Flooring Installation.
Solid Wood Flooring Installation
Solid hardwood floors are nailed or stapled down on top of a wooden subfloor. The subfloor is laid perpendicular to the floor joists and hardwood floors are usually installed parallel to the floor joists, unless other considerations are taken into account like the direction of the hallways and the total area being covered with hardwood. There is a wax paper that is put under the hardwood floors prior to installation. This is no way a vapor barrier, or meant to be used as a moisture barrier as it is punctured with nails or staples during installation. This wax paper is put down to facilitate the sliding of the pieces into place during installation.
Baseboards, shoe molding or quarter rounds are installed after the completion of the hardwood flooring installation to cover the gap that is left between the wall and the hardwood floors to allow for any expansion that occurs during the summer months with the increase in temperature and humidity.
Since solid hardwood floor installation requires the existence of a wooden subfloor, it is suitable to be installed in first and second floors of most homes. It is not suitable to installation in basements, or apartments and condos due to the concrete subfloors found in these areas.
Carpet Installation Method
Carpet offers maximum flexibility. It’s easy to cut and combine, and with the various installation methods available, practicality and cost considerations can always be optimized.
- The stretch-in method, where the carpet is fitted on top of an underlay with tack strips, provides superior insulation, noise reduction, extended lifetime, and maximum comfort. Replacement is easy.
- The glue-down method is suitable for most areas, including ramps and heavy traffic areas. Seams remain durable with no restrictions on the size of the area to be carpeted. Special borders or custom design features can be realized with glue-down installation. It is important to use solvent-free glues only, in which the emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) are optimized. They must be EC1- certified, a label that indicates that these adhesives are meeting a number of health preservation criteria.
- Tack glue is perfect on carpet tiles and makes replacement easy.
- The hook and loop carpet fastening method is quick, cheap, and does not damage the base floor.
- The two-sided tape is a good system, but it is only recommended for small spaces with no seams at all.
- The loose laid method is easy and inexpensive: it is convenient for small spaces when using a carpet with high dimensional stability.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered Hardwood Floors are more flexible in terms of installation processes. They can be nailed down like solid hardwood floors, or glued down to a subfloor such as a cork or plywood subfloor. They are also produced with a click installation system, which allows them to be installed as a floating floor system on top of concrete hardwood floors. This makes Engineered hardwood floors the most versatile hardwood flooring product as it can be installed on any type of subfloor which maintaining the look and feel of genuine hardwood floors. These floors can also be site finished and refinished if necessary.
The nail down installation process for engineered hardwood flooring is the same as the solid hardwood flooring installation. The glue-down process involves first gluing or nailing down a sub-floor, and then gluing the engineered floors to the subfloor. In both the nail-down and the glue-down systems the flooring is attached to the subfloor.
The floating floor system is the easiest flooring installation process. The flooring products that can be installed in this manner are manufactured differently. Instead of having a tongue and groove construction which allows for a lip to be nailed down, they have unique clicking system that locks them together once installed without the need for glue or nails. These systems are not attached to the subfloor and are therefore called floating floors as they sit on top of the subfloor. These types of floors require an under-padding to be installed underneath them to provide a moisture barrier and for sound-proofing the floors. These floors are easier to replace if damage occurs in a small section.
Vinyl Flooring Installation
You can easily install it over any rigid and level surface, including concrete, wood, or even up to one layer of other vinyl. Installation method: GripStrip, click-lock, and glue down.