Installing strip parquet
Chevron and strip parquet installation
When installing chevron (French herringbone parquet) and strip parquet in a herringbone pattern, you must allow for an additional 10% of the clean floor surface.
It is recommended to use the services of a professional installer during installation. These instructions outline the basic requirements, the observance of which ensures a beautiful and durable parquet floor. During installation, the general requirements for the quality of construction work of the Interior RYL2013 must be followed!
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Bring the floorboard to the installation site a few days in advance. This is necessary so that the material can adapt to the room conditions. Check the relative humidity of the room beforehand (it should be between 35-60%) as the humidity can be very high after painting. Store the parquet planks in their unopened packaging on a horizontal and flat surface. During installation and afterwards, the temperature of the subfloor, floor material and room must be between 18-22°C. The relative humidity must be between 35-60%.
In private houses, apartments and office spaces with modern ventilation and heating systems, the air is very dry during dry times (winter heating season), and the humidity can even drop below 35%RH. Excessive dryness also has a detrimental effect on human health. Therefore, we recommend artificially increasing the humidity in rooms during dry times, for example with a humidifier. In summer cottages or rarely used rooms, it is advisable to use a heating system controlled by a humidity regulator. If the humidity exceeds a critical limit, it automatically turns on the heating system.
SUBFLOOR
Concrete floor
In the case of a concrete subfloor, it must be ensured that the unevenness of the floor remains within the normal limits of ±2 mm per 2m section. After pouring the concrete, it must definitely dry for 1-2 months or more (depending on the thickness of the concrete layer and drying conditions). When starting the installation, the relative humidity must remain within ~60%. The humidity of the concrete must definitely be measured before installation. Before starting the installation work, it is recommended to lightly sand the concrete to remove the "concrete milk". This method significantly improves the adhesion of the adhesive to the concrete
Old concrete floor
If the old concrete floor is smooth, the unevenness must not exceed ±2 mm over a 2m section, clean and dry (max 65% RH), the parquet strips can be glued directly to the subfloor. If the subfloor is not sufficiently smooth, see the section “Uneven concrete floor.” If there are doubts about the moisture content of the concrete floor, take the same measures as for a damp concrete floor. See the section “Damp concrete floor.”
Damp concrete floor If, despite ventilation, the moisture content of the subfloor does not fall within the permissible limits, you must start looking for and repairing possible defects. To determine the cause of the moisture, you must do the following:
*check whether the external moisture insulation of the building is in order;
*check that the floor insulation is not wet;
*check whether the floor moisture insulation is intact and correctly installed;
*check whether moisture is not getting in, for example, from the balcony doors;
*if there is a swimming pool in the lower room, check whether the floor has lower moisture insulation and whether it is in order;
*check whether there are thermal and cold bridges in the floor.
Any defects found as a result of the checks carried out based on the previous list must be corrected before the floor covering is installed. If the cause of the moisture content is capillary moisture, the situation can be improved slightly by making a moisture insulation for the floor covering, but even then the humidity of the concrete floor must not exceed 60-80% RH.
NB: When considering this option, it is important to remember that excess moisture in the subfloor will try to escape anyway. If the moisture cannot escape upwards from the floor, it will be absorbed into the wall structure, causing moisture and mould damage there.
Moisture insulation options:
*Epoxy primer - used for moisture insulation of concrete floors, for example Renove PU200 *Roofing felt (polymer bitumen roll material) or specially adhesive materials that are glued to the entire subfloor.
*It is possible to use a film on which a layer of waterproof plywood is placed. The moisture-proof adhesive must be completely dry before gluing the parquet strips.
Uneven concrete floor
If the concrete surface is rough, it should be leveled or, if possible, sanded. In the case of small irregularities, it is recommended to grind them out of the concrete with a diamond disc. Leveling is carried out with mixtures intended for this purpose in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. General recommendation—use leveling mixture as little as possible and only the highest quality products. When leveling concrete irregularities with a leveling layer, care must be taken because if the leveling layer is not strong enough, the adhesive can pull the leveling layer away from the concrete. The thickness of the leveling layer should definitely not be less than 5 mm. Only high-quality mixtures with a strength index of 50N/mm2 are suitable for leveling.
PLYWOOD OR OSB
If the floor is on wooden joists or concrete, an intermediate layer in the form of plywood or OSB board is placed on top. The boards must be attached to the joists with wood screws and, in the case of concrete, glued, and can also be attached with dowels. Dowels must not be used on concrete with underfloor heating unless the exact location of the heating pipes is known or the thickness of the concrete layer does not exceed the length of the dowel. Using chipboard (PLP) is not the best solution because its moisture resistance is lower and linear expansion differs from that of wood. When installing the boards, gaps are left between the boards, i.e. expansion joints of 3…5mm. When gluing to concrete, plywood boards (1525x1525mm) should be cut into four smaller pieces before installation.
