Discover How A Solid Wood Floor Can Improve The Value Of Your Home
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Everyone knows that a solid wood floor can add character, beauty and warmth to any room. Apart from its aesthetic appeal there are also quite a lot of other benefits of having a real wood floor. Although real wood floors can be quite expensive compared to the cost of the other types of flooring options, the fact is that the benefits of this type of flooring are so many that their cost is justified. Solid wood floors can increase the value of your home. Quite a lot of people who are planning to sell their property intend to fit their homes with wooden floorings before selling so that they can get a higher price for their property.
Benefits of Solid Wood Floors
Unlike the other types of flooring, the wooden floors manage to retain their value and their beauty for quite a lot of years. In fact, as they age they gain more charm because of the natural elements. Wooden floorings continue to age through time and gain more characters and it continues to evolve. This is particularly known as patina and it is one of the main benefits of a solid wooden floor.
Another major benefit of solid wood floors is that they are very easy to maintain. Today the types of wooden floorings which are available do not require any type of regimes for maintaining them and therefore nothing more than sweeping would be required in order to keep them clean. In the last few years, wooden floors have come a long way and today there are several different types of stains, grains, wood and styles available. With so much variety available, no matter what your tastes are you would be able to find the type of wood that matches your tastes. There are also quite a lot of online retailers where you would be able to find what you need for a good discount.
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Wood Floors Increase the Value of Your Home
Solid wood floors can increase the value of any home. According to a particular survey which had been done with estate agents in the US, 90% of the agents said that the houses which have real wood floors tend to sell faster and for higher prices. The beauty of wooden floors is maintained for years and it would retain its value over a long period of time.
Another reason why it increases the value of your home is that real wood tends to trap air and therefore has great insulation properties. For this reason you would also be able to save a lot on the heating bills. Also, since they are completely natural they are good for health. Wood does not accumulate any dust like the other floors and therefore they are great for the families that suffer from allergies. Wooden floors have quite a lot of benefits as can be seen above. For this reason it is not surprising that they add to the value of your house.
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Hardwood flooring in Vancouver is a flourishing industry. Wooden floors add aesthetic beauty to our living spaces and workplaces. It is being extensively used by people with great taste of ethnic flavor and who enjoy adding charm to their property. In different textures and forms, they are being used for different purposes and style.
Among the most in-demand forms of wooden flooring in Vancouver are the Solid Hardwood floors and the Engineered Hardwood Floors. Both the forms are popular in use and have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages over one another.
On one hand, Solid wooden floors are durable and add strength to your flooring. They are cost-effective flooring solution and give you the aesthetic feel of solid wood used for flooring. It is the traditional form of floors made out of wood. It uses the actual solid wood and is used throughout the North America region for its durability. The common forms include maple, oak and birch which are available in different colors and shades. The only and the biggest drawback with this form of wooden flooring is that it gets easily damaged or wears out with time due to moisture and temperature modulations.
On the other hand, there is the advanced form of Engineered Wooden flooring. The engineered wood floor uses the solid wood as the base along with multi-layers of plywood. Its installation is more sophisticated than in any form of flooring. It offers durability and resistance to external damaging factors. In contrast to the solid wooden floors, it offers resistance to external factors like moisture, light and other wear and tear. It is more structurally sound in comparison to solid hardwood and does not lose its luster quickly.
The only reason behind the popularity of engineered floors is due to its resistivity to wear and tear. But solid wooden floor continues to be a favorite too since it is far more economical and durable.
¾ thick solid hardwood floors can only be installed over a wood subfloor, at or above ground level. These instructions will show you how to install a ¾ thick solid hardwood floor over a plywood subfloor. Remember that a good flooring installation starts with a correctly prepared subfloor. So be sure to watch the plywood subfloor prep video. Video Rating: 4 / 5
Installation preparations: 1.1 Acclimatization of the panels; before starting the installation the flooring has to be brought into the room where it will be installed or in a room with the same climate condition. The acclimatisation will be carried out as following: in sealed unopened boxes for a time period of at least 7 days flat lying with at least 50 cm distance to the walls at a room temperature of at least 18°C at a floor surface temperature of a minimum of 15°C at a relative humidity between 40% and 65%
1.2 Installation direction; Solid flooring looks its best when the solid wood flooring panels are installed parallel to the light coming in through the windows. The only required installation direction is if you install solid flooring over hardwood flooring boards. In this case you have to install the solid flooring at a 90degree angle to the existing hardwood flooring boards or apply a hard board or ply board sub floor.
