Engineered Wood Installation Guide
Crown Classic strongly recommends that every retailer/installer invests in a meter to measure
humidity, temperature and moisture content in timber and concrete subfloors, ie.,
Protometer or Tramex (or similar).
Acclimatisation
It is recommended that all Crown Classic products are acclimatised in the room where they are to be
installed for a minimum of 5 days prior to installation. The packs should be unopened and
laid flat in the centre of the room.
Room Conditions
Ideally, the relative humidity should be between 45% and 60% and the temperature
between 18ºC and 23ºC. The flooring can cope with conditions at either end of these
scales – but not for prolonged periods (generally, domestic dwellings are within this range
but always check using an appropriate meter).
Sub-Floors
The sub-floor should be dry, level, clean and sound:
Concrete Subfloor
Dry : The moisture content of concrete subfloors must not exceed 2.5%. In the
case of underfloor heating, the moisture content must not exceed 1.8%. For
anhydrite subfloors, the moisture content must not exceed 0.6% (rarely found
domestically). A newly poured subfloor requires a drying time of about 1 week
per cm depth up to 5cm and 2 weeks per cm after that. For example, an 8cm
subfloor requires 11 weeks of drying time prior to installation of an engineered
wood floor. As before, readings should be taken with an appropriate meter.
Level : Use an appropriate smoothing compound to obtain the degree of level
required for floating floors, ie., BS8204 – SR1 + 3mm over 3m.
Clean : Ensure subfloor is free from paint, glue, grease, oil and any other
contaminant as these may have an adverse effect on the underlay and levelling
compound used.
Sound : Ensure the subfloor has no large cracks or is breaking up in any way.
Any areas that are flaking need to be removed and made good.
Wooden Subfloor
Dry : Check moisture content of existing floorboards using appropriate meter.
Ideally, the moisture content should be similar to that of the new floor. If not,
check air bricks are not blocked and that there are no obstructions to airflow.
Level : Use flooring grade plyboard, fixed with directional nails, to level old
floorboards. The thickness required depends on the unevenness of the existing
subfloor. Always check the moisture content of the plyboard – which should be
between 9-11%.
Clean : Look for signs of mould, fungi and rotten timber. These boards would
need to be treated or replaced before any works can commence.
Sound : As above, check for rotten timbers as these cannot be fitted over or to.
These should be replaced before the plyboard is laid.
Installation
The Crown Classic range is a patented glueless system and is fitted as a floating floor. Crown Classic
recommends using a damp proof membrane (DPM), be it a separate sheet which is laid and
overlapped by 20cm and taped or an underlay with a DPM incorporated.
When fitting, always leave an expansion gap of between 8-10mm around the perimeter,
the radiator pipes and in door thresholds. It is recommended that a break is left between
rooms as there can be a difference in temperature and humidity from room to room. This
difference would cause the flooring to expand and contract at different rates. Without a
break, this would cause the flooring to lift or tent away from the subfloor.
End joints should be randomly staggered by 30cm or more to prevent a brickcourse
appearance. It will also aid the strength of the floor. It is also recommended that the
installer works from 2 or 3 packs simultaneously to ensure an even appearance and that
each plank is visually checked before installation.
Underfloor Heating
The Crown Classic range is compatible with underfloor heating (both water and electric).
However, we recommend that checks are made with underfloor heating supplier to
ensure the heating system selected is suitable for use with wooden floors.
Concrete or anhydrite subfloors laid over heating ducts should be at least 30mm thick.
The concrete subfloor must be sufficiently dry. A newly poured subfloor requires a
drying time of about 1 week per cm depth up to 5cm and 2 weeks per cm after that.
For example, an 8cm subfloor requires 11 weeks of drying time prior to installation of
an engineered wood floor. As before, readings should be taken with an appropriate
meter. The moisture content of concrete subfloors with underfloor heating must not
exceed 1.8% and the moisture content of anhydrite subfloors must not exceed 0.6%.
With water systems, prior to flooring installation, the heating must be run and checked
for leaks and appropriate pressure. The temperature should be increased by 5ºC each
day up to its maximum and then down by 5ºC each day to 20°C.
Acclimatise the wooden floor boards for at least 5 days, still in their packaging, laid
flat in the centre of the room. During acclimatisation the room temperature must be
between 18°C and 20°C and relative humidity between 45% and 60%.
When installing with underfloor heating, it is recommended to stick direct to the
subfloor. However, it is also possible to use a floating installation provided that a low
tog underlay is used.
3 days after installation, run the underfloor heating, increasing the temperature at a
rate of 5ºC each day to the required level.
The maximum water temperature of the heating installation may not exceed 45°C.
The surface temperature (which is different from the air temperature) of the floor may
never exceed 27°C.
Maintain a steady relative humidity between 45% and 60%.
Temperature levels should be kept stable with no large fluctuations.
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