Lovely video and using a cheap handsaw when you hit a nail it is not the end of the world. Also when it comes to someone repainting the door frame just slide under a piece of card and the floor is protected. Lovely.
Similar to the previous comments, this was an exciting tutorial and I'm looking forward in applying your techniques. Hopefully, I won't need to replace the door frame!
Thank you for your comments. I tend to agree. I have met plenty of tradesmen over the years who have a van full of great tools and absolutely no idea how to use them. I use a hand saw because, in my opinion, of all the tools I've used it gives a great cut, it's easy to use and I am confident i will get the result I need. Oh and it's cheap to buy. Keep watching. David
Hi, yes, you are absolutely right. However the door frame in this property is fixed directly into the stud work and will not drop. I think before making an under-cut you need to assess each door on its own merit and cut accordingly. In some of the older properties around Scotland I only take out a third of the frame to ensure the door's weight is being carried but then they are much larger and heavier doors, but thanks for raising your point.
Hi. The undercut technique will work with pretty much anything. As mentioned earlier though, you may just have to practice with a piece first to see what the board will allow you to do.... You might find clicking the board into place to one side is helpful and then just tap it under the door frame using a hammer and block (never hit the edge of the board directly - you'll just destroy it). Or sometimes you can remove part of the click joint if it helps...then compensate with a spot of glue.
Got the floor done, used an oscillating saw for this, but noticed the blade had a tendency to bend downward and not cut a level line all the way in. SO, I finished it off with a hand saw and did the rest of the cuts this way and it turned out perfect lol, thanks again!
Great video. Can you help with some extra info... How do you do the other side of the door if you slid that piece in sideways. (surely you can slide the other piece in because that last piece would be in the way) I'm confused!
Yes. Simply repeat the process in the tutorial using your laminate flooring to determine the height of the cut and just saw half way through the door frame rather than all the way around. It's hard to see on the video but cut up to the door stop. This is the piece of timber around the frame that the door closes against and then just slide your flooring into position as demonstrated. Hope this helps.
Your the best David. I wish I saw this earlier. Our trades man did a shoddy cut on the door frame to lay floor tiles in the hallway. If you look closely at the door frame at the bottom you can see the unrefined cut wood and the space inbetween was covered with chalk. A mess! How do I tidy this. Help please.
I'm a big fan of them. I'm on sites all the time where a joiner will turn up with loads of fancy kit and not have a clue how to use it. Hand saws have been working well for hundreds of years. They helped build The Ark and Buckingham Palace. They helped frame Mona Lis's smile and land Columbus in America. There's a lot to be said for a good hand saw....long even strokes give straighter cuts..that's why a jig-saw has a narrow blade - so it can turn corners. The shorter the blade the more chance it has of running off line.... when wonky lines are fashionable, i'll recommend using fashionable tools.
Thanks very much for this, very useful and I'm going to give it a go when I lay my laminate floor in the hallway. One question though: if the laminate floor is to stop at the door threshold, is there anyway to undercut just the laminate floor side of the door, or do I have to cut the lot off? Thanks in advance.
Yes, it can still be done - though how easy depends on the brand of laminate, some joint systems are more flexible than others. You might fine you need to make a dummy run with the piece you are fitting to see what works best for you.
I agree. However, I'm trying to demonstrate that a professional finish can be obtained without spending a fortune on power tools - just using the tools that most people will have around the house. Of course, if you want a super tight fit, it is possible to follow the tutorial but make your saw cut without the underlay in place. However, the purpose of the undercut is to maximise the space for expansion and the tighter the fit the less room for manoeuvre there will be.
Hi, it was a good point. Unfortunately, I'm not very good in front of the camera and probably suffer from a bit of stage fright so forget to mention loads of stuff. Glad you like the videos, I'll keep adding. Regards.
Hi, this tutorial was shot a while a go, so I don't recall, but the chance are I used the same handsaw - I tend not to used jig saws to cut the flooring as the foot plate on the saw can sometimes mark the surface of the flooring. Hope that helps?
