Helpful Hints on How to Get The Best Results Out of Your Natural Timber Flooring

• Your Flooring purchase has been carefully kiln dried in a controlled atmosphere to a maximum of 12-14% moisture content.
• Timber is a natural product made up of cells which will absorb any moisture from the atmosphere, so care must be taken on storage.
• Do not store your flooring outside or stack directly on newly laid concrete floors.
• Always put timber bearers under your stack.
• We recommend that you strip stack your flooring in the environment that it will eventually be laid in, for a period long enough for it to adjust to the moisture content. Usually a minimum of one week
• In the situation where under-floor heating or constant air conditioning is in use, we recommend that narrower flooring be used to keep the risk of shrinkage to a minimum.
• In general, the narrower the flooring board is, the more stable it becomes.
• The wider the board, the more likelihood of cupping occurring (the board turning up at the edges).
• Flooring overlay must not be laid directly onto new concrete.
• Any substrate must be fully dried or sealed before commencing.
• Seek expert advice before proceeding.
• We recommend that narrower boards be used when overlaying onto concrete substrate.
• When laying flooring over joists, it is a good practice to seal the board all round before fixing.
• In these cases, fixing can be by nail &/or glueing.
• Hidden nailing can be achieved by applying adhesive to the joists & nailing down on an angle through the tongue side. The next board then covers the nail.
• In all cases when using adhesives as your main means of fixing, the flooring must be weighted down while curing.
• If there is any filling to be done, ie: nail holes etc., apply the first coat of sealer beforehand.
• Further information can be obtained by visiting the following website & purchasing bulletins published by BRANZ: “www.branz.co.nz” Once in site use keyword “Flooring”. Bulletin numbers; BU374 & BU390.