How to Fit Solid Wooden Flooring

Making sure that your wooden floor is finished and laid correctly, will save you lots of money in the long run.

These 10 key factors must be taken into account when fitting a solid wood floor.

1.Height allowance

2.Sub floor Types

3.Installation methods

4.Skirting

5.Quantity to order

6.Quality and Moisture content of wood on arrival

7.Acclimatization of the wood on site

8.Expansion gaps

9.Direction of boards

10.Maintenance

1. Height allowance: First thing to check is whether the thickness of the new floor you have chosen and the possible addition of a sub base will affect your room in any way. Either by head height on low beams, ceilings or doorways or will it create a step into leading rooms.

2. Subfloor: What is the existing subfloor? In all cases check the moisture level of the sub base. Fit a solid wood floor anywhere near moisture and you are wasting your time and money. Generally all ground floor bases are prone to moisture problems at some time or other, so adequate moisture proofing is essential. First floors are less prone and less precaution is needed. Different sub bases include, concrete, wooden beams, chipboard planks and old floor boards.

3. Installation methods: There are four different methods of installation each one has its own advantages and disadvantages and specific applications. Gluing: used on both concrete and chipboard sub bases where there is an even and clean surface. Can be messy and glue is expensive. Nailing: used on wooden beams, chipboard and old wooden floor sub bases. Excellent long lasting and strong method but a special nailer is required. Floating: the new floor is not attached to the sub base by gluing or nailing but is floated on top of it. For this method you will need to use an underlay that you wooden floor rests upon. Underlays are good in that they provide a moisture and acoustic barrier Sticky membrane: This is similar to floating a floor but the underlay used is sticky on one side. But be warned if you are not experienced in this method of installation it is very difficult, as the sticky side is extremely sticky and of you get the board in the wrong place you will have extreme difficulty in adjusting it.

4. Skirting: is decorative and provides a necessary cover for the expansion gap that you need to leave around your solid wood floor. You can undercut the skirting, remove the skirting and refit it later or fit beading up to the skirting which will cover the expansion gap.

5. Quantity to order: To calculate the quantity of timber to order measure the rooms and calculate the square meters, then you must add a minimum of 5% extra on top of your area to allow for cutting and wastage. It seems like an unnecessary expense, but it is unavoidable. If you have lots of corners and small rooms it is advisable to allow 10%. The last thing you want is to run out and then not be able to get matching timber.

6. Quality and Moisture content of wood on arrival: Due to the popularity of wooden flooring, it has become a very big industry. The benefit of that to you the consumer is that it has become very competitive. So good quality wood is available at cheaper prices, however Do Not necessarily go for the cheapest you can find, for the following reasons. Floors boards have gone through multiple stages of manufacture from being cut down and machined to be kiln dried and finished. All these stages cost money and if the manufacturer has skimped on these to keep his costs down ultimately the quality of the final product will be inferior. Cheap boards that do not fit together or warp are not cheap in the long run. The moisture content of the wood on arrival at you premises should be between 8% and 12%. It is unlikely that you will have a moisture reader, so will be difficult for you to measure this. This is an advantage of using a professional. They can ensure that these factors are correct and it is their responsibility to do so. Make sure they do.

7. Expansion Gaps: This is the big one. In my experience people generally tend to underestimate the expansion and contraction properties of wood. When a floor is on the move and there is no space for it to go into, nothing can stop it. It will buckle itself and it will break walls if necessary for it to expand. Therefore it is vital to leave a gap all around your floor into which the floor can expand, about 15mm is preferable. Please ensure that this gap is consistent all around including doorways.

8. Acclimatization of the wood on site: This is a long debated subject amongst floor fitters and my beliefs are based around natural laws. Acclimatizing wood in a very dry centrally heated room during winter is going to give you problems as it expands in the summer months and conversely putting wood on site in summer months with all the windows and doors open is going to give you big gaps in the winter months as the wood contracts. Likewise there is no point in acclimatizing wood at any time of year on a building site as this is not the environment that the wood will always live in.

So what does one do - Well these are the ideals: wood arrives from the factory at between 8% and 12% and the ideal humidity of a room for wooden floors is between 40% and 60%. Keep within these ranges when you fit your floor and keep the room at this humidity and you will never ever have a problem with you floor. Hiring a professional takes this worry away from you, but ensures that your professional gives you a guarantee on his workmanship. In doing so he is stating he is comfortable with his level of skill and knowledge.