I know a few guys who use s Dremel, though I've never felt comfortable with them. I guess ultimately, professionalism comes from an attitude and isn't about what tools you have.
Just be wary of nails from the footplate into the frame as is often present in new build houses with chipboard floating floors. These can really bugger up your saw and is where a multitool with a metal cutting blade is useful.
i don't kno why people allays have something to say about videos if i don't know how to do something youtube can help but when i see all the comments is like i use a chainsaw well im using a saw i don't think it matters as long as you know what you doing and at the end of the day the customer says thanks great job that's all it matters great job and thaks for the video im sure someone will comment on my post
Ha... thanks Louisa... To be honest I don't know if it can be rectified retrospectively - it's actually easier to the job well to start with. If you want to e-mail me a photo or two i might be able to make some suggestion on how to tidy it up.
Hello David, Thanks for sharing this great video! just a question though if you dont mind, Could you tell me what flooring you used in this video? I hear it's engineered one but what brand is it and where it's from? I just love the look of it and have to have it :) THANK YOU
Hi, thanks for your kind comments. If you want to contact me directly, click through to my website and send me your email through my contacts page. The board in question is one of our own. we can supply directly if need be, but it will be easier to discuss privately. Thanks. David.
Hello. For the purposes of the demonstration I only filmed one side of the door. In this video I slid the board into place (right to left) to make the point. On the opposite side the board can be slid in from front to back if you have no room. Alternatively, if you place a shorter board in position until you have cut the board for the other side, remove the shorter one, slide the other board in and then slot the shorter one back in - like working backwards, but you'll still get a perfect finish.
I guess it would. Not a tool i have though. If you want a tighter fit, you can make your cut without the underlay. The underlay will squeeze the flooring up to the frame once fitted.
Unfortunately, you cant. It';s likely you will need to use something somewhere but, where you do, is often dictated by the shape of your house, other floor coverings and what you are installing. You will also need to check moisture levels, as its the moisture that drives the expansion... zero moisture = less expansion = fewer door bars.
Thanks for your tutorial. Very helpful. Can you tell me what saw you are using. How many tpi etc. I followed your tutorial before but I think my saw let me down.
That i do understand but i just layed tiles on the kitchern floor and i continued into the hallway and into the pantre floor which has two full size doors. So i tryed to tile around the bottom of the door frames with a grinder but it took me a long time and it's not perfect. Can i cut the frame as you show in your video for tiles to go underneath? As i have layed them on top of cement sheetting and if i can how do i allow for the adhesive and how much clearance do i leave on top of tiles?
I don't see why you can't fit tiles this way...I think the amount of space you leave for adhesive will just be down to trial and error. I would be tempted to fit a piece of tile to a piece of board and then measure the thickness of the tile and adhesive together to give you an accurate starting point. As for clearance, i think the closer you can get the tile to the frame - the better it will look. Luckily with a tile you don't need to allow for expansion.
If you want to be lazy you can buy a dremel multi tool like I did. It's a bit pricey but you can find cheaper versons for around $30 that work just as good.
That's not something I've heard of. Though it sound pretty vicious - probably take your leg off if you're not careful. I'll see if i can find one. Thanks for the advice.
Hi mate, I see you've cut right through the door frame, does this affect the structural integrity of the door frame? Would this work if the cut was only through the door frame casing?
Hi. Yes. In this case i did because the weight ion the frame and door wasn't resting on the slab. The frame is fixed into the stud walls and is quite secure on its own..but obviously you will need to treat every door on it's own merits. Older properties tend to have a frames that sink below the timber sub-floor and are often fixed into the joists. These frames probably will be structural as they may well eb supporting the brick about the frame. They rarely have a lintel as well as the door. Sio check first. If this is the case then don't remove the whole section from underneath...take it back about 25 mm - should be enough to allow for movement and have clearance.
Looks to me like there was way to much space there. Using a slimmer blade saw or a bosch oscillating saw will give a much tighter and better looking effect.
