I have to replace a 4 x 5 metre floor at a basement flat. Joists, floor (tongue and groove) and skirting. Do I need a carpenter or general builder? When I do a search of local companies, neither trades mention joist work and a search of 'flooring' just seems to yield surface finishes. What should I type in the search bar? Cheers!
Flooring tends to mean the top visible surface. You need to search for 'structural' and 'construction' Any good, traditional carpenter such as myself would be happy to quote for this. Trouble you will have is finding one. Most newer carpenters seem unable, or unwilling to tackle such work. A decent general builder also will have the skills, the kit, and the staff to tackle a whole floor replacement. Its just a case of finding a good and reliable tradesman. Whereabouts are you?
Interesting; there are carpenters/joiners locally but they tend to promote their fancier skills!. I'm in Clevedon, North Somerset.
We all tend to show our higher class work because if you can do perfect skirtings and architraves, it could be assumed that you can cut 2x8 to tolerance, and most people are more willing to pay a decent rate for the appearances. Whereas the imprtant structural stuff can't be seen so they'd rather not pay for it. If you really can't find anyone, give me a call. We're in Bath, so your a bit further than I'm usually willing to travel, but....
So near and yet so far; it's a bit of a lousy trip from Bath to Clevedon taking more time than the distance would suggest. I have found one or two nearby now that might fit the bill. Just out of interest, starting from a bedrock floor, and as a ballpark, how much does a new floor cost (not the cosmetic bit). Low end and top end figure is good enough! This is only part of the refurb I'm stumping up for.
C24 2x9s for 4m span at 400cc. 22mm Caberfloor, £2200 ish. Plus about £300-£500 for skirting, depending on what heighth and profile you want, and mdf of redwood. Could be a saving if you can remove the existing floor, could be additional cost if there's a load of plumbing or electric in the way. Main timbers alone are £450, simpsons £40, caberfloor is another £340. Nails, screws, studding, glue, tube of resin, another £30, so materials cost is approx £850. Couple of days for 2 guys....
Cool. Many thanks for taking the trouble to breakdown the potential costs. I had the floor taken up a few months back which revealed a damp patch of earth near an outer wall. I've left it drying out but have a horrible feeling there is a failed outside drain leaking water in to the soil. That's another job right there!
Probably better to find and fix the source before putting in a floor. Sod's law dictates that the new floor will have to come up to fix the problem
A general builder would be suitable for replacing the floor as they usually have the skills and knowledge to perform the work, including joist repair/replacement and installation of tongue and groove flooring.