Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Feb 28, 2010 5:20 pm Hi All, We have just started looking at choosing our flooring for our new home. At this stage we are favoring the vinyl plank option (eg Karndean) , but upon researching there are a couple of issues that we can't get past so we would appreciate other people experience or advice. Issues as we see it: Presently the concrete floor for our home is all at same level (as far as we can tell). The vinyl plank that we are looking at is only about 3mm thick and are told it direct sticks to the slab? We will have 4 doorway transitions - 3 to tiled wet areas and to 1 to a carpeted room, so to us we see the height differential is of major concern. The flooring sales guy talked about sloping these regions when they "prepare the slab", but not too sure how this would work and more importantly how it would look (we have visions of sloping ramps to each transition). We can't see any easy way out of this other than raised the height of the slab? Another issue to consider is that our doors have been hung have at least have a 20mm clearance from the slab. I assume this is just the builders standard and we should have told them if we wanted something less, but again this leads to having the height of the slab increased or choosing a different floor covering? Any advice of thoughts or advice appreciated. Cheers, Firstbuild Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 2Feb 28, 2010 10:09 pm I think its a matter of letting your builder know that you are having vinyl, and when they plan the pouring of the wet area floors, this is taken into account. They should avoid the wet area tiles sitting too high so as to minimise the height difference where the tiles begin. The tiled floors should have a metal trim across the doorway where the tiles start, and the vinyl buts up to it. Where the vinyl meets the carpet, there are various trims that can be fitted. Normally a 'nap-lock bar' is fitted across the doorway, which protects the edge of the carpet and sort of provides a ramp affect into the carpeted room. Best to avoid high profile carpets though. Stick to a carpet and underlay combination no higher than about 15mm. Ash. Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 3Mar 01, 2010 2:28 pm Hi Ash, I am using Karndean also and would like your opinion on which 'nap-lock bar' to use on my transition zones.Are some better to use or are they much a much. The carpet we are using is carpet one -Rikki 'Ophir SDN' -rustic colour. http://www.carpetone.com.au Carpetone also mentioned to me they get you to sign a waiver when using a powerstretcher as it could damage the skirting boards.Are they poor layers or a scare tactic to not use the powerstretcher. There was even a mention you do not really need to powerstretch your carpet it only needs a knee kicker. I insisted that the carpet had to be powerstretched and they agreed. Your expert opinion is greatly appreciated. Cheers Michael He wants a dream home theatre - she wants a dream kitchen! Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 5Mar 02, 2010 1:24 am Paddy, there are a number of options. You should ask your installer to show you the options and ask what he recommends for your installation. There are metal bars with different finishes, and also multipurpose trims that have a vinyl insert that covers the edge of the carpet and other surface. Used correctly, there should be no damage with a power-stretcher, and I feel the 'disclaimer' is a bit silly. They are legally responsible to do the job without causing damage, whether or not a disclaimer is signed. Ash. Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 6Mar 02, 2010 12:47 pm Ash/mickve, The wife likes the look of the multipurpose trim to get a good colourmatch, so we will be using that. Ash,thanks again for the advice regarding the powerstretcher disclaimer. Cheers Michael He wants a dream home theatre - she wants a dream kitchen! Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 7Mar 02, 2010 8:55 pm Ash, thanks for your comments. We are probably a little late for the builder to change any of the floor levels as tiling of the wet areas is all underway. We'll check all the level differences this weekend and go from there. Cheers, David&Suzanne Re: Flooring Heights & Vinyl Plank 8Mar 03, 2010 8:06 pm Skirting can only be 'damaged' by a power- stretcher if there is nothing behind the skirting ie. if the walls are plasterboard, and the plasterer doesn't finish the wall close enough to the floor, a stretcher can sometime kick the skirting in at the bottom [ nothing behind it ] and flick out at the top. Leaving a gap between skirting and wall. Very unsightly. The stretcher foot is pushing at between 50-70mm above the floor. If the skirting does move in this way, it means there are LARGE gaps between wall board and floor and the plasterer hopes the shirting will cover his mistakes. The other case of 'damaged' skirting, is if the whole wall moves. Can be seen sometimes if there is cracking in the corners of plasterboard after the use of a power-stretcher, if it does not 'bounce' back. In the center part of a wall, the wall usually comes back in this case without any sign of a problem to the customer. Large cracks are a sign that the bottom plate is not fixed, at all, to the floor. Big problem. So, what I am getting at is that if these problems with a skirting show up, after use of a power-stretcher, it can be a sign of questionable quality of work by other tradepersons. Building Standards; Getting It Right! We bought a house in 2015 advertised as a 7/2/2, 4br up, 3br down (7br), and to date, it’s a great house. 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