@ohdrdrdr Hi, yes there was a door but it was removed and shortened earlier. There wasn't a door bar on this door as I was taking the flooring straight through into the hall area. I will be covering door bars in another tutorial. Thanks for watching.
If you have a click and drop type flooring it wont work with this idea. This is because the whole row has to be set in place at an angle and dropped, so when you get to the door you cant side it underneath. I have resorted to cutting around the frame as best I can, and use flexi filler around the edges. It doesnt look great, but I had no other choice.
+Jan Davis Hi...admittedly, some joint don't lend themselves to fitting in and around awkward places...and some do....I find the most adaptable joint is the Unilin Joint....often to be found on quick step laminate etc....But all that really matters is, you've tried and are happy with your results.
All you do is slice off the lip that slots into the other board, apply some glue and slide it in like he has in the video. ( so your changing the board to a sort of tongue & groove type board) Hope this makes sense. Good video though
Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you found it helpful. I've tried to send a response to your question but haven't got enough characters to give you all the options. If you would like a detailed answer on how to do this properly, please email me at flawlessflooringuk@hotmail.com and I can answer your question more accurately. Regards David White
undercutting is no problem but you did not explain how you can join the pieces at an angle and snap them down into place as with the rest of the room. Because if it needs to be under the trim at the doorway there is no way to place the pieces together at an angle and still get the piece underneath the door trim.
Quick 2000 - You are absolutely right. Sometimes snapping a board together in awkward corners is more difficult. Often, the nature of the joint can get in the way of fitting. If a board will only go together one way then you may find it problematic negotiating lots of doors etc... The results can be compromised because you can only install the board one way. The trick is to assess wether you think this will be the case before you choose your product and choose a product that has a joint that will allow you to achieve the level of finish you want. On this occasion i used a tongue and grooved engineered board for that very reason - rather than a 'click' joint. You are only seeing one door in the tutorial, but right around the corner were another eight... As i said, the joint in this tutorial is a glued TnG... but when i fit laminate floor i nearly always supply a Quickstep product. The joint is incredibly versatile allowing you to fit into difficult areas without damaging the joint.... or compromising the appearance of the job.
Hmmmm. I guess the only option would be to cut as much of the frame with a wood saw and then remove your piece of flooring and finish with a hack saw or just the blade...Not an easy one...but shouldn't take too long. Lets hope all your doors aren't like this....
Louisa..If you click on the link to my website from the tutorial and send me your email address via my contacts page, ill get right back to you....I'd just rather not post my direct details on here for obvious reason.
Thank you so much for this tip. I used it yesterday on an installation and the client was amazed with the finish.
Lovely video and using a cheap handsaw when you hit a nail it is not the end of the world.
Also when it comes to someone repainting the door frame just slide under a piece of card and the floor is protected. Lovely.
Nice quick clean cut. Good job.
wow thanks alot, very easy and very simple explaination. no mumbo jumbo just straight to the point. thank you sir.
Wow! Very impressive and looks fantastic!
Similar to the previous comments, this was an exciting tutorial and I'm looking forward in applying your techniques. Hopefully, I won't need to replace the door frame!
Beautiful work! Thanks for the instructions. That helps me a lot.
Thank you for your comments. I tend to agree. I have met plenty of tradesmen over the years who have a van full of great tools and absolutely no idea how to use them. I use a hand saw because, in my opinion, of all the tools I've used it gives a great cut, it's easy to use and I am confident i will get the result I need. Oh and it's cheap to buy. Keep watching. David
Hi, yes, you are absolutely right. However the door frame in this property is fixed directly into the stud work and will not drop. I think before making an under-cut you need to assess each door on its own merit and cut accordingly. In some of the older properties around Scotland I only take out a third of the frame to ensure the door's weight is being carried but then they are much larger and heavier doors, but thanks for raising your point.
Hi. The undercut technique will work with pretty much anything. As mentioned earlier though, you may just have to practice with a piece first to see what the board will allow you to do....
You might find clicking the board into place to one side is helpful and then just tap it under the door frame using a hammer and block (never hit the edge of the board directly - you'll just destroy it). Or sometimes you can remove part of the click joint if it helps...then compensate with a spot of glue.
