Pre-Fitting Checklist

Some things you should know, before we show

There’s not long to go before the big fitting day. To make sure everything goes smoothly, we’ve made a list of the things you need to know ahead of fitting. You’re in excellent hands with our fitting partners, but please take time to read your pre-fitting checklist before they arrive.

If you’re redecorating at the same time as changing your floor, we recommend you paint your skirting boards AFTER your new floor has been laid. If this isn't possible we would ask all areas are fully dry before your fitting date. Where gloss paint has been applied this should be allowed to dry for AT LEAST 72 hours. Our fitters will do everything they can to avoid scuffing skirting boards, but sometimes it can happen and some touching up might be required after installation.

Please let us know if there’s anything that you think our fitting partners should be aware of before they begin the installation.

If you need assistance moving furniture our fitting partners are always glad to help but please ensure that these items are first emptied of all contents to avoid any mishaps. If you have anything considered valuable or fragile, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and to put these out of the way. Let our fitters know if you have loose floorboards on your stairs and where the cables or pipes are.

Finally, if you have any white goods where your new floor will be, you’ll need to arrange for these to be moved in advance, as our fitting partners aren’t insured to do so.

All of these things are really important to take care of before your fitting day, to make sure everything goes smoothly.

We always believe in putting in a little extra effort. It’s part of what makes us different. And that includes taking away those annoying offcuts. But if you’d like to keep them, no problem, just let our fitting partner know. Ask at your local store to find out how to use your offcuts to make a matching door mat or rug, through our carpet whipping service.

A perfect new floor needs a smooth, solid foundation. But it isn’t always possible to inspect what’s underneath your current floor sufficiently enough to diagnose where some preparation work is needed prior to your new flooring being laid.

If our fitting partners are installing your new floor and they do find that what’s underneath your existing floor needs work to make it right, in the majority of cases, they can help you resolve the problem. But there may be rare occasions where they advise you to bring in the services of a specialist contractor. Uneven floorboards, if left uncorrected, can adversely affect the appearance of your new flooring.

These types of flooring are bought by the box, not by the square metre. When estimating the appropriate amount of coverage for your installation, approximately 5% (rounded up to the nearest box) will need to be added to your order to allow for colour matching between boxes and wastage during fitting. We suggest you keep any leftover boxes, in case you need to swap some planks or tiles in the future.

There are times when your doors may need some adjustments, for example, if you go from a smooth floor to a thick, luxury carpet. If you’ve arranged this with us in advance, we’ll do our best to make sure your fitter can sort this for you. In some of our stores, we have specialist carpenters to arrange your door easing: these teams may have to pop in on a different day to your fitting team.

It’s important to point out that some doors, such as fire doors, aren’t suitable for modification.

If you have any concerns about this, please contact your Tapi store to discuss prior to fitting.

Remember, we're here to help if you need anything! Give us a ring, ping us an email or read our fitting FAQs if you need to know more.