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Timber Floors….

The art and the science

David Hayward - ATFA

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Qld Spotted Gum flooring with an oil

based finish.

Our members provide floors for family homes

Brush Box rhomboid parquetry ‘direct

stick’ to concrete. Water based finish..American White Oak, plank on ply.

Custom stain and oil based finish.

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Spotted Gum flooring, installed on battens

for a busy restaurant. Hard wax oil finish.

Our members provide commercial floors

Ironbark with Blackbutt dots, Treasury

casino Brisbane. Water based finish.

Limed Tasmanian Oak with a

homogeneous velvet white oil.

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Parquetry and strip flooring combined.

Hard wax oil finish.

Our members provide prestigious floors

Not the average Gold Coast home.

5An engineered Oak floor.

Our members provide rusticated floors

A solid recycled floor in a Sunshine Coast home.

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Jim Hilston

Ordinary people… extraordinary work

Lyn and Sam Marafioti - Perth

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The floors you have

just seen did not come

about by accident.

It is important to

understand the

principals to avoid

problems and achieve

a floor to expectations.

So we have the art, but with it goes science

Today we will look at 3 steps

to a successful floor:-

• Know your product

• Know your installation

environment

• Lay and finish taking these

into consideration

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Colour

Know your product

Species is the main attribute that determines colour and owner’s

choice. Note that photos and samples are not always good indicators.

NSW and Queensland species Lighter tones

Coastal speciesBlackbutt

Stringybark – Silvertop and White

White Mahogany – White Stringybark

Tallowwood

Highland NSW speciesManna Gum - New England Oak and

Ribbon Gum

New England Blackbutt

Blackbutt Stringybark Tallowwood

NE BlackbuttManna Gum

Note that lighting

and coating type

can make images

more yellow or

more brown

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Colour

Know your product

Did you that there is more than one species of Spotted Gum and floors

can look different. Due to sapwood treatment can also have an effect.

NSW and Queensland speciesBrown/red tones

More consistent colourBrushbox

Turpentine

Grey Box

Grey Gum

More mixed coloursSpotted Gum

Grey Ironbark

Spotted Gum

Brushbox

Grey Ironbark

Grey Box Grey Gum

Spotted Gum

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Colour

Know your product

Be careful when suggesting alternate species. The alternate species

may have more boards with lighter coloured sapwood or different

grade features.

NSW and Queensland species Red tones

Deep red timbersRed Mahogany - Bloodwood

Red Ironbark

Cherry Mahogany

Lighter red timbersSydney Blue Gum

Rose Gum – Flooded Gum

Rose GumSydney Blue Gum

Red Mahogany Red Ironbark Cherry Mahogany

Rose Gum

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Colour

Know your product

Take care with species names. There are many mixes.

Victorian and Tasmanian speciesSpecies mixes

Tasmanian Oak- Alpine Ash, Mountain Ash, Messmate

Victorian Ash- Alpine Ash, Mountain Ash,

Wormy Chestnut- Brown Barrel, Silvertop Ash, Messmate

Lighter toned timbersYellow Stringybark

Shining Gum

Manna Gum

Some othersRiver Red Gum

Tasmanian Blackwood

Victorian Ash Wormy Chestnut

Manna Gum River Red GumTasmanian

Blackwood

Tasmanian Oak

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Grade

Know your product

Grading is simply a sorting process, based on a set of requirements

or rules that permits specific features up to a certain size and number.

AS 2796 Select Grade Medium Feature – Standard Grade High Feature Grade

Through the assessment of individual boards an overall appearance for

a floor is achieved. The appearance however does differ between

species due to their individual nature and grading rules applicable.

Note that some boards that are not to the specified grade are permitted in finished floors.

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Other important product characteristics

Know your product

Board tolerances – particularly important for floors on battens or joists

Cover width ± 0.3 mm, Thickness ± 0.5mm, T& G clearance 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm

Moisture content – a must to know as it affects in-service expansion and shrinkage

The moisture content of boards shall be within the range from 9% to 14% or as by specified.

