Handling & Installation
We take numerous steps to ensure that the flooring we
produce meets our high standards. In order to preserve
that quality, several procedures need to be followed
between the time your flooring leaves our facility and
the time it is installed in your home.
Prior to flooring delivery, the jobsite should be
checked to make sure it is ready to receive the
flooring. Our hardwood flooring is for interior use only
and should never be exposed to excessive moisture
conditions. Abuses during shipment or storage such as
exposure to excessive moisture conditions or rough
handling should be noted and reported immediately. Once
delivered, it should be allowed to acclimate to the area
where it is to be installed. This helps prevent moisture
related problems such as gaps between strips, cupping
and/or buckling.
How to Install
Once these steps have been completed, your flooring is
ready to be installed.
Old Crafter's hardwood flooring should always be
installed either perpendicular or at a 45 degree angle
to the floor joists. Failure to do so will result in
high ridges in the floor at every joist.
Do not use a wall as your starting line because walls
are rarely perfectly straight and the flooring therefore
will not be straight. Place a straight line on the floor
using a carpenter's chalk line. You may need to face
nail and/or glue the boards along the starting line to
achieve a straight starting row. In very wide rooms,
consider placing the starting row in the center of the
room.
Use a spline to reverse direction so that you can
proceed to walls at either end of the room. This will
minimize movement and noise issues that may occur should
the flooring absorb moisture and swell after occupancy.
It is absolutely necessary to leave a ¾†expansion
space between the hardwood flooring and the perimeter
walls of every room. Failure to leave an expansion space
can damage walls and other surrounding fixtures such as
fireplace hearths and adjacent flooring materials should
the wood flooring absorb moisture and swell.
Fasteners
Old Crafter's hardwood flooring is made to be
mechanically fastened to a wood subfloor using flooring
cleats or staples. The subfloor should be at least 5/8"
thick (3/4" is preferred) exterior-use rated plywood or
its equivalent. On flooring that is wider than 3" we
recommend that wood flooring glue be used in conjunction
with mechanical fasteners to make sure that the flooring
is properly attached to the subfloor. The fasteners used
should be either a 2' barbed flooring cleat or 2' 15
gauge flooring staples with crowns. On 2" and 3" wide
flooring, fasteners should be placed along strips at no
more than 10" to 12" apart (8" to 10" spacing is
preferred). On 4' or wider flooring, fasteners should be
spaced along planks approximately 8" apart. There
should be a minimum of two flooring fasteners per board
on the shortest boards, and fasteners should be spaced
1" to 3" from the ends of every flooring strip or
plank. Flooring nails or staples are made to be driven
at an angle through the top of the tongue for
blind-nailing. However, face-nailing is often required
for starting strips as discussed above or along walls
where there is not enough room for a flooring nail-gun.
Once your floor is installed, consult our
FLOOR CARE page to keep it
looking great for life.
|
|
RECOMMEDATIONS
According to NOFMA
The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association (WWW.NOFMA.ORG)
and the National Wood Flooring Association (WWW.NWFA.ORG),
the following items should be done and maintained prior
to, during and after delivery to the jobsite and
installation of the flooring:
1
Surface drainage of the land around the
building should be directed away from the structure;
2
The building must be "œdried-in" with the
roof on, all exteriors walls completed and all outside
windows and doors in place;
3
All concrete, masonry, sheetrock, and framing
members should be thoroughly dry;
4
The basement and/or crawl space must be dry
(meaning no presence of high humidity conditions as well
as no standing or liquid water) and a ground cover of 6
mil polyethylene film should be in place over 100% of
the crawlspace earth;
5
The interior environment must be near
occupancy levels with the heating or air conditioning
system operating at time of flooring delivery and until
after installation and occupancy; and
6
The subfloor moisture content must be checked
to make sure it is within normal ranges for the region.
|
|
