part of the work, not extras added at the end.

• Undercutting door frames and architraves
• Removing and refitting skirting where it makes sense
• Fitting threshold strips between rooms
• Trimming doors to clear the new floor

Old floor coverings and what might be under them

Lifting old carpet or laminate is normally straightforward. Older tiles stuck to the floor are different. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says asbestos can be found in any building built before 2000, and its guidance includes floor tiles and their adhesive among the materials that can contain it. If we find small square tiles or old adhesive under an old covering, we stop and talk to you before anything is broken up.

Often the simplest answer is to leave sound old tiles in place and lay a new floor over them, as long as the height works with the doors. Where they must come up, a sample can be tested first.

Kitchens, bathrooms and hallways

Every room asks something different of a floor. In a kitchen, the new floor normally runs up to the plinths under the units rather than underneath them, and the plinths are trimmed to sit neatly on top. Around a washing machine or dishwasher, a click vinyl copes far better with the odd leak than laminate, which can swell at the joints if water gets in.

Bathrooms in Fulham flats are often small and full of pipes, so cutting around the toilet, the basin pedestal and radiator pipes takes time and care. Pipe collars, small round covers, finish off the holes neatly. Hallways in period terraces are long and narrow and take a lot of wear from shoes and bikes, and the boards are usually laid along the length of the hall so it looks longer rather than broken up.

If you are not sure which way the boards should run, we will usually suggest following the longest wall or the main light from the window.

Planning your floor around the rest of the house

Flooring is usually one of the last jobs in a room. If you are also having walls plastered, skirting replaced or a kitchen fitted, it helps to get the order right so the new floor is not damaged by other work. As a local handyman we can lay your floor as part of a wider job, or on its own if the rest is done.

We cover homes in Fulham and nearby areas such as Parsons Green, Hammersmith and Putney. Measure roughly, tell us the rooms and the type of floor you want, and we will confirm exact quantities before you buy, allowing for waste and pattern.

Common questions