EMC is the moisture content timber approaches under set conditions of

humidity and temperature. Note that flooring is generally manufactured to a

Target average of 10 to 11% to suite internal RH of 55% to 60%.

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Timber expands and contracts with changes to relative humidity

Board movement – Rule of thumb!An unrestrained 80mm wide hardwood floorboard will shrink or swell by about

0.25 mm for each 1% change in moisture content.

What are we trying to achieve

Try to lay flooring as close as possible to

the expected in-service moisture content

so that seasonal expansion and

contraction is minimised after installation.

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External climate and influences on the internal climate

We must understand our installation environment

In Melbourne summer evaporative

cooler, winter heating

In Brisbane summer refrigerative

AC and ‘no’ heating in winter

Heating

substantially

reduces

internal EMCRefrigerative

AC reduces

internal EMC

Evap coolers

increase

internal EMC

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Is climate really that important?

Seasonal movement

of 26mm in 3.8m

wide floor.

Shrinkage gaps up

to 10mm.

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An example of specific locality influences on in-service moisture contents..

We must understand our installation environment

Normal internal major city suburb moisture content ranges

Temperate climates- Summer cooling and

minimal heating

Sydney and Brisbane

10-12%

Colder southern climates- Summer cooling and winter heating

Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra

9-12%

Hot summer moderate winter- Summer cooling and

some winter heating

Adelaide 9-11%

Perth 10-12%

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In most cities flooring is supplied at 10 -12.5% and the expected in-service

moisture content is 10 -12.5% so there is no need to acclimatise the flooring.

In Cairns floor moisture content is often 14 -15%, flooring supplied at 10-11%

needs to be acclimatised or more expansion provided.

Why is flooring sometimes acclimatised

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- Moisture content testing is only accurate to a degree, the meter reading ± 2%

- The building environment is often not the in-service environment

- Predicting in-service conditions has some uncertainty

- The climate is more extreme at certain times of the year and in certain years

Why do we need expansion allowance ?

Expansion allowance is not a client option!

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Floors laid over concrete slabs need to be:-

FLAT – through grinding and levelling where need

be

DRY – Old slabs are not necessarily dry slabs

CLEAN – when applying a moisture vapour

retarding barrier before adhesive fixing

STRONG – when direct adhesive fixing.

Before laying we need to assess the subfloor?

Inadequate subfloors are the cause of many floor problems!

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With floors laid over enclosed

subfloor spaces the subfloor

space needs to be:-

DRY – and they must remain dry

VENTILATED – Timber floors should

have more ventilation than NCC

requirements at 7500mm2/m length

of wall.

Before laying we need to assess the subfloor?

Inadequate subfloors are the cause of many floor problems!

Design with the floor in mind!

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There are standard

practices for laying

solid timber flooring

over most substrates.

Use them.

The ATFA industry

standard is a more

recent version of the

Wood Solutions guide.

Both written by ATFA.

Lay the floor to established practices

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Laying practices

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Additional info from ATFA info sheets

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Coatings and stains – a wide range

Some coating systems are more hard wearing but not as easy to repair.

Some are better for certain installation environments.

Some are better with some timbers than others.

The coated appearance differs between types and differs over time.

Before deciding on a finishing system make sure that it is right for your floor.

Know the benefits and limitations.

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Coatings and stains – a wide range

Hard wax oil Water based polyurethane Limed and a white oil

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Where ATFA fits into the picture

NZ 55

USA 9

Asia 5

Australia 690

Our 750 member companies

Solid

Engineered

Bamboo

Laminate

Decking

Flooring contractorsManufacturers• Flooring• Adhesives• Coatings• Fillers• Abrasives

ATFA has put the timber flooring

industry under one umbrella

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What are some things we do?

Extensive training – theory, practice and webinars

Consumer guide and magazine Info sheets

Industry standards for- Solid timber flooring- Engineered flooring- Decking- Bamboo flooring- Laminate flooring

Trade nights

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Thankyou