What goes wrong underfoot in Inverkeithing new-build estate homes

Fitting around radiator pipes in a Inverkeithing new-build estate home

Pipework rarely sits where a plank edge would like it to. In mixed-era property the feed often runs straight up through the floor a few inches from the skirting, so we scribe boards or cut LVT tight rather than boxing it in and losing a section of finish.

Where a radiator has to come off entirely, we'll say so at survey rather than on the day. It's a small job for a plumber but it changes the running order for the new-build estate home.

What we check in a Inverkeithing new-build estate home before quoting

Every survey here starts under the existing floor. Old burgh centre with stone-built tenements (often with original pine under carpets) plus 1970s–90s semis on the Spencerfield and Preston Crescent estates.

1. 1Screed drying time and moisture readings
2. 2Presence and specification of underfloor heating
3. 3General flatness and any leftover construction debris
4. 4Build warranty conditions relevant to flooring changes

How a Inverkeithing fit runs, day by day

1. 1Free survey at your convenience — 5 road miles from our Dunfermline base, so evenings and Saturdays are usually possible.
2. 2Written fixed quote inside 48 hours, prep itemised separately.
3. 3Materials ordered, and acclimatised in the property where the product needs it.
4. 4Uplift and disposal of the old floor on fitting morning — included, no skip to hire.
5. 5Prep, fit, then trims and thresholds; we hoover through and take the offcuts away.

What's included, and what genuinely isn't

• Included: home survey, measure, written quote, uplift, disposal, fitting, trims and door bars.
• Included: shifting normal furniture on the day — we'd rather do it than have you hurt your back.
• Not included: taking doors off and re-hanging them where a thicker floor needs it (flagged and priced up front).
• Not included: asbestos floor-tile removal — suspected tiles are assessed by a competent surveyor, and our default is to overboard rather than break out.
• Not included: plumbing or electrical disconnection in Inverkeithing kitchens and bathrooms.

Keeping the floor good after we've gone

• Matting at every external door — it does more for a floor's life than any product upgrade.
• Felt pads under chair and table legs, replaced when they wear through to the metal.
• Damp mop, not a wet floor: standing water finds the joints eventually.
• Vacuum with the beater bar off on loop pile, and never steam-clean a floating floor.
• Deal with a lifting edge or a loose trim early, while it's still a ten-minute job.

Latex screed versus a ply overlay on an uneven base

Where a solid floor in a Inverkeithing property is out of level, there are two honest routes: a latex screed poured and levelled across the room, or plywood sheets screwed down over the dips. Screed gives the flattest possible result but needs drying time before anything goes on top of it.

Ply is faster and works well over timber subfloors or where drying time isn't available, though it raises the floor level slightly more than a thin screed coat. We'll recommend whichever suits the original pine boards under decades of carpet we find at survey rather than a single default.

Straight answers