Q: When I lay out the first row of flooring I end up with a 1.5 inch cut off. Would I be better off to cut a board in half to start the row, so I end up with random lengths at each end of the room?
A: The short answer to this is “Yes.” Let’s examine this a bit further though to explain why you don’t want such a short piece at the end of a row. I will mention as a preface, that it will matter what type of installation is being done. For floating and nail/staple-down floors you will want to have a longer section at the ends of each rows. For nailed/stapled floors you should not nail or staple closer than 4 inches the the end of a board. The reason behind this is that if you nail or staple that close to the end of a board you run risk of cracking the tongue– so ideally you will want 8 inch to 1 foot sections or longer at the end of your floor.
For floating floors, the lock mechanisms require certain distances to maintain enough pressure. This means that similar to nailed hardwoods, you will want to have a plank length of 8 inches to 1 foot or more at the ends of each row to ensure proper locking power is maintained and the floor will remain intact.
With glue-down floors this can be different, but ideally you will want to remain to the same practice. An end piece that is 1.5 inches is not a wise idea as this will be unstable and could cause issues later on regardless of the floor installed.
Monthly Archives: May 2007
Wood Floors Over Cement
Q: What type of flooring goes over cement subfloors?
A: There are several floors you can put over a cement subfloor. Floors that can be installed as a floating floor are your best bet for installing over concrete floors. You can also install most floors which are suitable for a glue-down installation over concrete, such as 5/16” solid hardwood products from Bruce and Westhollow. You can also look at glue-down Bamboo and Cork flooring.
I will caution you that glue-down floors are very difficult to install and I do NOT recommend this as a DIY project. If there is a floor you really want to install that can’t be floated and is suitable for a glue-down install, contact a professional to have this installed. When installing over concrete, especially in basements, I would suggest a floating floor, such as laminate, engineered bamboo and hardwoods, or cork flooring. Also, make sure you use a vapor barrier along with your underlayment when floating a floor over concrete.
Always ensure the floor you choose is approved to be installed over concrete by the manufacturer and ensure the installation is done up to the manufacturer’s standards to ensure you keep your warranty.
There is more than meets the eye to buying right
I heard some quotes today from a supplier based on Asia for laminate that were much higher the going rate. I don’t know what they are thinking – but they are talking to the wrong guy. We have too many smart buyers here to just say yes to something that is so far out of market balance.
It did cause me to reflect that the average dealer may think differently. Without the direct experience they have a guy show up to their business and say hey I am from China I will save you money. And the average dealer says, ok I am getting a quote from a factory in China – it must be a good price because it is about 15% less than some of the main brands. There is nothing wrong with that notion except that the knowledge of the total market helps us maintain the edge when it comes to buying right and making sure we get the right stuff at the right price.
There is also a MASSIVE difference in the the quality of the factories in China or for that matter any other country.
I was touring a bamboo factory with Ryan as a prospective supplier in China. When consumers, dealers, architects and designers think of bamboo we automatically think: BAMBOO = EARTH FRIENDLY. That is not always the case.
Well during this tour Ryan and I kept looking at each other in near amazement when we saw how dirty it was overall or other little tell tale signs of a substandard operation.
Cleanliness always gives you a sense of an operation. Making flooring and milling bamboo in particular is a messy job, but there is a difference in ongoing production related debris and the place being just plain dirty. That on it’s own wouldn’t cause us to veto the plant.
The worker conditions were not ideal. The lighting was bad which can lead to unsafe conditions. We didn’t even bother checking out the dormitories, but I can only imagine the worker’s living conditions. That on it’s own wouldn’t cause us to veto the plant, after all if we become a large customer and make certain requirements related to work conditions we are in a position to improve that.
We went by a large vat of steaming bamboo. It was the “naturalization” process where they boil the bamboo with chlorine to get rid of insects and lighten the tone of the floor. Am I a fan of Chlorine? Not in really, but that is standard practice at this time. The thing that caught Ryan and I cold was the fact that they simply drain the vat upon completion into the local creek. For those keeping score at home, Chlorine into the creek is not Earth Friendly. This is a VETO reason. The factory was out.
