Installation Instructions for Timberwise natural flooring

These instructions are given in order to ensure that Timberwise flooring will keep its beauty. Read the installation instructions through carefully. If these instructions are not followed, the product guarantee will not be valid!

All bricklaying, plaster and tiling works has to be completed prior to installation of the flooring. Timberwise wooden flooring is installed as a normal floating floor. Only professionals can install the floor by gluing it to the subfloor. After the installation the floor is ready for use.

BEFORE INSTALLATION
The packages must not be opened before installation is started.
The closed packages should be stored into the same room, at room temperature, where they are to be installed for at least 2 days (dry and cold wintertime 6 days) before the installation.

• Make sure that the room’s relative humidity (RH) is 40 – 60 %. If the room’s relative humidity decreases under 40 % RH, even cracks might occur in the floor.
• The room temperature should be approx. 18° - 24° Celsius = 68° - 80° Fahrenheit
• If the under floor's humidity is max 60 % RH when installing (or less than 1.5 % by weight) there is no need for damp proofing
• If the under floor's humidity is 60% - 80 % RH, the under floor can be covered with a plastic foil of 0.2 mm thickness. This must overlap at least 20 cm in seams and reach up some centimeters behind base moldings.
• If the under floor's humidity is over 80% RH the installation cannot be started!

FLOORING SUBSTRUCTURE
Suitable subfloors are: flooring of wood or chipboard, substrates of concrete, tiles, marble, linoleum or PVC, and thin textile carpeting (height of pile less than 3 mm). Soft textile carpeting (height of pile more than 3 mm) are normally too flexible and it needs to be removed. It is recommended to install a noise reduction between the subfloor and the board (illustration 1). Product can also be installed directly onto a plastic carpet which has a felt fabric bottom if it is even.

Different noise reductions are:

• 2 mm rolled cork, for noise reduction
• 3 mm foamed foil, suitable for noise reduction and damp proofing
• Ribbed corrugated cardboard. Corrugated card board can be used only as a noise reduction, for damp proofing e.g. a plastic foil of 0.2 mm with overlapping of 200 mm in seams is needed.

Any unevenness exceeding 2 mm must be evened out.

If Timberwise flooring is laid on old wooden planks, the new boards have to be installed transversely to the old laying direction. The old floor must be level. Larger irregularities should be filled with suitable filler and smoothed over. Any creaking of the old floor should be eliminated by screwing the old floor boards down. The subfloor should be immobile, firm, straight, dry and clean. The concrete should be at least wood-floated. The wood or chipboard flooring must not have any gearing nor risen nails or screws.

EXPANSION GAP
In order to allow the flooring to expand when humidity increases, a space of approx. 10 mm must be left between the flooring and the walls. This gap must also be left at any other implements like heating pipes, door cases, columns, etc. The expansion gaps in doorways or in front of elevations (staircases, pedestals, etc.) are covered with suitable expansion profiles (skirting boards). In large rooms (exceeding 10 m/33’ in length or 8 m/26’ in width) expansion gaps should be increased. The main rule is that 10 mm expansion gap is suitable up to 6 m length and width, and after that one should increase the expansion gap by 1,5 mm / every exceeding meter.

INSTALLATION
Before starting please check in a bright light that each plank is undamaged before the installation. If there are defects do not install the board! As a producer we are not responsible for material which has already been used.

The groove must face the wall. Glue the boards of the first row only from the ends. Leave an expansion gap of 10 mm between the boards and the wall. If the wall is straight set the wooden wedges between the floor boards of the first row and the wall after you have installed first three rows (illustration 2). If the wall is visibly crooked, trace the contour of the wall on the planks and cut lengthwise accordingly. Check whether the floor planks are at a right angle. Apply a sufficient amount of PVAC Glue D3 on the upper part of the groove all around the floorboard and press the boards together (illustration 3).

All joints on sides and ends must be pushed tight. Immediately wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag.

The last plank of a row is pressed into place with a pull bar while the glue is still elastic (illustration 4).

The next row will begin with the trimmed board-end left over from the last row. The joints of the plank rows should be at least 50 cm apart from each other. The boards are then joined with a hammer and hammer block (approx. 50 cm long) with light blows on the tongue-side of the board. Avoid damaging the surface when using the wood-block (illustration 5, do not knock on the groove).

Wipe of the possible exceeding glue immediately. Allow the first three rows to sit for about 1 hour to provide a stable beginning for the following boards (illustration 6). After that install the rest of the boards.

Cut the last row of boards to the required width (illustration 7).

Again the distance from the wall must be approx. 10 mm. Use the pull bar to press the boards into place (illustration 8).

After installation the floor should not be walked on for at least 12 hours (illustration 9) and after that remove the wedges (latest 24 hours after the installation).

PIPES
If pipes are installed in front of the wall a hole must be drilled into the respective plank with a diameter at least 20 mm larger than the pipe allow for movements. First, mark the section on the plank where the pipe will go through. Then drill the marked hole for the pipes and cut the pieces out (illustration 10). Install plank and fit in the cut-out piece with the holes. If there are pipes at the short ends of the planks, proceed in the same way as described above, but saw across width of the board at a right angle from edge to edge passing through the middle of the hole.

JAMB CASING / DOOR FRAMES
Door jambs and casings can be shortened to allow the plank to be pushed under by using a straight back handsaw (illustration 11). Do not forget to leave an expansion joint. In narrow hallways avoid installing transversely, but if it is necessary, lighten the board's 'tension' by sawing a lightening groove which should cut the bottom layer of the board, but must not be deeper than 6 mm.

SKIRTING BOARDS
Install the skirting boards, in order to cover the expansion gaps. The skirting boards must be fixed to the wall only, and not to the floor.

LAYING WITH FLOOR HEATING
Timberwise flooring is suitable to install together with floor-heating system. When using an electrical floor heating instead of a water-based system please be aware and follow the following instructions:

• The temperature of floor surface is not allowed to rise above +27C (81F).
• A continuous variation of temperature more than +2C (+6F) is not allowed (Attention! Night time heating).
• The heating cable should not be closer than 30mm (1.2”) from the Timberwise product. Gap between heating system and flooring might be air or cement based fillers, depending on the construction of the floor.

The subfloor has to be dried at least two weeks before installation. The temperature of the heating system is increased 5° C per day until the output is half of the maximum. After this the floor heating is put to the maximum level for 3 days. After that the surface temperature has to be decreased down to 18° C. During the heating and cooling the rooms have to have a good airing/ventilation.

Shut off the floor heating one day before installation. The relative humidity of the room has to according to the final RH (40-60%) before starting the installation. Lay the floor according to the Timberwise laying instructions. Put on the floor heating one day after the installation. During the start-up of the floor heating do not cover the floor or any part of the floor. Increase the temperature of the floor heating system in 5 days slowly, so that the maximum surface temperature does not exceed 27° Celsius.

The relative humidity has to be all the time between 40-60%. The room temperature is recommended to be between 18-24° C. If the conditions are out of these values the floor may have bigger movements. If this is the case, the producer, seller or the layer cannot take any response.