winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Evening all. On a big renovation job of mine the biggest job is to lay solid oak 160x20mm flooring throughout the downstairs and the downstairs is BIG!! There is two big stacks of the flooring sitting there and it has been climatising for months. Now they said I can do it day work or price but I have never done this amount before. It consists taking skirtings off (13" deep), taking up old floor boards, maybe renewing a few joists if needed,laying floor with face fixing screwing and then putting the 12mm oak pellets in each screw hole. I've rough estimated it at 4500ish pellets!!!!! I'm gonna be having nightmares of me drowning in a sea of pellets. God help me. But work is work and will look lovely once done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmaxphil Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 It'll save counting sheep at night !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 if it were me i'd want daywork for all that, chuffing pellets lol! a long time ago I bought a snappy set just for this pellet malarkey, came with a tct cutter / counter bore bit, and two pellet cutters, I've still got them and they still work a treat. difficult to price if you have to strip everything down you won't know what you've got left to make good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donkey Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 I had to do similar on an elm floor we took the off cuts and pelleted them so it would be consistent with the floor Looked great the finished product but a lot of work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Just out of interest, how big is the downstairs in sq m and how much is the flooring looking like costing (materials and installation). Just being ball park nosey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unico1 Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Why does it need to be pelleted? Why not use a porta nailer that secret nails through the tongue of the board using cleats. Do it on a price around £20/30 per metre... Make yourself some dough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bud 20 Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 i would just screw and pellet first row or second get the porta nailer in action only way to go as unico said . don't forget to wedge the first run of boards straight, best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) if it were me i'd want daywork for all that, chuffing pellets lol! a long time ago I bought a snappy set just for this pellet malarkey, came with a tct cutter / counter bore bit, and two pellet cutters, I've still got them and they still work a treat. difficult to price if you have to strip everything down you won't know what you've got left to make good. Yeah day work is my thinking but I quite fancy having a go at pricing one room. We've bought pellets already cut ;-) It's just the case if going through them to see which one matches the board. When I was in my first year of apprenticeship, we did a oak floor with 13" wide boards and pelleted. Of course being the apprentice I had to fit pellets. So boring and this job is 5x more than that one. I found drilling out myself can cause the cutter to get hot,burn the outside of the pellet so when you fit it, there is a fine black ring around it. Edited February 24, 2017 by winnie&bezza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 I had to do similar on an elm floor we took the off cuts and pelleted them so it would be consistent with the floor Looked great the finished product but a lot of work I bet it did. I like the pelleted look anyway. It gives it more character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unico1 Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Its a bit old hat all that pelleting in my mind, no matter how good a match they still jump out at you, look like a polka dot floor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Just out of interest, how big is the downstairs in sq m and how much is the flooring looking like costing (materials and installation). Just being ball park nosey. Well the floor plan figures of the rooms work out at 89.57sqm but that's not including the hallway which is large in itself and I haven't measured so I'm looking at easily 100+ sqm. I'm new on this job as the previous carpenter wasn't up to scratch so the flooring was bought long before I turned up and I don't know the cost of it I'm sorry to say. I do know that the pellets are about £10 for a pack of 50 so you are getting on for 1k for them. Installation cost is tricky as it's so labour intensive and as I've stated, I haven't done a flooring job of this magnitude before. Maybe 8-9 days for the biggest room so around £1500 for that one on day work. Sorry for not be of great help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Why does it need to be pelleted? Why not use a porta nailer that secret nails through the tongue of the board using cleats. Do it on a price around £20/30 per metre... Make yourself some dough. Customer wants it that way im afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Just out of interest, how big is the downstairs in sq m and how much is the flooring looking like costing (materials and installation). Just being ball park nosey. between £40 to £60 psm for the materials and £20 psm to lay last time I did one, not screwed and pelleted though, do you remember the joke about the word contagious? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Well the floor plan figures of the rooms work out at 89.57sqm but that's not including the hallway which is large in itself and I haven't measured so I'm looking at easily 100+ sqm. I'm new on this job as the previous carpenter wasn't up to scratch so the flooring was bought long before I turned up and I don't know the cost of it I'm sorry to say. I do know that the pellets are about £10 for a pack of 50 so you are getting on for 1k for them. Installation cost is tricky as it's so labour intensive and as I've stated, I haven't done a flooring job of this magnitude before. Maybe 8-9 days for the biggest room so around £1500 for that one on day work. Sorry for not be of great help. Great prescision on the setting out of the pellets in big room then, dont envy you at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millrace Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) Assertain exectly how they want the pellets to look or your in for heaps of heartache.....random,, all precise,, make sure they sign off cause half way thru last thing you need is the " oh we didnt realize there wd be so many and look they do/dont