1.3 Planning the first row; after determining the best layout of the flooring and the starting wall, measure the width of the room and divide it by the width of the solid flooring panels to determine the number of rows and the width of the last row. If the last row is determined to be less than 60mm wide, it should be adjusted by cutting the first row lengthwise.
1.4 Planning of expansion gaps; since solid wood flooring is made of organic materials, it is subject to certain movement behaviours (shrinkage/expansion) due to changes in climate conditions. It is necessary to leave gaps of 15mm for the expansion in all parts of the structure i.e. walls, doorframes, stairs, around pipes.
1.5 Planning of transition mouldings; through the shrinkage and expansion behaviour of solid flooring you have to install transition mouldings in the following areas: at all door throughways at all passageways single room length and/or with more than 10 m (33 ft)
The Installation
Check all panels for possible damages/defects. Ensure you understand the difference between the tongue and the groove on the panel. Begin installing the first row from the left-hand corner of the room with both tongue sides of the panels pointing towards the wall. Place spacers between the flooring and the wall to provide the correct space for expansion.
1.1. Glue down â recommendation
1.1.2 Nail down â recommendation
Timber battens, ply board, particleboard sub floor constructions, any wooden surface should be kiln dried at the maximum moisture content of 12-14%. They should be placed at 400mm intervals. Heavy loads such as pianos are place in areas where this is reducing to 300mm. Lay the first row of boards 15mm from the longest, straightest wall. The boards must follow the contours of the wall. It the wall is not straight you must scribe in the first and last row. Place spacers between the edge of the flooring panels and the wall to provide the correct space for expansion. Face nail the first and last row nearest the wall 15mm into the board at 200mm intervals. Secret nail every board (including first row) with a portonailer at 45degrees through the tongue 200mm â 400mm intervals. Start all subsequent rows with the off cut piece from the previous row. Always make sure the off cut to start a new row is at least 400mm long, if not then cut another piece which is
greater than 400mm long.
Attention! Ensure all the short ends are staggered at least 400 mm. It is vital to maintain a minimum of 400mm between the ends of boards in the adjacent rows (staggered).
For great value solid Wooden Flooring and accessories, visit the Flooring Supplies website.
BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR FITTING SOLID WOOD FLOORING
You have chosen a solid wood floor which we are sure you will enjoy for years to come. Please read these instructions and advice before proceeding with installation or unpacking. Solid wood is a natural product and as such will react to its local environment by expanding and contracting. It is important that some basic rules are followed to ensure a trouble free installation and future enjoyment.
BEFORE INSTALLATION
Make sure that the cartons are stacked horizontally and flat. Open the ends so that the wood can acclimatise. All our boards are kiln dried to 8.5% moisture content and they need to acclimatise to your local environment in the rooms where they will be installed. You should allow at least 10 to 14 days for the boards to acclimatise making sure that you have a room temperature of about 18 degrees C with humidity no more than about 55%. Do not lay solid boards in basements for example, or over garages or open spaces such as open ground below the joists. In winter when the temperature is very low and the air is very dry you should use a humidifier if possible especially if the room is heated to a fairly high temperature.
The following is very important
All wet trades such as plastering and wallpapering must be finished All the plaster must be totally dry Floor and wall tiles have been installed for at least 2 weeks Radiators have been bled with any leaks rectified The concrete sub floor has a moisture content of less than 10% All windows and doors are fully fixed All painting is completed All other trades have finished
SUB FLOORS
In most home we now have concrete floors and they should be checked for damp proof courses and also humidity. The surface should be firm, clean, level and grease free. If there is some possibility of dampness then use the Bona R410 to seal the floor. If the concrete floor is uneven by more than 2mm then you can use a self levelling compound but in this case you will not be able to glue the floor down as the glue may cause the levelling compound to break away.