David, good job on this floor...like the color and it looks pretty
Hey, just wanted to say thank you for the knowledge, getting ready to do this for the first time and needed this tidbit ;)
Good luck. let me know how you get on.
Got the floor done, used an oscillating saw for this, but noticed the blade had a tendency to bend downward and not cut a level line all the way in. SO, I finished it off with a hand saw and did the rest of the cuts this way and it turned out perfect lol, thanks again!
Great video. Can you help with some extra info... How do you do the other side of the door if you slid that piece in sideways. (surely you can slide the other piece in because that last piece would be in the way) I'm confused!
Great tip!Thanks for sharing David!
Thanks for the simple tutorial. I needed this.
My pleasure.
Best video yet,Thanks very much :)
It did help - I had to chisel a few bits of wood out but it did work out, thanks.
Really helpful stuff, thanks David!
Thanks! Very useful video.
Does this still work with laminate flooring that has to be tilted at a 45 degree angle to fix together? Great video by the way!
Great tip, thanks very much, I'll be using it today.
great job! get some more videos done. clear and simple advice that obviously works
thank you! saved me many much money!
Yes. Simply repeat the process in the tutorial using your laminate flooring to determine the height of the cut and just saw half way through the door frame rather than all the way around.
It's hard to see on the video but cut up to the door stop. This is the piece of timber around the frame that the door closes against and then just slide your flooring into position as demonstrated.
Hope this helps.
@flawlessflooringuk I did try it and it came out perfect. thanks again for that simple trick. :)
thank you for sharing this looks great! :-)
nice work fella!!
Your the best David. I wish I saw this earlier. Our trades man did a shoddy cut on the door frame to lay floor tiles in the hallway. If you look closely at the door frame at the bottom you can see the unrefined cut wood and the space inbetween was covered with chalk. A mess! How do I tidy this. Help please.
nah!,it's a great wee tool and so easy to use,must be one on you tube somewhere. keep up the good work and be lucky,.
Excellent video, thanks a bunch!!
Fab video ! Answered all my questions :-) keep up the good work
I do that in seconds with my alligator saw,one of the best all round tools in my box.
brilliant thank you
Thanks that was great... much appreciated.
looking sweet Mr White.
im not a huge fan of using a saw lol but wow man that was a beautiful cut! it works well for youm good job!
I'm a big fan of them.
I'm on sites all the time where a joiner will turn up with loads of fancy kit and not have a clue how to use it.
Hand saws have been working well for hundreds of years. They helped build The Ark and Buckingham Palace. They helped frame Mona Lis's smile and land Columbus in America.
There's a lot to be said for a good hand saw....long even strokes give straighter cuts..that's why a jig-saw has a narrow blade - so it can turn corners.
The shorter the blade the more chance it has of running off line.... when wonky lines are fashionable, i'll recommend using fashionable tools.
Thanks man. This will help a lot!
Thanks very much for this, very useful and I'm going to give it a go when I lay my laminate floor in the hallway.
One question though: if the laminate floor is to stop at the door threshold, is there anyway to undercut just the laminate floor side of the door, or do I have to cut the lot off? Thanks in advance.
Yes, it can still be done - though how easy depends on the brand of laminate, some joint systems are more flexible than others. You might fine you need to make a dummy run with the piece you are fitting to see what works best for you.
I agree. However, I'm trying to demonstrate that a professional finish can be obtained without spending a fortune on power tools - just using the tools that most people will have around the house. Of course, if you want a super tight fit, it is possible to follow the tutorial but make your saw cut without the underlay in place. However, the purpose of the undercut is to maximise the space for expansion and the tighter the fit the less room for manoeuvre there will be.
Hi, it was a good point. Unfortunately, I'm not very good in front of the camera and probably suffer from a bit of stage fright so forget to mention loads of stuff. Glad you like the videos, I'll keep adding. Regards.
Great job! Thanks.
