General fitting guidelines

The work area must be completely clear of obstructions.

The floor must be scraped and swept clean. Check the floor for flatness before commencing to establish any high spots. In the cases of badly uneven floors. Latex self levelling screed may be needed to level the floor. If this is not follwed you may find that the floor bounces and does not sit flat. Providing this is not too bad it may eventually settle.

Preparation Work

Expansion; Timber expands and contract due to changes in humidity.

For this reason it is necessary to allow expansion gaps to the perimeter of timber floors and some times within the floor itself. To be on the safe side10mm expansion per 1m run across the boards is required.

This means that a 3m wide room will have 30mm of expansion allowance.

Although timber expands and contracts far greater across the grain than it does along the grain there should still be expansion to the ends of the floor. Expansion gaps should be left clear. Do not fill them with cork.

In theory, (given the average domestic width of room at 3.5m wide) if you could physically sit in the centre of the finished floor and move it, you should be able to move the floor in any direction by 15mm. This means that any obstructions such as radiator pipes which pass through the floor should have expansion around them.

Although Cathedral Flooring is so much more stable than natural flooring we still recommend that you follow the fitting guidelines herein.

Expansion can be built into the width of the floor by laying with washer gaps between the boards if the need arises. (Fig 4).

In the case of Cathedral Flooring this is for appearances rather than necessity.

It is sometimes required to remove skirtings and cut back plaster or dry lining to allow extra expansion. (Fig 5)

It is important to check around the radiator pipes periodically to make sure the floor does not expand onto them.

It may be required to ease the floor in front of them to allow further expansion in time.

Insulate any hot water pipes that run under the floor.

Mark doors for cutting to length before removing them.

Place an off cut of the flooring to the base of the door and hold a pencil flat to the face. (Fig 7)

Mark the door all the way across. Repeat this with the door in different opening positions.

This should give you a clearance cut line about 4 - 5mm above the new finished floor level.

Now remove doors and set aside ready for cutting.

Undercut door linings to allow free movement for expansion.

Expansion must be allowed under door linings. (Fig 8)

Place an off cut of flooring at the base of the lining flat to the floor.

Holding a sharp saw flat to the face off the off cut cut the lining and architrave and also 45mm of the abutting skirting if it is existing. Professionals might use a fein cutter or electric tenon saw to make this task quicker and easier.

Remove the timber beneath the saw cut with a very sharp chisel.

Sometimes it is necessary to nibble away the corner of the studwork or masonry behind the lining to achieve a full 15mm expansion gap.

Sub-floor condition

The work area must be completely clear of obstructions.

The floor must be scraped and swept clean. Check the floor for flatness before commencing to establish any high spots. In the cases of badly uneven floors latex self levelling screed may be needed to level the floor.

Underlay and D.P.M

An underlay must be installed between the wood floor and sub-floor and must also wrap up the wall to protect the edge of the floor. This acts as an insulator and buffer.

This must be sealed at all joints with a moisture resistant tape.

On any ground floor a damp proof membrane (DPM) must be used with 200mm overlaps sealed with tape also and turned up the wall.

It is best to lay the insulation first and then the D.P.M. This way any possible condensation will be decreased.