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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR SOLID WOOD FLOORING
Congratulations with your new Solid Wood Flooring. Before starting with the installation, we advise you to read the following instructions carefully.
The floor fitter is the most important person to the final customer. He is the person who finally decides how the finished floor will look overall. Therefore it is most important he works from several boxes at the same time. (Four-five boxes recommended.) This enables him to decide on a correct colour and grain structure mix, and so achieve the best liking floor possible. Discoloured or imperfect boards must be discarded at the fitter’s discretion.
A note of caution
Wood is beautiful product of nature, but due to the intrinsic volatility of most species, it is always possibility that up to 5% of the product may not be usable for its intended purpose.
Before Installing
Your Solid Wood Flooring is 100% natural product. This means that despite our very modern processing techniques and critical selections and controls, the intrinsic characteristics of each plank remain. By following a few basic instructions, while installing your flooring we guarantee you a beautiful result. Our fitting instructions cannot replace the official rules and prescriptions.
General
Changes in moisture levels (humidity) will cause natural expansion and contraction. The result will be seen as small gaps appearing during winter (low in house humidity levels) or boards tightening in summer (higher humidity levels).
PREPARATION
Acclimatise
Your Solid Wood Flooring has been specially kiln dried to 8-10% moisture; 10-12% at delivery – which is the ideal level for most European countries. Therefore, your Solid Wood Flooring should be stacked horizontally in the packaging at least 4-5 days before installation in the room where your floor will be laid. Make sure that you have a room climate of about 18C and a relative humidity between 45-60% and the packs are opened to allow the ingress of air.
In winter, especially when the temperature is 0C or below, and the air is dry outside, we recommend the use of humidifier, especially when the room temperature is high.
Wood lives and breathes changes in humidity cause natural expansion and contraction of the flooring.
Therefore make sure that:
1. All the painting and wallpapering is done.
2. All the plaster is dry.
3. Floor and wall tiles have been installed for 3 weeks.
4. Windows are in place
5. Make sure radiators have been bled.
6. No rehumidification takes place in the room where the floor will be installed.
In general all wet jobs should be completed prior to installation.
Open several packs of flooring to allow you to mix the planks when laying taking into consideration the texture of the wood and the change in colours. Each floor even each board is a piece of nature, which is guaranteed to make your home a place of beauty.
The Sub Floor
In most modern homes there is a concrete floor. In older homes there may be a structure of battens on which the flooring can be nailed. With renovation we may have a wooden floor. It is important for each base floor that it is dry, clean (no glue or residue), firm and level.
Concrete Floor
Your concrete floor must be sufficiently dry this means maximum moisture of 3% full depth of screed for concrete sub-floors with cement and only 0.5% for concrete floors with anhydrite. Concrete floors normally dry at the rate of about 25mm per month. Your concrete floor must also be level; this means no unevenness of more than 2mm over any 1M length. If so, you should make your concrete floor smooth with a proprietary levelling compound. Your concrete floor also has to be firm.
Structure of battens
Wooden battens are the most traditional sub-floor for the installation of your Solid Wood Flooring. Make sure they are strongly fixed and that they are level. The battens distance between centres is maximum 40cm to allow perfect support.
Wooden Floor
These sub-floors are mostly softwood in 22mm with the tongue and groove. The new flooring has to be laid at right angles to the existing floor. Make sure that all loose boards are nailed down with no protruding nail heads and uneven boards are sanded or smoothed. Old paint or lacquer has to be removed to allow good adhesion of the glue.
Under floor heating
When laying a floor where under floor heating has been installed it is important to follow these guidelines:
1. The heating has been started up at least 3 weeks before laying the floor, make sure that there is no water leaking and the concrete is dry, this means not more than 3% moisture full depth of screed.
2. The concrete has to meet all the requirements for under floor heating.
3. The surface temperature of the ground can not exceed +27C.
4. The heating has to be turned off 48 hours before laying the floor.
5. 8 days after laying the floor, the heating should be turned on gradually (increasing 2-3˚C every 24 hours)
INSTALLATION
There are 3 methods to install your Solid Wood Flooring:
Gluing (on concrete floor)
You must use water free alcohol glue, especially for wood and follow instructions of the manufacturer. With this method you do not need sub-floor and your do not need to glue tongue and groove. Always be aware that wood lives and provide an expansion gap of 15mm between the wall and flooring. This also applies to door thresholds, pipes and stairs, up against fireplaces of stone floors. Please note, with large areas (width in excess of 10m) the floor must be divided with an expansion gap. On completion, this gap is covered by a profile that is not fixed to the floor.
