Lifting up tongue & groove floorboards temporarily?

[Mrdini]

Long story short - I live in a flat. Suspected leaking water pipe under floor although floor itself is dry.

The plumber has said that to get to where the leak is properly, he would have to lift up the carpet, the PU foam underlay and cut through the wooden floor to the concrete underneath. He's said that unfortunately he would not be able to preserve the wooden floor. I have a little over a week until he comes back to find a better option.

Even though I'm supposed to keep the property carpeted, I would like to preserve the wooden floor if I can (as I'd like to keep the option of removing the carpet at some point) as it appears to be good quality engineered wood. I'm toying with the idea of lifting up the floorboards temporarily.

I've read through the various threads about tongue and groove and I can see it's not always possible without damaging the flooring. I've tried lifting up the floor edge (the pic with the carpet lifted up) with my fingers and it seems pretty solid (although the carpet door plate is nailed in) so I suspect it's possibly been glued.

Because there's a possibility it's been glued, I'm not 100% certain as to what my options for minimal cosmetic damage would be...

What are your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Nige F]

My thoughts as a Sussex Man - are to contact your landlord, (unless he is the well known one from Brighton)

 

[Mrdini]

Ha - this is my place unfortunately - otherwise I'd not be on here!

 

[Nige F]

OK it looks like engineered wood onto concrete, maybe glued round the perimeter. Your best bet would be a multi tool and follow the planks where they are laid, all round. That way you'll get a small cut - unlike a circular saw ( which would be fine for T+G ) you may be able to cut and remove enough planks so you can unclip/lift more as needed

 

[JohnD]

In the first pic, it looks to me like a laminate floor, not wooden, on top of man-made boards. I can't see what the real floor is made of. But if there is a leaking water pipe under it, can it be concrete?

See if you can measure the thickness of the top layer.

this one, I mean

https://www.diynot.com/diy/attachments/img_0419-jpg.137680/

 

[Diver Fred]

Is the flat on ground floor ?
The carpet ruling is probably to stop noise transmission.

But if need to investigate for a leak then he floor has to come up. It's unlikely that the carpet or underlay is glued down; may be stuck because of age and floor wax on the timber floor so should come with a little force.
Move that and expose the 'wood' floor - as others have commented could easily be laminate. If it is you need to find the expansion gap and lift that up by planks. Laminate will be 'floating', i.e. loose, as a complete floor. Unless it is in a wet area (Bathroom or Kitchen) then it should not be glued together so will come up in planks/boards once you have started.
What is the floor under the boding/laminate?

 

[Mrdini]

OK it looks like engineered wood onto concrete, maybe glued round the perimeter. Your best bet would be a multi tool and follow the planks where they are laid, all round. That way you'll get a small cut - unlike a circular saw ( which would be fine for T+G ) you may be able to cut and remove enough planks so you can unclip/lift more as needed

Thanks! It's possible it'll be an insurance job (as part of "Trace & access") so I might get a pro floor fitter in... But good to know my options.

In the first pic, it looks to me like a laminate floor, not wooden, on top of man-made boards. I can't see what the real floor is made of. But if there is a leaking water pipe under it, can it be concrete?

See if you can measure the thickness of the top layer.

this one, I mean

The laminate's approx 16-18mm thick. Not man-made boards - it's almost certainly concrete underneath (building built in the early 70s) but honestly don't 100% know as only moved in several months ago! This is why the plumber wants access by cutting through the wooden flooring to see what's going on underneath.

Is the flat on ground floor ?
The carpet ruling is probably to stop noise transmission.

But if need to investigate for a leak then he floor has to come up. It's unlikely that the carpet or underlay is glued down; may be stuck because of age and floor wax on the timber floor so should come with a little force.

Carpet isn't stuck down - but underlay is stapled down in parts. I'm not too concerned about the carpet/underlay, that's the easy bit. And yes, it was put down relatively recently (couple years ago) due to noise/lease obligations.

 

[Diver Fred]

Carpet isn't stuck down - but underlay is stapled down in parts. I'm not too concerned about the carpet/underlay, that's the easy bit. And yes, it was put down relatively recently (couple years ago) due to noise/lease obligations.

So you need to lift the carpet - roll from the side where the work has to be done - probably half away across the room. Extract the staples holding the underlay down and roll that back as well. Now determine which way the laminate is laid and find the expansion gap/filler. If the filler isn't visible then you may have to remove the skirting or damage the laminate. Lift the laminate planks as necessary to expose the underfloor.