General guidelines for the Installation and Maintenance of Parkemo floorings

(UNI-EN 134889:2004 Standard)

MATERIAL CONTROL

Delivered material must be checked for acceptability. Usage or installation of the material constitutes acceptance, corresponding to what was agreed, with consequential waiver of any claims against the supplier.

If any material or other defects are discovered during installation, the buyer must immediately suspend installation operations and report the defect/s within eight (8) calendar days to the supplier under penalty of forfeiture of all rights to any claims. In such cases, the supplier's obligations shall not exceed replacing the defective material identified.

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Wood is an organic substance and is thus naturally subject to some dimensional variations, depending on the humidity and temperature of the environment in which it is installed. In order to avoid unforeseen effects on the wood, the ambient climate must always be kept within the recommended limits (ambient temperature ranging between 18°C and 22°C/ relative humidity between 45% and 60%). These values also happen to correspond to the average optimal conditions for humans.

In wintertime, the ambient humidity should be monitored using a hygrometer. Should the humidity level fall below 45%, we recommend using humidifiers in the affected areas. Prolonged exposure to a dryness can lead to the appearance of slight cracks between the slats that will progressively disappear after the correct conditions are restored. Extremely dry conditions tend to generate high internal tensions in the wood, which in the worst cases can lead to micro-fractures (bristling) appearing on the noble layer. The noble layer may also become detached from its supporting wooden structure.

We don’t recommend to install wood floors with thickness 14÷16 mm by using the floating system over large areas (100² m and over), unless installation is carried out in various stages or by means of expansion joints. Instead, the flooring should be installed using the fully adhesive glue-down method, but only after checking the humidity and firmness of the subflooring type (cement, wood, etc.). In case of imperfections in the floor screed, we recommend using a primer.

Following delivery, don’t cover the flooring with carpets, mats, etc. to avoid localized discolouring caused by lack of exposure to light. Place a clean doormat at the entrance of the home (or other ambience) to remove dust and any abrasive particles carried under the shoes, which could damage the surface. During or after installation, avoid applying any type of adhesive tape directly onto the flooring to avoid damaging the surface finish.

 

PRE-INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Check that the subflooring (concrete, wood, etc.) is properly levelled and dry.

Store the delivered flooring in dry, clean and protected areas. Be sure to open the packaging just before installation, in order to prevent the boards from warping due to uncontrolled humidity levels. In case the screed is fitted with underfloor heating, check that the temperature to the touch does not exceed 22 - 24°C. Installation must be carried out in accordance with UNI 11371 Standards: "Screeds for parquet and wood flooring - properties and performance characteristics". The flooring also needs to be protected from possible infiltration of moisture or condensation, and should be dry. Moisture levels must not exceed 2% for normal or fast-drying cement screeds, 1.7% for underfloor heated screeds and 0.5% for anhydrite screeds. The moisture levels should be checked prior to installation using a calcium carbide hygrometer.

The screed must be solid, compact, rigid, flat, clean and free of surface dust. For installation on ceramic or marble surfaces, make a suitable preparation using the same method. Avoid laying on subflooring before properly removing any old adhesive residues.

 

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

If the parquet is to be glued down, use only water-free or pre-finished adhesives for wooden floors.

Hollow sounds located anywhere on the flooring are an indication of a lack of adhesion to the wooden subfloor.

Before installing, mix the wooden boards from different packs. Apply the glue directly to the subfloor surface using a toothed trowel. Do not glue the edges and immediately clean any residual glue and adhesive burrs using a suitable solvent. Be sure to leave a sufficient gap around the edges for the joints, depending on the size of the room. When installing a floating floor, besides leaving a gap around the edges, position the expansion joints depending on the surface area of the new parquet. We recommended inserting the joints at the entrances of each room.

Cracking or swelling of the wooden floors may occur in installations on heated/cooled underflooring, as well as in rooms with insufficient ventilation. Check the calibration of the heating system, as the temperature of the underfloor surface should not exceed 24° C. Parkemo floors are well suited for installation on heated/cooled subflooring and both floating and full adhesive installations have generally proved successful. However, woods such as maple, beech and Siberian larch (without knots) are not recommended as they tend to crack easily. The formation of cracks and/or bristles is permitted.

Any discolouration in the flooring when covered by carpets, mats or other objects is only temporary and will disappear when the flooring is again exposed to light.

(The installation criteria for wooden floors must be in accordance with UNI 11368 Standards: Part I: "Installation, criteria and methods: Glue-down installation; Part II: Floating floor installation).

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING ON HEATED SUBFLOORING (traditional method)

At the planning stage, before installing wood flooring on a heated subfloor be sure to utilise suitable thermal/insulation sheaths to ensure maximum conductivity for the optimal functioning of the system.

1. Gradually increase the temperature of the fluid by about 10° C per day, until a temperature of 10° ÷ 20°C is reached, above the operating temperature. Maintain this temperature for at least 10 days, while adequately ventilating the rooms. 
2. Cool down the rooms by gradually reducing the fluid temperature by 10°C per day until the minimum system temperature is reached.
3. Gradually bring the room temperature back to normal operating levels (about 20° - 22°C, with humidity somewhere between 45% and 60%).
4. When setting the moisture level, the same procedures apply to heated and/or cooled underflooring as to other screeds. The only difference is that, during installation, it is advisable to note the settings when the sample measurements are taken without damaging the system. Alternatively, provide the installer with photographs showing the layout of the system, in order to more precisely measure the actual moisture level.
5. It is always advisable to apply a suitable primer beforehand to improve adhesion.
6. The adhesive must be evenly applied across the entire surface, taking special care not to glue the sides of the parquet boards together.
7. When flooring is to be finished on site, after the necessary time taken for the adhesive to set it is advisable to turn the heating back on for a few days before sanding to first allow the wood to settle and stabilize.
8. The soundproofing layer under the floor must be taken into account when evaluating the overall thermal resistance.
9. Floating installation using tongue and groove dovetailing also involves adhesive joining at both the heads and sides of the boards, in order to keep the floor completely level.

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD SPECIES

Since wood is an organic material, natural differences in colour and grain are inevitable. The different wood types have varying properties such as hardness, light refraction, shrinkage, nervousness and ability to absorb different surface coatings (i.e. lacquers, oils, wax, etc.). While maintaining their basic characteristics, wooden flooring behaves uniquely and its performance cannot be generalised to other wood flooring. Samples and photographs should thus be considered as indicative only and not exact replicas of the delivered material. In other words, the flooring to be delivered may slightly differ from the samples. When exposed to sunlight, wood generally tends to darken and to become uniform in colour.

Once exposed to light, marked colour differences can become accentuated between individual doussie boards that originally appeared the same. Pre-installed teak has natural colour tone variations that tend to disappear after exposure to sunlight.

Certain wood species such as iroko, doussie, merbau, panga-panga and wenge, may show white and lemon-yellow shaded mineral residues.

Streaking may appear in oak and beech floorings. Though certain woods are hard enough to withstand high levels of wear, surfaces can nevertheless be dented by falling objects, high  loads concentrated in small areas (such as stiletto heels), high/rough traffic on service stairs and so on. Small, sharp objects such as nails or grit under the soles of the shoes can also damage the surface finish. Even with a protective coating, such kinds of damage are inevitable.

 

Please refer to the relevant section for specific instructions on the cleaning and maintenance of Parkemo oiled and/or lacquered floors.