Oh well, its finally done.
Guy did it in way less than 1 hour. Cost me £35 for labour and the gripper
rods in the end. Worth it I reckon.

I could not have done a job anywhere near as good because he had a couple
of tools I didnt (knee kicker thing to stretch, and also a nifty kinfe type
thing - its like a stanley knife by slides along the floor - ensuring your
cut is always perfectly straight with the ground (essential for next time I
think))