DIY

[Navy Maven]

Done my share , owner built a couple of extensions to homes and generally do most of the work myself.....Mrs Elwood though has put a stop to my major reno activities although she relents enough for me to help my children.

1. Timber Laminate flooring or Vinyl....yep been there done that... dont buy the real cheap thin boards, they dont lock together properly and the grooved edges will break when you tap them into place especially with a floor that aint too level. Use decent underlay too, dont be tempted to put the new boards straight over any other flooring and dont cheat by putting the boards flush against the skirting, leave the gaps for movement as suggested. My daughter has a new home and the installers decided to cheat because it saved them having to rip cut some boards and when the heat came last Xmas she woke up and the boards had all buckled and she had a mountain peak in her family room...

2. Carpet...forget the DIY, get it installed, you can feck up the laminate boards but if you cut the carpet wrong you are out of pocket big time.
Get a company who sell and install but have their own installers, not subbies....

Good luck....

I wish my Dad was half as useful lol, he's the son of a builder but has none of the talent.

Yeah I definitely wouldn't attempt trying the carpet myself, but thankfully that appears to be the cheapest of the three anyway.

I'm keen to give the painting a go, one other option I thought of was to have a professional do the main living spaces and I'll do the bedrooms....at least that way if I stuff it up, it'll be in the areas that most people won't see.

That's good to know about the flooring. I wouldn't have even thought about the heat expansion.

Thanks heaps for the advice