We also saw the carbonization process that includes some iodine which ultimately was drained into the same creek as well. This would also be a VETO reason.
When we asked them why they are draining into the creek rather than treating it or disposing it properly they were flat out perplexed. Nobody ever asked them that before. They had no idea that there were alternative methods that were better for their own community. They would choose the right if they had the knowledge and resources.
There were a number of other factors that caused us to decide to pass on them rather than to try and effect the situation. There comes a point where it is simply too much for us to fix.
The thing that really blows my mind and I think I can speak for Ryan here too; we see countless factories just like this one with cartons from every big name flooring retailer in North America and many from Europe too that sell bamboo flooring. (I won’t name names at this moment.) We see their clearly label cartons in the type of factory that doesn’t pass our most basic smell test.
When we ask the factory when the last time that the buyer of that big brand carton was here – most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time they say, “Oh um, they have never been here.”
Anyway I am rambling now, but my point here is that when Ryan and I or whomever for our company goes out into the world to buy we do it differently. There are WORLD class factories in China and many other parts in the world. The key is to make sure you balance the price we are willing to pay with the total package.
We don’t just have some guy show up at our office and we get a quote and then we say sounds good. To the best of our ability we make sure we know how the products impact the world and if we feel comfortable putting our name on it. Are we perfect? Not by a long shot, but we aspire to be.
We didn’t just “Go Green” in 2007 like everybody and their brother. Talk about hopping on the bandwagon! We’ve been practicing this process of buying for years and years in countries from all over the world. We do it because we have to be able sleep at night plus it is the right thing to do.
Anyway – that is enough of my ramble.
Sound Transmission Class – STC Ratings
Q: What is STC rating?
A: STC rating, or Sound Trasmission Class, refers to the amount of sound reduction a given floor has. This is typically a rating important to underlayments. STC rating is important to consider when installing laminate floors, as this can deaden the “clicking” or “hollow” sound laminate floors have when walking over them. This sound deadening can cause a laminate floor to sound closer to real floor wood floors. STC rating is also key to keep in mind for installing a floor in a condo or upper levels of a home. Home Owner’s Associations tend to require higher STC rated underlayments, such as 6mm cork or Sound6 Barrier Acoustical underlayments, to prevent sound from transferring to other condos in a complex.
This testing is typically done in laboratories using a suspended ceiling which is insulated, a 6 inch thick concrete slab, the underlayment, and flooring. A machine is used to tap on the flooring at various frequencies tot est how much sound is lost when transferring from the room over the suspended ceiling to the room below
Dark Colors – Hot Fashion
Dark colors are all the rage at this moment in flooring. There are some new colors and styles coming into the category at the moment that are incredible.
One note that is important to make is that dark floors will tend to show scratches easier than middle toned and lighter color floors. The gloss level of your flooring is also relevant. The higher the gloss level on your floor the easier it is to see the scratches.
Just to be clear, all floors scratch under normal conditions I am just emphasizing that the deep dark rich colors (especially those with a higher gloss level) will show more than others.
Pets and Hardwood Floors
Q: How will a hardwood floor hold up with pets?
A: This will depend on how active your pets are. Most floors have aluminum oxide or similar protective measures added to their finish to prevent abrasion, but no floor is bullet proof. Certain types of flooring with higher hardness ratings can be more dent resistant, but this does not affect how resistant a floor is to scratching.
Your best solution to keep your hardwood floors beautiful while letting your pets roam your home is to keep your pets groomed and ensure they are potty trained. Scratching and Staining is the most common problem when combining our beloved pets with a wood floor. Hardwood floors are more susceptible to scratches from a larger pet’s claws. Even tile, although nearly impervious to scratches, is vulnerable to strains from pet urine due to grout lines and potentially porous surfaces.
As with any floor, to prevent staining from urine or any other accident, it is important to spot clean the area immediately and to perform proper and regular maintenance on your floor with the right cleaning products. This practice will help your floor retain its beauty for a longer period of time.
To match or not to match that is the question.
A lot of folks working through a remodeling project are faced with a dilemma. They are remodeling and changing floors in part of the home, but not all of it. So the question of how to replace the kitchen, entry, hallway while still coordinating with the dining and living room which are existing floors is a common challenge.
