RESISTANCE OAK FLOORING

INSTALLATION GUIDE
1. Installer and owner responsibility
prior to installation, the installer and owner must ensure that the work environment and subfloors meet or even exceed the minimal specifications listed in this guide and comply with the Australian standards to floor installations. Standard trade practice allows for up to 5% margin of error for natural imperfections and manufacturing defects. Prior to the installation of the flooring a final inspection of the grade, colour, manufacturing and finish quality of the boards should be carried out to ensure the floor conforms to the purchased product. Once installed, any board is considered as having been accepted by installer and owner, even if owner is absent at the time of it being installed. It is recommended that 5-10% waste be allowed in your calculations for cutting waste depending on room sizes and shapes.

2. Recommended tools, materials and accessories
Vacuum cleaner and broom – level – spacers – waterproof adhesive tape – handsaw – scraper –measuring tape – levelling bar – mitre saw – claw hammer – chalk line.
Accessories such as underlay, transitions, reducers, stair nosing and others available from your Resistance Oak distributor.

3. Expansion space required
Wood needs a certain amount of room to expand and contract with variations in humidity. No part of the floor must be attached to any vertical surface. A 12mm space must be left for expansion around all perimeter walls and fixtures. Assorted trims available to cover all expansion gaps. Where a floor is 6-10m in width intermediate expansion joints are required and is most cases Oak flooring can expand up to 3mm over 1m in width so please allow for this type of expansion especially in high humidity regions of Australia like Northern NSW and Queensland.

4. Acclimatization
Resistance Oak flooring should be one of the last items installed during a new build or renovation to avoid any excess traffic by trades and damage caused by other trades. Do not have flooring delivered to site till it’s time to be installed, site must be at lock up stage and completely watertight free from external interference. Oak flooring is a living product and will be affected by extreme humidity levels and abnormal atmospheric changes in site temperatures etc. If excess movement is noticed during the different seasons of the years Dehumidifiers and humidifiers can be used to control the amount of movement in your floor. Being an engineered product it is not as necessary to acclimatize as solid flooring however we do recommend to leave in the rooms where being laid 2 days prior to installation still in there cardboard boxes.

5. Floating Floor Installation (Guide Only)
Concrete slabs must be structurally sound, at correct moisture content allowable under Australian Standards and be clean of waxes, dust and any other foreign materials. All Subfloors must have no more than 3mm of variation over 3 meters in radius. Resistance Oak Flooring can be installed as a floating floor system where the tongue and grooved joints are glued together with a high strength PVA adhesive. The boards are then floated above an approved underlay system with a damp proof membrane. Resistance Oak cannot be installed over carpet or carpet underlay. It must be installed over a solid subfloor like concrete, timber , cork or ceramic tiles.

6. Direct Stick to slab Installation (Guide Only)
Concrete slabs must be structurally sound as per details above. Once slab it prepared and ready to be fixed upon glue the boards down with an approved adhesive. Please refer to adhesive manufactures installation guide and techniques. A 5-6mm notch trowel must be used to trowel glue the floor down. Once a section of floor has been installed weight it down of a period of time to allow boards and glue to adhere together. Ensure that all external wedges and packers are removed to allow for expansion joints to work.

7. Existing Timber Floor Installation (Guide Only)
Resistance Oak can be installed over existing timber flooring like Plywood, particle board and solid strip flooring. With solid strip flooring we recommend the floor be laid 90 degrees to the existing flooring and if not possible plywood or Masonite sheeting with a minimum thickness of 7mm should be installed over existing floor before fixing your new Resistance oak floor down. In all these instances you can direct stick or trowel glue and secrete nail the new floor to subfloor as per Australian standards. By trowel gluing the floor you will improve the acoustic properties of the floor and decrease the amount of natural movement your new floor will have compared to just beading it down. Ensure you have allowed all the necessary moisture barrier barriers and expansion joints as per Australian Standards. We do not recommend Resistance Oak be installed over Bearers and joists or Battens.

8. Underfloor Heating (Guide Only)
Resistance Oak is suitable to use with underfloor heating systems. All underfloor heating systems must be fitted with cut off thermostat set no higher than 25 degrees. For slab heating systems it is recommended to direct stick to the slab as per details above. Keep in mind that heating systems can cause excess movement in timber floors so it is important to maintain the correct temperature of the system that is suited to the type of floor being used. Please seek further details if unsure.

9. Wall and Ceiling Installation (Guide Only)
Resistance Oak can be installed to wall and ceilings we suggest the area be covered in a minimum 7mm ply sheets and the boards be trowel glued and secrete nailed with a recommended adhesive.