Wood laminate over uneven floor?

[Chris198801]

I live in a flat with concrete floors under Marley tiles. My living room has (unused) under-floor heating, and there are access panels (not used nor needed) crossing the width of the floor. These panels are metal frames filled with concrete then tiles to match the floor. These panels do not sit perfectly flush with the floor. They stand proud up to nearly 4mm in places. My questions are:

1. Do I need to care about this or will the underlay take care of it?
2. If this is a problem, how close do I need to get things?
I'm considering an angle grinder to just grind off anything above floor level. Another idea is to pour levelling compound around the area.
Thanks for youre thoughts.
Chris

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

IMO you need to do something, underlay isn't going to absorb 4mm.

Are both the inner and outer frames above the floor level or just the inner? There's a slim chance that someone's taken them out and put them back on some bits of muck at some point, if so they just need opening up and clearing out.

You could grind them flat, but it would definitely be messy, and you would end up with some scuffs into the surrounding concrete. Also they are probably galvanised, so grinding would remove the rustproof coating and you could end up with a load of puffed up rust pushing up under your flooring.

I'd just pour self levelling compound over the whole room, skim it flush with the frame. Put some masking tape over the metal first, otherwise you may get issues if you fill the gap between lid and frame. Even if you don't need access again, it could crack, make stupid noises underfoot or pop up under the flooring.

 

[Chris198801]

Ivor, it's the inner frames that stand proud, and I had the same thought about much under their edges. I took them all up and cleaned the out. There was much, but removing it didn't fix the problem.
Your comment about removing the galvanisation is excellent and I had not thought of that. Thanks. I believe is it galvanised.
You say I'd "just" pour some levelling compound over the whole room. Hahaha. That feels like a major undertaking - it's more than 4m square. What about painting the steel after grinding - would that keep the rust at bay?
Having said all that, I'm knocking on a bit and could well dead before the rust takes hold.

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.

Chris