In older houses there is normally and air gap below the joists, in this case either use engineered boards or put a ply subfloor down with a damp proof membrane below to ensure that any humidity and temperature difference will not affect your solid floor once installed.
Where you are fixing to old floor boards you must make sure that they are firmly fixed and that there are no loose boards or protruding nails. It is always safest if you want to lay your new floor over an existing one that you add screws to the old boards as well as nails. If you want to take the old floor boards up then make sure the joists are sound and remove all the nails you can. If the old floorboards are substandard and you want to lay the new boards in the same direction then you should screw down a plywood sub base on which you can then glue down your new floor. This will ensure that you do not get “creaky” boards and your new floor will be completely flat and secure. If you lay your new floor directly onto existing boards in the same direction you are likely to get problems in the future. Normally it is always best to lay the boards lengthways in a room and not across the shortest space.
INSTALLATION
There are two main methods to fixing your floor described below. Before starting your installation you should open several packs so that you can mix the packs to get the best layout. Random lengths mean that you will get a total range of different lengths in each pack, each pack will not always have the same length boards. As solid wood will move the random lengths mean that you will have less of a problem with twisting and warping.
Wood is a natural product and nature always surprises us so you will get different colour hues and grain variation even from the same tree. Each board and each floor is unique and it is important that you get the layout correct so that you can enjoy your floor for years to come and regard it as a piece of beauty and art. With solid wood you must always leave an expansion gap around side of each room of at least 10mm to 15mm.
Glueing
We normally recommend the Bona R850 adhesive as it dries like a hard rubber and is easy to use. We supply this at below trade price with a comb to spread the adhesive. When you use this method you glue the boards directly on to your old floorboards, concrete floor or plywood subfloor. Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully which you will find on each tub of adhesive.
Nailing or Screwing
This is the traditional method and all boards should be secret nailed or screwed at an angle of 45% through the top of the tongue. Our comprehensive traditional installation guide shows this in diagrammatic form. You should us the lost nail heads and a pneumatic nail gun preset to the correct angle which you can hire from any good tool shop. For some very hard species you may need to use a small drill to make a guide hole so that you do not split the tongue when nailing through.
Floating Floors
You should not try and float a solid wood floor the natural movement of solid wood means that you may have problems in the future.
AFTER INSTALLATION WOOD CARE
Lacquered Flooring: we supply a maintenance kit for our aluminium oxide UV coated floors. Normally a quick hoover or dry dust mop will do the job, for stubborn stains just use a kitchen wipe or our special cleaners and replenishing solution.
UV Oiled Floors: these also require little maintenance as they have been sealed and heat treated at the factory. There is a special UV oil maintenance kit and also soap oil which can be used every few months depending on the level of traffic to keep the floor looking like new.
Natural Oiled Floors: we only supply one board that has natural oil and these need to be maintained regularly, the new soap oil and maintenance kits are the perfect solution.
NEVER USE AGRESSIVE CLEANING PRODUCTS CONTAINING AMMONIA, BLEACH OR SILICONES, AND NEVER LEAVE SURPLUS WATER ON THE FLOOR.
Always protect chair and furniture legs with felt pads Place mats at entrances to absorb grit and dirt from outside Clean with the proper maintenance kits or just wipe with a damp sponge
REMEMBER: Wood is a beautiful natural product and due to this the industry standard states that up to 5% may not be usable for the intended purpose.
Martyn Ryder CEO of The Solid Wood Floorijng Company
This short video shows how to install solid wood flooring onto a concrete base using Rewmar MS Polymer flexible adhesive. This adhesive is so easy to use and contains no solvents. Perfect for sticking down both solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. For more information please vist the website www.rewmar.co.uk This product can be bought online from: www.wood2u.co.uk
