Hardwood flooring is one of the expensive yet elegent flooring option. The prices vary a lot so keep your budget in mind before you go for hardwood floor shopping. Hardwood flooring installation is not that typical but still need a lot of care.The following precautions should be kept in mind for hardwood flooring.
Precautions for Hardwood Flooring
- Season the timber used for hardwood flooring thoroughly and treat it with preservatives.
- Choose a wooden floor according to use of the room.
- Select a style/design that matches or compliments decoration of the rooms.
- Choose a wooden floor product with proper finish that can handle the traffic for specific room.
- Always employ a professional contractor, as there are many technical concerns that can adversely effect or compromise the product.
Installation of Hardwood FlooringHardwood floor installation depends on type of product, area to be installed and the type of sub floor. There are three installation methods given below for hardwood flooring.
- Floating
- Glue down
- Nail down or Staple down
Floating method
The floor is fixed firmly to any part of sub floor by this method. This method is applied through following ways.
- Place a thin pad between wood floor and sub floor. The padding protects against moisture, reduces noise transmission and makes the floor softer under feet.
- Install a sub floor to avoid disorder and additional cost.
- Apply recommended wood glue between the two planks to hold them together.
Note: This is a very fast, easy and clean method of installation. For example if you want to remodel your floor, you just have to change the top layer product only without destroying/tearing up existing floor.
Glue Down:
Hardwood flooring attaches wooden planks directly to sub floor.
To install this flooring, spread recommended adhesive onto sub floor using an appropriate notched trowel (a flat, bladed tool to spread the mixture). The planks are then set into adhesive.
Glue down flooring should be done on dry, fully cured concrete slabs or sub floors.
Nail down or Staple down
This is most commonly used method.
In Nail down method 2 inches nailing cleats (bolts to strengthen wooden work) are installed with wooden flooring with the help of nailer and hammer to attach the hardwood floor to the sub floor.
For staple down method staple/pins are used instead of nailing cleats to fasten hardwood floor to wooden sub floor. The staple down installation procedure is less complicated than nailing down.
You can go for any of above-mentioned methods. However, your dealer or contractor can help you to determine best method for any specific condition.
Finishing for Hardwood FlooringThe following procedure is applied to finish the wood for flooring.
1. Wood Preparation
2. Colorants
3. Wooden fillers
4. Sealers
5. Glazes
6. Toners
Wood Preparation for Hardwood flooring
Wood preparation is the most important step in hardwood finishing. Multiple rubbing with sandpaper, scraping, and sponging followed by sanding is done to remove scratch, grease, oil and other wood defects.
Colorants for Hardwood flooringAfter the wood is well-prepared, dyes, stains or fillers are used for even absorption into wooden surface. However, colorants can be broken into two large groups: dyes and pigmented stains.
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Dyes:Dyes are colorants in mineral spirits, oil, alcohol or water. These change shade of the wood without hiding its figure.
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Pigmented Stains:Stains are dispersions of particles or pigments within oil or solvent base. Stains may be sprayed, brushed or wiped onto the surface. Pigmented stains fill the grain and leave wooden surface with less colorant.
Wooden Fillers for Hardwood flooring
Wood with open grain structure such as oak and ash has very large pores. It is desirable to fill the pores to allow surface appear smoother. Fillers are applied in a heavy layer or paste form either by spraying or brushing, and the excess is wiped off with rags, scrapers from the top of the wooden surface.
Sealers for Hardwood flooringA clear or pigmented liquid is applied directly over an uncoated material such as wood or concrete for sealing the material against water access.
Glazes for Hardwood flooring
Glazes are transparent or semi-transparent stains which are applied after sealer coat.
Toners for Hardwood flooring
Toners are colored applications of sealer or top coat which are used to build up a color. Toners tend to cover the grain because they are essential colors suspended in finish.
Now the wood is finally finished for flooring. |