Wooden subfloor
First, check whether the subfloor made of boards is suitable for use as a base layer, the unevenness must not exceed ±2 mm in a 2m section. If this condition is not met, the floor must be leveled by filling in or sanding the holes, and in case of large unevenness, cover with an additional layer of boards. Check that the subfloor is stable. Before gluing, the floor must be cleaned using a slightly damp cloth and cleaning agent. The installer/owner is responsible for ensuring that the environmental conditions of the installation site and the strength and physical properties of the subfloor are suitable for installation. The parquet manufacturer is not responsible for problems arising in the material that arise from or are related to the condition of the subfloor, substrate or installation site, an unsuitable environment during installation or after installation. All substrates must be dry, clean, with a complete and strong structure and level. The product warranty does not apply if the requirements for the environment and the subfloor have been ignored during installation.
INSTALLATION
Distance from walls and other fixed objects
The expansion gap between the parquet floor and the walls and attached objects depends on the size of the room and the indoor climate, preferably 10-20 mm. The expansion gaps are covered with floor skirting boards or filled with a suitable color elastic joint compound (in this case, a 5 mm wider expansion gap must be left). When installing chevron parquet and regular parquet in a herringbone pattern, start from the center of the room, first install the so-called (spruce) in the center of the room and then continue installation on both sides towards the wall.
To achieve a good installation result, it is important to install the first rows precisely and neatly. The angle must be the same all the time. If installed incorrectly, deviations will accumulate and multiply in the following rows. The tiles are installed with glue directly in front of the previous row and pressed into place so that the short and long sides are flush with the other tiles, respectively. The installation direction is usually towards the main window of the room. Pattern 1 Determine the installation direction. Start from the side walls and determine the center of the room. When installing, lay several strips in a herringbone pattern and mark the center line of the room with marking tape (which will be the center of the “herringbone”). To establish this main line in the room, apply glue to the subfloor and lay down the first herringbone pattern in exactly the right position and at the right angle. This main line (“herringbone”) must be installed along the entire center line of the room.
Footstep and shock reduction
There is no particular need to reduce footfall sound and cushion shocks (rubber/cork or cork board roll material), as walking on a solid wood floor does not produce noise like with laminate and parquet flooring.
Parquet gluing
When gluing parquet, it is recommended to use a special parquet adhesive that ensures an elastic bond with the substrate. If the subfloor is very absorbent, it is recommended to prime the floor with the specially designed primer Renove 200 (according to the adhesive Renove Ms Elastik 400 used).
The installation of parquet flooring begins with measuring the center of the room. Marking lines are used to mark the starting lines on the base. The adhesive is applied to the floor with an adhesive comb suitable for the type of parquet. The adhesive is applied in 20-30cm increments - the adhesive strip must extend beyond the parquet. The extent of the adhesive application depends on the type of adhesive (drying speed), the absorbency of the substrate, the temperature and humidity. If the subfloor is uneven, the adhesive's adhesion may be significantly reduced.
Strip parquet must not be glued to the tongue-and-groove joint.
Parquet strips are attached to the base with glue and nailed to the tongue and groove at a 45° angle (for plywood and OSB bases). In the case of a concrete subfloor, only glue is used. All parquet strips must be carefully pressed onto the glue pad to achieve strong adhesion. After gluing, a weight must be placed on the floor (e.g. sandbags or unused parquet packages). If glue gets on the surface of the parquet, it must be removed immediately with a damp cloth to prevent the wood from discoloring.
After gluing the parquet, the floor must be allowed to dry for 1-7 days, depending on the glue used. Only then can the final sanding and finishing begin.
Heated concrete floor
If the first rows cannot be mechanically fastened, 1...3 rows are glued down the night before, depending on the type of parquet. Then the first rows will be firmly fixed by morning and the main part can be installed: each new parquet strip laid down must be firmly fixed to the previous one. Underfloor heating must distribute heat over the entire surface, the surface temperature (including under carpets and furniture) must never exceed 27 °C. In the case of underfloor heating, it is essential to use an adhesive primer, which ensures better adhesion between concrete and parquet.
In the future, you must also ensure that the underfloor heating is not adjusted too abruptly - it should not be faster than 3–4° C per day.
NB! NB! It is not recommended to install parquet made of beech, maple, jatoba, acacia and Siberian larch on underfloor heating because these wood species are not stable enough. Also, parquet made of spruce and pine is not the best solution because these wood species are relatively poor heat conductors.
Use of adhesives
For gluing parquet, we recommend using a special parquet adhesive, for example: Renove 400. For priming, use Renove PU200, for example.
Parquet protection
Immediately after installing the floorboard, the floor must be completely covered with construction cardboard to prevent the surface from getting dirty before finishing. In the case of factory-finished 2-layer parquet, it is recommended to install 1 layer of Finnish cardboard + cover it with construction cardboard. This is necessary to prevent the floor from being scratched during further finishing work by N: painters.
The warranty for installed wooden floors is valid if the wooden floor maintenance and usage instructions have been followed:
The warranty does not cover natural wear and tear of the surface finish or defects caused by improper maintenance and installation.
The relative humidity in the room should be between 40-60%.
Use humidifiers to increase humidity.
The room temperature should be between 18-24°C.
In a room with underfloor heating, the surface temperature of the wooden parquet must not exceed 27°C.
Failure to follow these instructions will void the warranty.