Laying instructions

Conditions required prior to laying flooring.

Flooring must not be exposed to bad weather conditions. It should be stored in dry conditions, out of contact with the floor, and protected from condensation and high humidity.
Unfinished flooring must be opened and the shrink film only removed. It should be left to acclimatise in the room where it is going to be laid for approximately one week or longer if possible.
Pre-finished flooring must only be opened just prior to laying.

Considering the moisture content in our delivered flooring, the room where the flooring is to be laid must be conform to the following :

• Relative humidity must be between 40% and 60%.
• Ambient temperature must be between 15 and 20°C.
• The substrate moisture content must not exceed 2%.
• The main building work, rendering and masonry must be dried to below 5% moisture content.
• Tiling, and scaling and gluing of coverings must be completed.
• Windows and weather protection od the room to be laid must be completed.
• All plumbing must be checked and watertight.
• The skirting boards must not yet be fitted.
• There must be no risk of moisture getting into the work area during or after laying.

9 mm and 14 mm tongue and groove flooring
For glueing (please refer to the norm NF P 63-202/DTU 51.2):

• The flooring must be glued directly to the base.
• On a sreed surface, the surface must be as follow : smooth, fine textured and regular but not glazed. It must not be powdery, cracked or flaked. It must be of average absorbency.
  If necessary treat the surface with a self-levelling compound.
• Glueing onto wood derived panels is possible.
• Spread the glue using a number 4 notched spatula, half a square metre at a time.
• Leave a gap of 1,5 mm/metre around the flooring to allow for expansion. A minimum of 15 mm should be left and this will be hidden by the skirting board.

For installation with under floor heating
(please refer to the norm NF P 63-202/DTU 51.2 – “Laying under floor heating”):

• In case of under floor heating, the maximum size is 14x110 mm.
  The heating must be switched on at least three weeks before, and switched off 48 h before laying the flooring.

21 mm flooring
For nailing (please refer to the norm NF P 63-201/DTU 51.1):

• Lay on backing strips, joists, or suspended floors.
• Backing strips of the usual 80 mm width should be spaced at 45 cm intervals. It is advisable to lay a resilient material such as rubber pads or strips between the backing strips and the concrete to provide sound insulation.

9 mm flooring, non tongue and groove
For glueing plus nailing:

• The flooring is glued and then nailed onto a substrate of wood-derivered panels or an existing wooden floor.
• Holes have to be filled before sanding.