Flooring
Boards that creak and bounce, a kitchen floor that has had its day, a rental that needs new flooring before the next tenant. EDDI Construction Ltd fits wood, laminate, luxury vinyl tile and tiled floors across North West London, and puts right the subfloor underneath first. Fully insured, clear on price and straightforward to deal with.
Call +44 7492 350404Almost every flooring problem people call us about started below the surface. A new floor laid over an uneven or springy subfloor will creak, flex, open at the joints or crack at the tiles, however good the material on top. So before anything goes down we check what it is going onto. Loose boards are screwed down, split or rotten boards are replaced, and dips and humps are dealt with, either by levelling compound on a solid floor or by packing and overboarding on a timber one. It is the part of the job you never see afterwards, and it is the part that decides whether the floor still looks right in five years.
A lot of the housing across Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon and Harrow has suspended timber ground floors, with joists sitting over a ventilated void. They work well when that void stays dry and the air bricks are clear. Where air bricks have been blocked by a raised path, a patio or a later extension, the void can become damp and the joist ends start to decay where they meet the wall. Old plumbing and cable runs often left notches cut through joists as well. When a floor comes up we look at what is underneath and tell you what we find, and because carpentry is in-house we can replace or strengthen joists and boards in the same job rather than laying a new floor over a problem.
Different rooms ask different things of a floor. Kitchens, bathrooms and hallways take water, grit and heavy traffic, so a tiled floor or a luxury vinyl tile suited to wet areas usually makes sense there. Living rooms and bedrooms suit engineered or solid wood, or a good laminate where the budget matters more. Engineered boards cope better than solid wood with the movement of an older house and with changes in humidity. We will talk you through the trade-offs honestly, including where a cheaper option is perfectly sensible and where it is likely to disappoint, and you choose the finish.
A tiled floor is only as good as its base. On a timber subfloor, tiles need a rigid, properly fixed backer board, because the flex in floorboards is what cracks grout lines and lifts tiles. Large-format tiles need a flat surface and full adhesive coverage, not dabs, or they rock and crack at the corners. In bathrooms and wet rooms the floor is waterproofed before tiling so a failed grout joint does not become a leak into the ceiling below. Our tilers and carpenters work together on this, so the base and the finish are handled as one job.
The details at the edges are what make a new floor look finished. New flooring can raise the level of a room, which means doors may need trimming so they swing freely, and the join between two rooms needs a threshold that is neat and does not become a trip hazard. Skirting either comes off and goes back over the floor, or a neat bead goes along the edge, and we will advise which suits the room. We also allow for the expansion gap that wood and laminate floors need, hidden under the skirting rather than left open.
Flooring usually comes near the end of a refurbishment, extension or loft conversion, and we sequence it late so other trades do not damage it. For landlords, replacing worn flooring is a regular part of a void turnaround, and because plastering, carpentry, decorating and repairs are all in the same team, the property is not held up waiting for a separate flooring fitter. A single room or a hallway is just as welcome. No job is too small, and you get a clear, written quote before anything starts.
We fit engineered and solid wood, laminate, luxury vinyl tile and tiled floors, and we repair and prepare the subfloor underneath so the finish lasts.
Yes, and it is worth doing first. Creaks usually come from loose boards or movement in the joists. We screw boards down, replace damaged ones and strengthen joists where needed, so the new floor sits on something solid.
Sometimes. If the existing floor is sound, flat and firmly fixed, a new floor can often go over it. If it is loose, uneven or damp, it needs dealing with first, otherwise the problems come straight through into the new floor.
Solid wood is one piece of timber. Engineered wood has a real wood top layer on a stable core, which makes it less prone to shrinking and swelling with changes in humidity. In many older houses, and over some subfloors, engineered boards are the more practical choice.
Usually because the floor flexes. Floorboards move slightly when walked on, and tiles and grout cannot. A rigid backer board fixed properly over the boards, with the right adhesive, stops that movement reaching the tiles.
Often, yes, because a new floor can raise the level slightly. We trim doors so they swing freely and fit neat thresholds where one floor meets another.
Yes. Replacing worn or damaged flooring is a regular part of our void turnarounds, and because the other trades are in-house the property is not left empty waiting on a separate fitter.
Yes. A single bedroom, a hallway or a small bathroom floor is just as welcome as a whole house. No job is too small.
North West London, including Wembley, Harrow, Brent, Edgware, Kingsbury, Willesden, Cricklewood, Hendon, Stanmore and Colindale.