Advice on damaged floor

[enfopaul]

Dear All

This is my first post in the flooring forum.

The Problem.
We have a 1970's house and the downstairs floor is damaged where it meets the patio doors. The damage takes the form of missing/crumbling floor. I can poke my fingers down the gaps and can see the outerwall to one side & what looks like a beam or something the otherside.

Whilst some of the edge that meets the patio door is still firm other bits are loose and would proably give way under moderate pressure. The width of the damage is around 1-2 inches, along the length of the patio doors.

We have recently had some Kardean flooring installed which involved the fitters screeding the existing floor prior to laying the Kardean. Overall the job has been well done but we are disappointed that where the new floor goes over the gaps in the flooring it sinks and if you press it there is quite a lot of give in it.

The flooring company has been back and are saying that there is nothing that can be done about this - my question is, is this correct?

I would have thought that they could have perhaps used something to bridge the gaps (such as the old tiles they removed which were about 1-2mm thick) and then screeded the floor. This would at least given a firm surface on which to stick the new flooring onto.

If you've got this far, thanks for taking the time to read - your feedback, comments and suggestions would be welcome as they are coming back again tomorrow evening.

Regards,

EnfoPaul

 

[mattysupra]

i need some pics. I have sent you my email address as cant log onto this site at the moment. However it is working at the moment for the first time in a matter of weeks!

 

[enfopaul]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately, as the floor has already been screeded and the Karndean laid, I'm not sure what you want pics of?

The biggest problem we have is that where the karndean butts up against the patio window, if you stand on it or push it down with your fingers , you can see it move about 1cm up and down. I guess that this was caused by the gaps on the concrete floor as it finished upto the patio doors?

As mentioned in the original post, before the floor was laid it originally had (Marley, I think?) tiles - they're the type that are biege in colour with a mottled effect and are brittle and break if you bend them. These tiles near the edge of the floor that meets the patio doors were damaged, cracked and loose. Under the damaged tiles you could see below the level of the floor. It was probably a few inches deep.

My concern is that as the Kardean flooring gives it will soon start to loosen and separate and then we will end up with these bits of Karndean flapping around!

I could take some pics of the areas where the Kardean is moving if that would help>

THanks again for getting back to me, your help is very much appreciated.

 

[mattysupra]

maybe a photo will help! The tiles before sound like 'thermoplastic tiles' normally glued with bitumin. But most made by marley. It sounds to me like someone has filled a void in the doorway and it has failed or the concrete base/screed was flowed in there at not the correct thickness hence the problem.

The floor fitters should of removed this section of concrete and repaired with the correct mortar/cement etc, and then skimmed over this with the correct acrylic or water based compound to suit the flooring. If your left with movement now it will start to show through the karndean along with the subfloor slowly getting worse also.

P.s i think some how you have fixed my internet! I could not get on this site untill your comment/message came through!

 

[enfopaul]

P.s i think some how you have fixed my internet! I could not get on this site untill your comment/message came through!

I work in IT and you wouldn't believe how many problems I solve just by turning up on site and staring at the computer. Perhaps this skill now extends to email

Thanks for your help. It's good to have a second opinion from a flooring guru. As a joe public, we're often left in the hands of "the experts" and it is sometimes difficult to know if we're being dealt with honestly or not. I think it may be worth paying for a local floor guru to come on-site and give their opinion as to if the job has been completed with regard to good practice.

Thanks again,

EnfoPaul