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Hi - hope you can provide me with some knowledge/guidance..............
My builder is very close to finishing a two storey extension. The build has gone well and we are very happy with the outcome, apart from the floor at ground level.
The ground floor, which consists of lounge, narrow side partitioned play room, hallway exit/entrance and patio exit/entrance is concrete based with DPC then Kingspan insulation on top and then glued chipboard to form the floor surface. I understand this to be a ‘floating floor system’ which is a common flooring system which works well if constructed and installed properly.
When the floor was finished I was concerned about the movement and excessive creaking and popping sounds. The builder informed me that this would ‘settle over time’ and this noise was the settling of the Kingspan. I was immediately unsure about this as it was obviously that the noise and movement was the chipboard on top and not the actual Kingspan - so started to do my own research. The floor gives way at the edges and the creaking/popping seems to be getting worse at exit/entry points or where there is heavy foot traffic.
In my opinion and judging by the information I have found so far the floating floor system should have had timber batons put in place alongside the Kingspan at the floor edging, in between walkways/exits/entrances and heavy traffic areas. My floor simply consists of Kingspan with a glued chipboard surface on top of it – in my opinion is it not constructed and supported properly which is why there is excessive movement and noise.
The builder has now in various random places used larges bolts through the chipboard, Kingspan and into the concrete base in an attempt to ‘secure’ and ‘nip’ the floor together as well as what appears to be expanding foam around the edges/corner. This seems to me to defeat the object of a ‘floating’ floor and although it had eased the movement and noise for a short while the problems are resurfacing. In addition the fixing of these bolts has made the floor very uneven, you can physically see and feel the floors unevenness and well as gaps where the skirting board meets the surface of the floor. We were hoping to have a nice wood/laminate finishing surface but if the floor is to remain in this state then carpeting would now seem the only option.
It seems to me that the only way to cure this issue is to rip up what has been put down and start again, using an industry standard construction process. If you could comment as far as possible that I am correct in my conclusion I will then feel more confident to confront the builder on this issue and have it put right.
Thanks for your help
My builder is very close to finishing a two storey extension. The build has gone well and we are very happy with the outcome, apart from the floor at ground level.
The ground floor, which consists of lounge, narrow side partitioned play room, hallway exit/entrance and patio exit/entrance is concrete based with DPC then Kingspan insulation on top and then glued chipboard to form the floor surface. I understand this to be a ‘floating floor system’ which is a common flooring system which works well if constructed and installed properly.
When the floor was finished I was concerned about the movement and excessive creaking and popping sounds. The builder informed me that this would ‘settle over time’ and this noise was the settling of the Kingspan. I was immediately unsure about this as it was obviously that the noise and movement was the chipboard on top and not the actual Kingspan - so started to do my own research. The floor gives way at the edges and the creaking/popping seems to be getting worse at exit/entry points or where there is heavy foot traffic.
In my opinion and judging by the information I have found so far the floating floor system should have had timber batons put in place alongside the Kingspan at the floor edging, in between walkways/exits/entrances and heavy traffic areas. My floor simply consists of Kingspan with a glued chipboard surface on top of it – in my opinion is it not constructed and supported properly which is why there is excessive movement and noise.
The builder has now in various random places used larges bolts through the chipboard, Kingspan and into the concrete base in an attempt to ‘secure’ and ‘nip’ the floor together as well as what appears to be expanding foam around the edges/corner. This seems to me to defeat the object of a ‘floating’ floor and although it had eased the movement and noise for a short while the problems are resurfacing. In addition the fixing of these bolts has made the floor very uneven, you can physically see and feel the floors unevenness and well as gaps where the skirting board meets the surface of the floor. We were hoping to have a nice wood/laminate finishing surface but if the floor is to remain in this state then carpeting would now seem the only option.
It seems to me that the only way to cure this issue is to rip up what has been put down and start again, using an industry standard construction process. If you could comment as far as possible that I am correct in my conclusion I will then feel more confident to confront the builder on this issue and have it put right.
Thanks for your help