Fitting engineered floors certainly does negate a lot of these problems as they do not expand or contract to nearly the same degree as a solid wood floor.

9. Direction of boards: There is no right or wrong here. And it is generally a matter of taste, but there are a few guidelines. If you are fitting onto existing rafters or batons you do not have a choice as the boards have to run at 90 degrees to the rafters. General rule of thumb is to run the boards away from the door leading into the room. Looking down the length of the board tends to make the room look larger. Boards running cross ways tend to be jarring to the eyes. Likewise run boards along the longer length of the room, for instance a long hallway with the boards running across the short length looks strange. If in doubt and if you are a little bolder try going diagonal it has a great affect.

10. Maintenance: Methods used will vary according to the type of finish you have. Suffice to say that a little ongoing maintenance will save you a lot of effort and money down the line. Wooden floors are very practical and very easy to keep clean and looking great, but do not just ignore them once you have fitted them. Follow the advice from your layer or wood supplier.

The author of this article is a Director of Whittlewoods ltd, one of the leading wooden floor companies in the UK. He has over 25 years experience in the timber industry and understands everything about wood. Have a look at the company's website Whittlewoods Oak Flooring you will most probably find the answers to all your Wooden flooring questions right there.

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Preparing to Lay Your New Wooden Floor

Due to the nature of real wood such as oak it is a living and breathing product. It will expand and contract depending on its environment. A new wood floor looks fantastic but it is always best to ensure it stays looking pristine for years to come. The way to do this is to make sure the preparation for laying the flooring is done correctly, along with a common knowledge of the small issues that can happen with real wood floors.

Solid flooring has a tendency to expand and contract. In summer, when the air is more humid due to the house being aired more often - the boards soak up the extra moisture and tend to expand slightly. In winter, when central heating / underfloor heating are used regularly, the air in the house is very dry therefore resulting in the boards drying and contracting - this often creates gaps appearing between boards - often large enough to put a coin between. These are harmless and disappear in the warmer months when heating is not used in the house as often.

When hardwood flooring gets wet or damp it absorbs the moisture and expands to accommodate this extra moisture. This can often happen even if the room does not feel damp or wet - the humidity in the air can also affect the floor. Before laying a wooden floor in is essential to check that the room is dry and the sub floor contains no extra moisture. It is also best to check the moisture content of the flooring before installing. However the sub floor is the most important thing to check before installing as this will affect the floor if it is not the correct moisture levels.

Where an existing timber subfloor is present, this needs to be checked for wet rot, dry rot and for woodworm. Although these are not commonplace it is always best to check existing floors before laying down your new wood floors which can get ruined by rot or woodworm. It is always best to ensure that the existing boards are also securely fastened to the joists as they will cause creaking if not fitted well. Loose timber boards can be screwed down onto the joists - or additional noggins can be placed between the joists if an old board has been cut in the wrong place and is loose.

When nailing down onto the existing flooring, the boards should be laid at 90 degrees to the sub floor. This ensures maximum stability and strength in the floor. (As an example consider a jenga game where all the blocks are placed on top of each other in the same direction - it is extremely unstable). If you are wanting the boards to be laid in the same direction as the sub floor a layer of plywood can be placed and nailed or screwed down to ensure a stable fit of the new wood flooring.

There are additional precautions to take where a screed or concrete sub floor is present. New concrete dries at a rate of 1 inch per month or 1mm per day. Although the concrete can look and feel dry to the touch, it can often still contain more moisture than the recommended amounts for hardwood flooring. The best way to check is to use a moisture meter - this will give you an instant reading and tell you whether you need to leave it to dry for longer.

If the new wood floor is an engineered floor that is being laid as a floating floor then it is possible to lay an extra layer of damp proof membrane (DPM) over the concrete / screed to ensure no moisture reaches the wood floor however if the floor is being glued down to the subfloor or battened out it would not be possible to lay the DPM, however a liquid DPM or epoxy resin can be used to create a liquid barrier instead. As solid wood floors are recommended to be stuck down to the sub floor it is best to glue solid wood floors down to the concrete directly therefore it is essential that the moisture is checked before laying.

With all wood flooring, an expansion gap must be left around the edge to ensure there is room for expansion in case of problems with moisture. This can be covered with skirting, beading or an edge profile. When preparation for the sub floor has been completed correctly, the laying of the wood floor is more likely to fit properly and without problems for the future.

Wood Flooring

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