Nailing on to battens (not flooring less than 18mm thick)
This is the most traditional method of installing your floor. Boards to b e secret nailed at an angle of 45˚ through the top of the tongue. Use lost head machine nails of 50mm and a pneumatic nailing machine (to avoid damage to the tongue). For extra security nail the boards to each batten with a pair of nails. For some extremely hard wood species it may be necessary to pre-drill nail holes. Do not forget expansion gap (15mm)
Everywhere.
Floating Solid Flooring
It is entirely possible to float most solid flooring, however:
1. Correct in house conditions must exist.
2. Expert installation personnel must be employed.
3. If this is the fitting method desired the instructions titled “GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLOATING FLOORS” must be studied carefully.
WOODCARE GENTRAL INSTRUCTIONS
Lacquered flooring
If you have chosen a lacquered floor, it has to remain beautiful for a long time. For ongoing maintenance, make sure you use the appropriate products as advised by your retailer.
We advise the following:
1. Protect chair and furniture legs using felt or other suitable products.
2. Avoid the introduction of sand and dirt from outside by placing a floor mat at the door.
3. Daily maintenance is done by wiping or vacuuming. Surplus water must be avoided.
4. Remove dirt and stains with a gentle detergent and damp (not wet) sponge.
NEVER USE AGGRESSIVE DETERGENTS OF PRODUCTS CONTAINING AMMONIA OR SILICONES
Pre-oiled Solid Wood Flooring
If you have chosen a pre-oiled floor, you have made an environmental choice. Nowadays it is friendly to treat wooden floors with vegetable oil. In Scandinavia it is a long used and very successful method of finishing. Oiled floors have an extremely natural appearance. There are two types of oil natural and white. The natural oil enhances the natural structure of the wood and the white oil gives a transparent and limed appearance. Your pre-oiled floor has to be maintained in an appropriate way by means of soaping.
NEVER CLEAN YOUR OILED FLOOR WITH ONLY CLEAN WATER
.GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLOATING FLOORS
PREPARATION
Laying and storing conditions
The flooring should be left opened in the room where it is to be laid for at least 4-5 days to allow to acclimatize. Always place a plastic sheet 1000 or 1200 gauge material direct on sub-floor, below the underlay. This is most important to avoid moisture infiltration.
Overlap at all joints by about 3000mm and tape securely using a moisture proof tape. Vent all edges of plastic sheet behind skirting and trim as necessary.
A floating floor requires no nailing or gluing to the sub-floor.
The relative air humidity must be between 45-60%. Temperature must be 18-25˚C before, during and after installation. To prevent any adverse effects from damp, the room should be heated and aired for a least a month before lying in order to achieve the right climatic conditions.
Tools
In addition to the traditional tools such as hammer, handsaw, tenon or circular saw, measuring tape, set square, pencil, drill and chisel. A fitting bar and tapping block is also recommended.
The tapping block is to be used to protect the board’s edges when tapping them together.
Never use a cut-off piece of board, as damage to the edges of the board will result. The fitting bar makes the laying of the final board easier.
Planning
If the room is square, the boards should be laid in the direction of incoming light. In rectangular rooms, it is better to lay the boards lengthways in the room, depending on the expansion of the wood.
Moisture Barrier
The moisture barrier should always be laid to the sub-floor, and especially when the sub-floor is concrete directly on the ground, a floor over warm floor (washrooms etc.) or a floor with under floor heating. The damp barrier must consist of a durable polythene sheet (min thickness 0.20mm), which is to be laid with overlap min 200mm. This is to be securely taped using a moisture proof tape.
INSTALLATION
Expansion Gap
Wood is a living material which therefore requires an expansion gap of 12-15mm between the floor and the walls.
This also applies to door thresholds, pipes, stairs, up against fireplaces or stone floors etc.
Gluing
Use good quality wood glue compliant with EN204D3-BS4071. All boards must be glued. Spot gluing is not sufficient; a full line must be applied inside the groove on the long side and the ends. Remove any excess glue with a damp cloth.