HOY APRENDI MUCHO
CON LOS CONSEJOS
DE LOS MAESTROS THE HOME DEPOT
GRASIAS
great video
Hi, this tutorial was shot a while a go, so I don't recall, but the chance are I used the same handsaw - I tend not to used jig saws to cut the flooring as the foot plate on the saw can sometimes mark the surface of the flooring. Hope that helps?
I know a few guys who use s Dremel, though I've never felt comfortable with them. I guess ultimately, professionalism comes from an attitude and isn't about what tools you have.
Tomorrow I'll be using this.
Just be wary of nails from the footplate into the frame as is often present in new build houses with chipboard floating floors. These can really bugger up your saw and is where a multitool with a metal cutting blade is useful.
i don't kno why people allays have something to say about videos if i don't know how to do something youtube can help but when i see all the comments is like i use a chainsaw well im using a saw i don't think it matters as long as you know what you doing and at the end of the day the customer says thanks great job that's all it matters great job and thaks for the video im sure someone will comment on my post
Ha... thanks Louisa... To be honest I don't know if it can be rectified retrospectively - it's actually easier to the job well to start with. If you want to e-mail me a photo or two i might be able to make some suggestion on how to tidy it up.
Hello David, Thanks for sharing this great video! just a question though if you dont mind, Could you tell me what flooring you used in this video? I hear it's engineered one but what brand is it and where it's from? I just love the look of it and have to have it :) THANK YOU
Hi, thanks for your kind comments. If you want to contact me directly, click through to my website and send me your email through my contacts page. The board in question is one of our own. we can supply directly if need be, but it will be easier to discuss privately. Thanks. David.
My pleasure.
excellent
Hello. For the purposes of the demonstration I only filmed one side of the door. In this video I slid the board into place (right to left) to make the point. On the opposite side the board can be slid in from front to back if you have no room. Alternatively, if you place a shorter board in position until you have cut the board for the other side, remove the shorter one, slide the other board in and then slot the shorter one back in - like working backwards, but you'll still get a perfect finish.
Would a Japanese saw provide tighter results due to the thinner blade kerf?
I guess it would. Not a tool i have though. If you want a tighter fit, you can make your cut without the underlay. The underlay will squeeze the flooring up to the frame once fitted.
How are you able to do the whole floor without any transitions?
Unfortunately, you cant. It';s likely you will need to use something somewhere but, where you do, is often dictated by the shape of your house, other floor coverings and what you are installing. You will also need to check moisture levels, as its the moisture that drives the expansion... zero moisture = less expansion = fewer door bars.
Thanks for your tutorial. Very helpful. Can you tell me what saw you are using. How many tpi etc. I followed your tutorial before but I think my saw let me down.
HI. Not sure how many teeth it has but it's a 22" blade. I could use shorter but i have long arms... lol
That i do understand but i just layed tiles on the kitchern floor and i continued into the hallway and into the pantre floor which has two full size doors. So i tryed to tile around the bottom of the door frames with a grinder but it took me a long time and it's not perfect. Can i cut the frame as you show in your video for tiles to go underneath? As i have layed them on top of cement sheetting and if i can how do i allow for the adhesive and how much clearance do i leave on top of tiles?
I don't see why you can't fit tiles this way...I think the amount of space you leave for adhesive will just be down to trial and error. I would be tempted to fit a piece of tile to a piece of board and then measure the thickness of the tile and adhesive together to give you an accurate starting point. As for clearance, i think the closer you can get the tile to the frame - the better it will look. Luckily with a tile you don't need to allow for expansion.
Not sure why I didn't think of this. I made a big mess using a power tool.
Andrew..... sometimes the best solutions are the easy ones....
great...thanks!
Thanks.
If you want to be lazy you can buy a dremel multi tool like I did. It's a bit pricey but you can find cheaper versons for around $30 that work just as good.
That's not something I've heard of. Though it sound pretty vicious - probably take your leg off if you're not careful. I'll see if i can find one. Thanks for the advice.
Hi mate, I see you've cut right through the door frame, does this affect the structural integrity of the door frame? Would this work if the cut was only through the door frame casing?
