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))