Limitations
A floating wooden floor can expand and contract significantly, depending on how much the indoor climate changes during the year. This means a floor can only go up to 10m wide without an additional expansion gap. More complicated floors for example a corridor which is to be laid in conjunction with rooms on either side is possible. In such cases it is recommended that the floor is laid as several independent squares\rectangles, with expansion gaps between. If several floors are to be laid in conjunction with each other without gaps, laminated boards, panels and herringbones can be glued directly onto the sub-floor. This method minimises the movement of a wooden floor, and can also be used for pattern lying, when boards are laid in various directions, or to reduce movement in a floor due to other causes.
TYPES OF SUB-FLOOR
Basement concrete floors:
Level out any unevenness. Lay damp barrier on top of which underlay can be fitted. The wooden floor can then be laid floating on top.
Old wooden floors:
Check that the floor is firm, level and free from rot and does not squeak. Serious unevenness should be planed\sanded or filled. Smaller unevenness can be filled with rag felt. Lay an intermediate layer of rag felt, and then the new boards should be laid at right angles to the old.
Chipboard
As above.
PLANNING
Hard or Softwood Flooring:
Wooden floors can be laid directly onto vinyl floors, linoleum, rag felt and carpets with a short dense pile. Ask your flooring contractor for advice.
Cellular Plastic
Boards can be laid on cellular plastic insulation with a density of at least 30kg \m3. The boards can be laid floating on top of a layer of rag felt. High point loading, areas of heavy wear etc can require some reinforcement of the construction. If in doubt consult your flooring contractor.
MAINTENANCE
In Commercial areas
Wear and stain on floors in commercial areas place high demand on the surface finish, take care of the floor and sub-construction.
Protective Covering
If building work is to take place after the installation, cover the floor with some form of protective covering, which must allow the wood to breathe, and that will not discolour the floor.
Step by Step fitting instructions
1. Lay out the fist row of boards with their grooved edge against the wall and work to your right. It is very important that the first board be laid straight.
2. Turn the last board so that the grooved end is tight up against the end wall. Using a setsquare, mark the board 12-15mm from the end of the last board (must correspond to expansion gap). Cut the board, put it in place and push a wedge at the short end. When using a handsaw, cut from the board’s upper side. For circular or tenon saws, cut from the underside.
3. If the last board is less than 5cm or the wall is crooked, the first board should be cut. Measure up and mark the cutting position using a guide running along the wall checking that the board is square.
4. Lay the boards up against the wall. Create the necessary expansion gap by pressing down the wedge between the board and the wall. Glue the groove of the shorter board. Press the board in against the wall and check that it is lying straight. Use the fitting bar to tap the board tight home, and secure with a wedge.
Tips: for long rows, it may be difficult to fit in a wedge after the first row. Wait until 4-5 rows have been laid and then with the help of the fitting bar push away from the wall sufficient to fit in the wedge.
5. Start the next row with the leftover piece from the row before. Any adjacent end –joints should be staggered at lease 50cm. All grooved ends must be glued.
6. Use the tapping block when tapping boards together. Never use a leftover piece from a board for this purpose, as this and\or hitting the boards too hard can cause damaged edges.
7. When the final row is to be laid, it will rarely fit exactly. Lay the last row of boards with their tongue side against the wall over the last row already laid. Use a full-width off-cut to mark the distance, and slide the off-cut together with a pencil along the wall marking the line to be cut on the board beneath.
8. The line will include an expansion gap corresponding to the width of the tongue (5mm). If the expansion gap required is 10mm, the cut line must be 5mm within the marked line (towards the groove). It is recommended that a new line be drawn before sawing.
9. Tap in the cut-to-size board with the help of the fitting bar, if the last row does not leave any space, the tongue must be cut off so that the expansion gap is not lost. Position the wedges and leave them in for a few hours (e.g. overnight). Finish off with skirting.
10. If the short end meets a pipe: Drill a hole 25mm greater than the diameter of the pipe (provides an expansion gap) Cut the board through the hole.
11. If the long end meets a pipe: Drill a hole as above. Cut off the piece that will be behind the pipe against the wall.
12. Tap the board into place, glue the loose piece and wedge against the wall.
13. Door frames can be removed and raised, but it is easier to saw them. Use a leftover piece of board to mark the bottom of the frame, and cut with a fine-toothed saw. Slide the board in under the frame.
Do not wedge the board between the sub-floor and the frame.