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A herringbone parquet floor in a kitchen with grey cabinet runs

Floors, finishes, and the checks after fitting

Two moments matter around the work itself: the floor before the piece is brought in, and the doors, runners and restraints after it is standing.

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I

Cover the floor before anything is carried

Dust sheets, corrugated board or a purpose-made floor protection go down on the route and in the room before panels are stacked. Parquet, original boards, vinyl, carpet and stone each mark in a different way. Grit under a sheet is ground in by the next footstep, so the floor is swept before the sheet goes down, and the sheet is taped or weighted so it does not creep.

Some tapes lift varnish, shellac or a stone sealer. If a tape is needed, try a small inconspicuous patch first, or use a tape described by its maker as suitable for that finish. Avoid leaving a taped sheet in place for days on a floor that can trap moisture, and take the protection up once the work in that area is finished so dust is not walked through the house.

Drilling produces dust that travels. Cover furniture that is staying, and think about the other side of the wall if the room beyond has open shelves. None of this is a method for containing hazardous material. If you suspect asbestos in an old floor tile or a boxing, stop and take advice from someone qualified to identify it. This site does not identify materials from a description.

The route itself — doors, stairs, lifts — is set out in indoor routes. Protection belongs on that route, not only under the finished position of the piece.

II

After the piece is standing

Doors and drawer fronts are adjusted when the carcase is in its final place and is no longer rocking. Many concealed European-style hinges have three movements: up and down, in and out, and sideways. The leaflet names which screw does which. Turning the wrong one, or turning any of them hard against the stop, strips the thread or bends the arm. If the door still will not meet the carcase evenly, the carcase may be out of square. That takes you back to the flat-pack checks, not to more force on the hinge.

Runners that bind are often a sign that the two sides of the opening are not parallel, or that a screw head is proud of the runner. Drawer fronts usually have their own slotted fixings so the front can move a little relative to the box. Again, the leaflet is the map.

Tall chests, bookcases and wardrobes are often supplied with a wall restraint, and the maker asks for it to be fitted, particularly where children are in the home or where the piece could be climbed. Fit it in the way the leaflet shows, into a background that can hold it. Choosing that background is the subject of London wall types. A restraint screwed only into plaster, or into an unknown flue, is not doing the job the leaflet described.

Load the shelves and drawers gradually and look again. A carcase can shift a millimetre or two as weight goes in, and a door that was clear can start to rub. Hinges may need a further small movement after that load, and sometimes again after a heating season. Winter heating in London dries indoor air, and timber moves. A door that fitted in August and kisses the frame in January is a known behaviour of wood, not automatically a failed joint. Adjust within the range the hinge allows. If the movement is large, or a fixing has loosened, pause and look at the wall and the floor rather than forcing the door.

A record for yourself

A few photographs — the wall before any hole, the fixing once made, and the finished piece — are a practical record if a managing agent or a landlord later asks what was done. They are not a certificate, and this publication does not issue one. Keep them with the leaflet and the measuring sheet.

Kitchens add the worktop and the appliances to this list. Joints, seals and the gaps named in the appliance papers are checked against the plan, not against a general picture of a kitchen.

What to put down before anything slides

A finished floor is easier to protect than to repair. The covering has to stay still while a carcase moves, and it has to be something the floor maker allows. Protection sheets sold for decoration work are a common choice on timber and tile. They are a poor choice if they trap grit underneath, because the grit then sands the floor as you walk. Sweep first. Tape the sheets to each other where the product allows tape, and keep the tape off the finished face if the floor maker says tape marks it. Freshly laid carpet can be marked by a board left in one place; move the load rather than leaving a point load overnight.

Feet, not the whole base

Many carcases stand on adjustable feet so the top can be levelled when the floor is not. The leaflet states the range of that adjustment. A gap larger than the foot can take is a floor problem or a plan problem, not a reason to pack with scraps the maker did not specify. A spirit level on the top, checked front to back and side to side, is the usual check once the feet are down. Doors that swing open on their own often mean the carcase is leaning; correct the feet before you wind the hinges to their limit.

After the shelves are loaded

Hinges and runners settle when weight goes in. A second pass, weeks later, is normal on a leaflet that allows adjustment. Tighten only the fixings the leaflet names, to the feel the leaflet describes. A restraint bracket that was fitted to a tested background should still meet the carcase after the unit has been loaded; if a gap has opened, the unit may have shifted, and forcing the bracket can pull a fixing. That is a moment to stop and look, not to lengthen a screw. Wall types are on the wall sheet.

Spill, steam from a kettle, and a leaking plant pot mark timber and chipboard edges differently. Wipe the spill the furniture maker’s care note allows, and keep water out of a raw chipboard edge because the board swells and does not return. Felt pads on a chair are a floor question as much as a furniture question: they stop a point load on a softwood board and they pick up grit if they are left dirty. None of this is a finish we apply. It is a list of things the care note and the floor are both sensitive to.