There is one basic way I would offer advice when it comes to this very normal situation:
1. YOU CAN NOT MATCH THE FLOOR EXACTLY. – unless the exact flooring you have in the existing areas is still being made you will not find a match. You can try, but there will be no precise match. Natural products will change with exposure to light anyway so even if it is available it may still not match perfectly. However, if you can find the same exact product ID# etc… that is your only hope of matching the floor.
2. SINCE YOU CAN’T MATCH – LET’S COORDINATE. – Coordination with your flooring can take on two basic concepts typically. The first and most common I see used is to use the new flooring to contrast the old flooring in an obvious way. The two can still coexist together have have elements that coordinate in your greater design scheme, but when people see your two floors together they will see that you did not try to match and fail, you in fact chose a BOLD route and faced the challenge head on and contrasted the prior design. Olay!
If you are not into a contrast then the next most common method of coordination is using a similar base color tone, but changing the grain or pattern enough to look different. This is much easier than getting an exact match.
To me the most important thing is to avoid the “Swing anna Miss” potential in trying to match exactly. When people see two floors that kind of seem like they are the same, but on a close examination they are clearly not the same it would be seen as a design strike out. Avoid that if you can.
That’s my Tip ‘O the Day.
Screened-in Porch Question
Q: I am building a screened-in “porch” over a pre-existing patio. The patio has a cement floor and I want to install a wood floor over it. Sleepers will raise the new floor about 5 inches above the cement slab, but will not be ventilated. The room will have a roof, but the screens will allow for some weather. I had considered using Mahogany decking, but planned to install without any spacing. I am now afraid this will buckle with changes in humidity and have changed my thinking to a tongue and groove porch decking material. I am not sure of what would be best in this situation. Do you have any recommendations?
A: When exposing wood to uncontrolled climate, such as the great outdoors, it is key to keep in mind you must use product suited for this application. Although this patio will have a ceiling, it is best to treat it as you would a deck. Using a tongue and groove decking material for your patio should work, but keep in mind you will want to leave room for expansion similar to installing any hardwood floor. This should help alleviate worry of buckling issues you might run into. You will also want to acclimate your product so that the wood’s moisture content is within 2-3% of the subfloor of your patio. Keep in mind, this can take awhile as the environment you are installing in is not controlled like the interior of your home and if this area has some open air below the decking without having ventilation your could run into issues with moisture accumulation beneath the floor.
Beyond patience in allowing for acclimation and account for some expansion room to ensure the floor does not buckle, treat this similar to a deck by ensuring proper weather sealing is on the floor decking. Do not use residential flooring for a project like this, as it is not suited for the uncontrolled outdoor environments. I hope this helps you out for your project.
Follow-up: After some review by a co-worker of mine, I realized that I forgot to mention a good product to take a look at for this would be slat decking such as the ones iFLOOR.com carries by Vifah. Vifah’s snap together plank decking is very easy to install, is well suited for a deck or outdoor porch, and its a great looking product. Now if your specifically after a single plank look rather than the slated look of Vifah’s deck planking, you will want to ensure the planks you purchase are made for outdoor use, such as decking and make sure its properly water sealed.
Back in the saddle.
Ok – after a whirlwind tour of the NE I am back.
I saw alot of great new store locations in th Boston area as well as Nashua, NH. Then I zipped down to Philadelphia for a night and then visited our Wilmington, DE site that is very nice indeed. Then we drove to the Baltimore area and checked on a potential site in the DC metro area – then spent the rest of the day in the Baltimore store.
Whew! Alot of miles in a few days. I have the good fortune to meet many great customers with really interesting backgrounds and projects. Additionally the really passionate iFLOOR people in each location were a true inspiration.
Welcome to the iFLOOR.com Flooring Expert’s Blog
As the title says welcome to the blog. Here you can ask questions and get answers for your flooring project or find out information about anything having to do with hardwood floors from an expert. From advice on products to installing your floor– we’re here to help you!
You can contact us through our email flooringexpert@ifloor.com or leave a comment.
Have a good one!
Flooring Blog 