match"....... Also worth laying this on a base ply layer reason being it stops all draughts coming up and if a board drys you can see thru.....we have a reclaimed 1 to do on a house were building square edged oak not t+g so joisted plyed then floored no comebacks later.... Edited February 24, 2017 by millrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Great prescision on the setting out of the pellets in big room then, dont envy you at all. Don't suppose you do haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) Assertain exectly how they want the pellets to look or your in for heaps of heartache.....random,, all precise,, make sure they sign off cause half way thru last thing you need is the " oh we didnt realize there wd be so many and look they do/dont match"....... Also worth laying this on a base ply layer reason being it stops all draughts coming up and if a board drys you can see thru.....we have a reclaimed 1 to do on a house were building square edged oak not t+g so joisted plyed then floored no comebacks later.... Well I've had to do a small section of flooring on the stairs landing already and I have done 5 pellets so when the clients come on monday they can see and approve. He is a perfectionist but a nice chap. Didn't think about putting ply down first and I'm not sure if they would do that as it's a grade b listed property and they like to keep things the way they were as such. It's T&g boards. Edited February 24, 2017 by winnie&bezza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 How come your not fixing through the tongue? Do I guess it's a concrete floor underneath ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 As mentioned above about ply you can also use plaster board for making it sound proof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millrace Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Depending on time of listing and age of house pellets may not be correct.....had a client cut on a grant as varnish wasnt invented in the 1600's and the windows we made from reclaimed church pews (invoice from 1850) shd have been painted but he wasnt going to destroy the beautiful pitch pine for few hundred quid...was screw and pellet correct for time of listing? Personally that many id think is going to look awful and if hes fussy a nightmare for you when they are varnished and no longer match your 5 wont give acurate impression you need to do cpl long boards together and either wet them when they are looking or quick brush of varnish of wax the board and pellets will look the same till floor finish is applied then the true colour will show good luck youve got few long days ahead..... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) How come your not fixing through the tongue? Do I guess it's a concrete floor underneath ? Well the previous carpenter had laid the same flooring upstairs in the bedrooms etc with a thin screw through the tongues. There has been gaps open up, not many but some are 1/4" and the client isn't very happy. I told him that it's oak and it will move to a certain extent but In the house the house he actually lives in at the moment, he said he had oak flooring put down with face screw and plugs and it hasn't opened up as much as that one. I thought maybe the gaps were due to being along pipe runs but the plumber said there isn't any where the gaps are. I've also noticed that the boards that have opened up are the lighter sappier timber and not the dense heartwood. Yeah I suppose you could put down the blue sound plasterboard but I am putting 3mm thick strips of foam on top of joists. No concrete base. Edited February 25, 2017 by winnie&bezza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Well the previous carpenter had laid the same flooring upstairs in the bedrooms etc with a thin screw through the tongues. There has been gaps open up, not many but some are 1/4" and the client isn't very happy. I told him that it's oak and it will move to a certain extent but In the house the house he actually lives in at the moment, he said he had oak flooring put down with face screw and plugs and it hasn't opened up as much as that one. I thought maybe the gaps were due to being along pipe runs but the plumber said there isn't any where the gaps are. I've also noticed that the boards that have opened up are the lighter sappier timber and not the dense heartwood. Yeah I suppose you could put down the blue sound plasterboard but I am putting 3mm thick strips of foam on top of joists. No concrete base. I'd put a guarantee that the previous chippy didn't let it rest in the room for 3 weeks You can only do as the customer asks I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Depending on time of listing and age of house pellets may not be correct.....had a client cut on a grant as varnish wasnt invented in the 1600's and the windows we made from reclaimed church pews (invoice from 1850) shd have been painted but he wasnt going to destroy the beautiful pitch pine for few hundred quid...was screw and pellet correct for time of listing? Personally that many id think is going to look awful and if hes fussy a nightmare for you when they are varnished and no longer match your 5 wont give acurate impression you need to do cpl long boards together and either wet them when they are looking or quick brush of varnish of wax the board and pellets will look the same till floor finish is applied then the true colour will show good luck youve got few long days ahead..... lol Well it's 1840s and they are very up on what they can and can't do so I reckon it's ok. He's a corporate lawyer haha. He's a perfectionist as I say but if he doesn't like it then he will say it's his fault as he has been really good to me so far. The floor upstairs that's been secret screwed looks to modern for me and more like a laminate. I think it needs pellets to give it a rustic look which I prefer. It's being hard waxed so I will put some on the area I've done and then he can assess it. Haha I certainly have! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 I fitted out a mates house with secret fix and he came back with some solid drawn nails. Banged them straight through looked terrible but he was happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie&bezza Posted February 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 I fitted out a mates house with secret fix and he came back with some solid drawn nails. Banged them straight through looked terrible but he was happy Haha I like the cut nail look too. Do you flush cut saw trim pellet excess or chisel off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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