New Karndean Floor has Gaps!

Hi All, I've just had Karndean flooring fitted on the first floor of my house (it's floorboards, so plywood was laid first). I'm a bit disappointed, as there are little gaps in several places between the flooring & the skirting / door frames. It's a Victorian house so most of the walls are wonky, but the skirting is pretty straight, as most if it was fitted recently. Am I being unrealistic? Are little gaps inevitable?

The shop I used was recommended by a friend - his flooring has a bead of white silicone round the edges so it's much neater; should my floor have this too? (he has concrete floors, if that makes a difference).

The fitters have also damaged my skirting - I was expecting a few little knocks / scrapes (which there are) but the wood has been cracked & looks like it's been hit with something heavy! Whatever they've thumped it with has caused the caulking to crack at the top of the skirting too. Is this kind of damage inevitable?

Ive attached some pics of the gaps & damage. Really grateful for any advice, as don't want to be a grumbling customer if it's not warranted.

 

Haven’t posted before, but that is awful

 

Think they misjudged there cut in the 2nd pic
To put it bluntly and this is not to make you feel worse but straight to the point....that is a disgrace.
How fitters can leave their work like that amazes me (that's if they were actual fitters).

You need to go back to the shop and demand they sort it out because that is no way near acceptable.

Silicon is by choice, alot of my customers prefer it so I put a thin neat bead (with a tool not my soggy finger) round the perimeter but some don't like it so I just go with what they want.

Either way I wouldn't be letting them come back to silicon it up no chance, don't mention silicon just tell them you want it sorting.

It's those kind of fitters that let the side down

 

Shocking !! How on earth do they think that is an acceptable job/ finish

 

Thanks v much. Guess it's not me being over fussy then! Thanks for the advice on the silicone too, Rugmunching - will be useful if they offer to 'fix' the gaps by putting silicone round.

 

Shocking fitting. Don’t feel like a grumbling customer at all, go back to them and demand it gets put right and also some part refund cause it’s totally sub standard. As for your friends the silicone is probably hiding gaps also. Good luck

 

No amount of silicone will make that look good, just amazing how fitters like that get work

 

What type of plywood did they use and did they screed it?

 

Terrible, definitely go back and complain! Crazy how people have no standards!

 

I don't know what type of plywood, I'm afraid, but they didn't screed it. I did question the lack of screed, but I had three quotes (including John Lewis) & they all said screed wasn't needed.

 

I assume this was the cheapest quote

 

No, it was the middle one - plus my friend was really happy with the job they did.

 

Am astounded with the shocking level of workmanship here.
How people would ever think this was acceptable it truly beyond me.

 

Worryingly this seems to happen far to much now and people rely on mastic.

Personally I always tell the customer never to mastic (unless bathrooms)

I like people to see how good the fitting is.

 

Yes, I think that's probably why my friend's floor has mastic/silicone round the edges; apparently they didn't give him a choice.

 

I’ve seen better installs
IMO you should contact the retailer and at least ask them to rectify

 

Not good at all but going against the grain, if it's just the edges your not happy with and your happy to have a silicone perimeter finish, say to the shop you want a proper mastic man to come do it, either get them in yourself and minus it off bill (if possible still) or explain to the shop that you want a pro mastic man to do the silicone as your not happy with the finish, it will tart it up as long as you don't mind it.

In an ideal world it should be nice and tight everywhere regardless of snakey walls or awkward cuts, so your choice how to approach it, as either way your right that's not an acceptable finish