Wood You Like F.A.Q. on Maintenance

As someone who is considering a wooden floor, planning on doing it themself, and trying to get it right first time, I awlays read your very informative RSS feed.

I notice however you often focus your articles toward the modern way of installing flooring: that is tongue and groove, on a solid floor. Being in a listed property, when I replace my flooring it will have to be solid planks (no tongue) and on a suspended floor (ground floor).

So my question is, how does this affect preparation and installation? I'm thinking specifically of underlays (something to protect the wood, not cause condensation and reduce sound transfer, but remain breathable). Also of fixing methods - I would rather not glue (difficult to take up again), and secret nailing will be difficult - what are the alternatives?

Finally, I'm also interested in the choice of wood. I have read 18mm thick wood is not sufficient for a suspended floor?

I hope you may have an opportunity to address these questions, and am fairly sure the answers will interest a broad range of people.

Thanks and regards.
Andrew Baker

Hi,
We are planning to lay reclaimed pine boards. The existing ground floor is concrete with a 15 mm block wood covering glued to it.
Can we use the "Floating Floor" system on to the existing block wood flooring?

Thanks,

James Lennon

Hi.
I want to lay a traditional herringbone woodblock floor on a concrete base. Can you tell me
1. What adhesive I should use?

Read more.....

What is the correct way to cut round a radiater pipe that goes into the concrete floor when laying 6mm vaneered oak laminate flooring on top please?

How much if any of a gap should be left around the pipe for aexpansion when it heats up?

Sorry in advance if this is going over old ground. Have recently bought bamboo flooring and will use the "floating method" to install, the underfloor is all old concrete.
Could you give me some guidance on underlay etc. Is it better to use foam and hardboard or the all in one "feltboard type"? Also what kind of expansion gap should I leave as the suppliers told me it is minimal 5/6mm as bamboo is virtually shrinkproof.
Thanks very much for any advice you can give me.
Cheers Freddy
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Thanks for the guidance,(the underlay I mean comes in blocks/slabs and you just cut to fit.The floor is not too bad a little slope running down the hall about 3/4mm over about 2 metres.
I do have to be careful with not gluing the boards to the underlay don't I.
Also do I need to use cork expansion strips?
Thanks again for the help, it's much appreciated.
Cheers Freddy
(Read more here.....)

Thanks very much for the advice, it's very much appreciated.

Cheers
Fredy

Dear Anne

I'm afraid your floor polisher is right: silicon residue - even when the spot itself is sanded down - is preventing the varnish to hold in those particular spots.

Another tip we would like to give you (although perhaps too late in this case) always install a wooden floor LAST when a kitchen is installed.
On the DIY-not forum there has been a recent discussion on this subject too.

Normally we end with: hope this helps, but in your case we're sorry we can't help out. Best is to get your kitchen installer back and ask if they know of a solution that will remove more of the silicon residue, then to re-sand that area and carefully apply a new coat of varnish (carefully in order not to create a patchy look)

Wood You Like Ltd

Hi Simon

Thank you for your kind words and appreciation of our FAQ site.

We never recommend to use cork strips to fill the expansion gap, although cork is flexible it will fill up your expansion gap anyhow.

Cork was frequently used on the 'old-days' to fill a gap between pattern of parquet design and the block-border and somehow found its way into 'modern' expansion gaps.

Leave it out and keep the gap for what it is supposed to be: extra room for any normal seasonal expansion of the floor to use before 'buckling or cupping'.
You can cover the gap in various ways: install your skirting boards on top of it, cover with Scotia/Quadrants or our own favourite and preferred way: flat beading (pinned to the floor with tiny pins).

Hope this helps

Wood You Like Ltd

Welcome Norman

A underfloor no matter what material should be as level as possible (meaning not too many deeps dips or high 'bumps') but a wood floor can tackle a gentle sloop (in one direction) of maximum 3mm per meter.
Especially your 20mm thick engineered can handle a lot before it goes bouncing around. What we normally do is have extra underlayment (of different thickness) at hand to 'level' out small areas of dips, but be careful: only if you can slide the extra bit of underlayment underneath the floorboard - if you have to lift it up to get underneath the problem will travel down the row.

Hope this helps

Wood You Like Ltd