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Local Professionals – World Class Standards
Successful Solid Timber
Floor Installation
Three steps to success
1. Know the characteristics of the product
2. Know the environment you are laying in
3. Laying taking these aspects into consideration
Step 1
1. Know the characteristics of the product
- Floor colour
- Floor grade
- Moisture content
- Shrinkage and swelling characteristics
- Effect of board density
Colour is determined by species
The species or species mix determines the blend of colour tones in the floor
Spotted Gum Blackbutt Grey Ironbark
Grade determined by features
The grade determines the character of the floor
AS 2796 Select Grade Medium Feature – Standard Grade High Feature Grade Lightly featured Moderately featured Highly featured
It can be acceptable that not all boards in a finished floor may meet the grade. Some species have more features than others and therefore some Select Grade floors have more features than others.
Resistance moisture meters are the most useful for installers
Checking board moisture content
They provide a reasonable estimate Readings need to be corrected for temperature and species Moisture contents and cover widths require checking and recording From this you can assess the manufacture and likely future movement
Then don’t lay floors But I don’t
use a meter
Understanding Shrinkage and Swelling
This is the most important concept with timber flooring Flooring moisture content affects expansion and shrinkage
In high humidity, boards expand In low humidity, boards shrink
Hygrometers measure humidity
Relationship between Equilibrium Moisture Content, Temperature and
Relative Humidity
8.08.59.09.5
10.010.511.011.512.012.513.013.514.014.515.015.516.016.517.0
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
Relative Humidity (%)Eq
uilib
rium
Moi
stur
e Co
nten
t (%
) 15°C 20°C 25°C
Timber in a room at 20°C
and the relative humidity is 60%
then the timber will in time try to attain 11% moisture content
Movement and Moisture Content
Board expansion
An 80 mm wide hardwood board will try to expand by about 0.25mm across its width for each 1% increase in moisture content.
In floors this movement is restrained to a degree by the fixing but adequate expansion must still be provided.
Allow for natural floor expansion
Minor gapping does not detract from a floors appearance and is also acceptable.
Heating and floor to ceiling glass promote some gapping.
Shrinkage gaps are a natural part of timber floors
Board shrinkage
The higher the density the stronger the boards. This is more important than you may think!
Board density and strength
Under expansion lower density boards crush and can gap.
High density boards can be more powerful than their fixings.
Step 2
2. Know the environment you are laying in
- Regional influences
- Locality influences
- The internal environment
- Assessing the subfloor spaces
- Assessing concrete subfloors
Know the installation environment
• Tropical climates – floors generally expand after installation
• Temperate climates are more closely aligned to the manufactured moisture content
•Dry climates – floors generally shrink after installation
Relative Humidity Tropical, Temperate and Dry Climates
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecMonth
Rela
tive
Hum
idity
(%)
Innisfail - Ave Ext EMC 16%Brisbane - Ave Ext EMC 12%Mt Isa - Ave Ext EMC 8%
Flooring manufactured to an average MC of
11% won’t change MC at 65% RH.
Regional influences
Acclimatisation can reduce movement effects
Know the installation environment
In the mountains, there is more rain, mist, lower temperature and higher humidity. Floors at 11% to 16%
City suburbs. Lots of roads and closely spaced houses. Water drains away quickly. Floors at 10% to 11%.
West of the mountains. Periods of very dry winds as well as rainy periods Floors at 9% to 12%
On the foreshore. Cool sea breezes. Floors often at 12 to13%.
Locality influences Gold Coast to Beaudesert
Influences on the internal environment
Solar gain from floor to ceiling glass
Mountains - variable
Green farmland - Moist
Gully - Moist Dry low rainfall climates
House environments requiring greater consideration
Heating/ cooling
Assessing subfloor spaces
700 mm spacing
Vent spacing
For floors with natural ground beneath
Must be dry!
Must be ventilated!
For floors with natural ground beneath
Assessing subfloor spaces
Assessing concrete subfloors
For floors over concrete slabs
They need to be FLAT - Grinding and levelling may be necessary.
They need to be DRY - Old slabs are not necessarily dry slabs. Vapour barriers need to be considered. When adhesive fixing they need to be CLEAN and STRONG – Otherwise delamination results.
Step 3
3. Laying taking these aspects into consideration
- What you should now know prior to laying
- Preparing the subfloor
- Considering acclimatisation
- Providing for floor expansion
- Use recognised fixing practices
What you should now know!
• Species and grade considerations • Density and strength considerations • Estimated moisture content and board
widths • Expected effects from the external and
internal environment • Subfloor suitability and prep requirements • Consideration on acclimatisation and
expansion allowance
Before fixing the flooring
Considering acclimatisation
Acclimatising is simply getting the moisture content of your flooring closer to its expected in-service moisture content.
Therefore shrinkage or swelling will be less after installation.
Installation and in-service environments can differ greatly!!!
At start
Two weeks later
Considering acclimatisation
Regular gaps
Cork
Expansion allowance is a must not an option
Providing expansion allowance
The more adhesive that is used the less effective that joints are and the greater the pressure there is in the floor that can contribute to peaking.
Use recognised fixing practices
Lay to industry recommendations or manufacturer instructions
Don’t think that you know better!
Keeping records
One last thing. Record everything about the job. You just don’t know when you are going to need it. Moisture tests, checks on the subfloor, batch numbers, site conditions. They are all important! Write them down.
Your Wood Solutions Guide
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 3
The coming update
• New title – Solid Timber Flooring – Industry standards
• New section on Parquetry & Pre-finished solid • Updates with the latest
information from ATFA info sheets
Thank you