Hi. Yes. In this case i did because the weight ion the frame and door wasn't resting on the slab. The frame is fixed into the stud walls and is quite secure on its own..but obviously you will need to treat every door on it's own merits. Older properties tend to have a frames that sink below the timber sub-floor and are often fixed into the joists. These frames probably will be structural as they may well eb supporting the brick about the frame. They rarely have a lintel as well as the door. Sio check first. If this is the case then don't remove the whole section from underneath...take it back about 25 mm - should be enough to allow for movement and have clearance.
thanks its helps
Looks to me like there was way to much space there. Using a slimmer blade saw or a bosch oscillating saw will give a much tighter and better looking effect.
@loganwolfpack Thanks. Have you tried it for yourself yet and how did you get on?
Is the door jamb supporting the weight of the ceiling in some small way ? Does cutting the jmb compromise the safety of the structure ?
It shouldn't be...if you have any doubts, speak to a builder first.
thats very easy to do where im finding it difficult is how to measure and cut the laminate im suffering
@ohdrdrdr Hi, yes there was a door but it was removed and shortened earlier. There wasn't a door bar on this door as I was taking the flooring straight through into the hall area. I will be covering door bars in another tutorial. Thanks for watching.
If you have a click and drop type flooring it wont work with this idea. This is because the whole row has to be set in place at an angle and dropped, so when you get to the door you cant side it underneath. I have resorted to cutting around the frame as best I can, and use flexi filler around the edges. It doesnt look great, but I had no other choice.
+Jan Davis Hi...admittedly, some joint don't lend themselves to fitting in and around awkward places...and some do....I find the most adaptable joint is the Unilin Joint....often to be found on quick step laminate etc....But all that really matters is, you've tried and are happy with your results.
It would work still. You just click and drop and use a rubber brick to tap into place.
All you do is slice off the lip that slots into the other board, apply some glue and slide it in like he has in the video. ( so your changing the board to a sort of tongue & groove type board) Hope this makes sense. Good video though
Nice
Thanks
helpful , i was going to buy a jigsaw as well
Thanks. It is actually very easy to do. Any problems, you have my e-mail.
A big thanks to everyone who has left comments lately. I hope you got the results you were after. D.
Nice Job
Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you found it helpful. I've tried to send a response to your question but haven't got enough characters to give you all the options. If you would like a detailed answer on how to do this properly, please email me at flawlessflooringuk@hotmail.com and I can answer your question more accurately. Regards David White
undercutting is no problem but you did not explain how you can join the pieces at an angle and snap them down into place as with the rest of the room. Because if it needs to be under the trim at the doorway there is no way to place the pieces together at an angle and still get the piece underneath the door trim.
Quick 2000 - You are absolutely right. Sometimes snapping a board together in awkward corners is more difficult. Often, the nature of the joint can get in the way of fitting. If a board will only go together one way then you may find it problematic negotiating lots of doors etc... The results can be compromised because you can only install the board one way. The trick is to assess wether you think this will be the case before you choose your product and choose a product that has a joint that will allow you to achieve the level of finish you want. On this occasion i used a tongue and grooved engineered board for that very reason - rather than a 'click' joint. You are only seeing one door in the tutorial, but right around the corner were another eight...
As i said, the joint in this tutorial is a glued TnG... but when i fit laminate floor i nearly always supply a Quickstep product. The joint is incredibly versatile allowing you to fit into difficult areas without damaging the joint.... or compromising the appearance of the job.
Hmmmm. I guess the only option would be to cut as much of the frame with a wood saw and then remove your piece of flooring and finish with a hack saw or just the blade...Not an easy one...but shouldn't take too long. Lets hope all your doors aren't like this....
Ok David. Please send your email so I can upload the photos.
Louisa..If you click on the link to my website from the tutorial and send me your email address via my contacts page, ill get right back to you....I'd just rather not post my direct details on here for obvious reason.
my advice is get a DREMEL and then you'll look more professional!!
Hello David, I have sent my email address through your contact page on your website.
mine was a better cut, just saying....