Laminate flooring - Installation rules
1. Inspection for material defects
Inspect your laminate flooring boards thoroughly for their quality prior to and during installation. Flooring planks with visible defects or damages must not be installed. The installation must take place under daylight conditions or with excellent artificial light to make sure that any possible damages or faulty planks can definitely be detected.
2. Acclimatising prior to installation
The laminate flooring elements must acclimatise for a period of at least 48 hours at temperatures above 17ºC and humidity levels between 50 - 65 % in that room in which they are to be laid. That means the closed packages have to adjust to the climatic conditions in the room. If the climatic conditions in the storage location and the installation room are considerably different, the acclimatisation period should be longer. If the climate differences are very small the acclimatisation time may be shorter. Please store the packages flat on a base without opening them. Paying attention to these guidelines is especially important for new buildings, because humidity levels tend to be particularly high here.
3. No installation in areas subject to splashing water
No installation in permanently moist rooms / wet zones
Laminate flooring must not be installed in areas where splashing shower water may get onto the floor. Standing water will permeate into the laminate flooring boards and can lead to permanent damages. Laminate flooring should not be installed in permanently moist rooms or wet surroundings (saunas, small bathrooms etc.) because the danger of penetration with moisture can never be ruled out completely. If laminate flooring is supposed to be installed in a bathroom, it is important to make sure that it is not installed in areas subject to splashing water (i.e. shower, bathtub, lavatory or sink) and that the relative humidity in the room stays within the normal range between 50 and 65% continually. Any formation of puddles and moisture penetration must be avoided all around the corners of the room, for the joints as well as for the whole flooring area.
4. Condition of the subfloor
Any existing subfloor must be even (max. tolerance 3 mm per 1 m in length), dry and sufficiently stable. Larger depressions should be evened out using standard commercial fillers. The surface of the subfloor should be free of cracks and without any breaks or tears. Loose subfloors or insufficiently stable subfloors (PVC-/ textile ,flooring) need to be removed. Please also refer to the information in the special chapter on Subfloors.
5. Moisture barrier with mineral subfloors
Generally, when installing on any dry, mineral subfloor a 0.2 mm thick Polyethylene foil or alternatively Duo-Protect should always be used as a moisture barrier to prevent any residual moisture getting through to the backside of your laminate flooring. The purpose of the Polyethylenefoil is that of a moisture barrier only and the joints of the foil need to overlap approx. 30 cm and need to be glued together. In no way does the PE-foil act as waterproofing for the building! See also the chapter on Underlays.
6. Keeping expansion joints / wall spacings
Being a derived timber product, the substrate of laminate floorings is subject to swelling and shrinking processes depending on the climatic conditions, just like natural timber. That is why an installed laminate flooring requires sufficient spaces, called expansion gaps, towards all fixed constructional parts, i.e. walls, sustainer, heating pipes and the like. Furthermore, expansion gaps are required if the installation area exceeds certain defined values in length and width (see installation rule 7). One of the most common installation mistakes is actually insufficient wall spacing. Often, this will only become evident during the summer months when higher temperatures and humidity levels lead to a swelling of the laminate flooring.
The expansion gap/ wall spacing should be at least 8 mm* on each side; with large areas it should be proportionately more. For laminate flooring the rule-of-thumb is: Every meter of installed flooring requires at least 1.5mm of expansion space on both sides of the room. (Example: Room width 5m = min. 8mm expansion gap on each side).
* Note:
15 mm minimum with relative humidity > 65%.
Even if the installed material abuts only on a single point in the room the „floating material” may start to warp and press on. Popular areas where this is repeatedly happening are architraves, transition areas to stairs, heating pipes as well as end profiles.
Heavy pieces like for example kitchen islands and closets (where movements of the flooring are possible in one direction only) require the expansion space on one side to be doubled.
For heavy pieces and fitted furniture (e.g. fitted kitchens, built-in closets or aquariums) we recommend having them assembled prior to installation of the flooring. The flooring boards however should be laid to reach just under the base allowing easy dismantling of the flooring at any time. All along the walls the expansion gaps are covered with skirtings, in other places special flooring profiles are used. With metal architraves you can also use Acrylic sealants. All of the above is part of and can be found with the Parador range of accessories.
7. Layout of expansion gaps
Due to the fact that the laminate flooring will shrink and expand depending on the climatic conditions – as described earlier – the following situations do require additional expansion joints /spaces of at least 8 mm:
- With larger areas (exceeding 8 x 12m)
- With angular areas
- With installations that cover more than one room
Conceal expansion gaps with the suitable adapting or other transition profiles.
Note:
Liability for missing expansion gaps or joints is always with the installer.
8. Installation patterns
Laminate flooring can be installed either in a symmetric or in a random, asymmetric pattern. In either case it is imperative that between rows the short-end joints are staggered at least 40 cm; 15 cm for Trendtime 2.
9. Installation direction / incidence of light
For optical reasons the longitudinal sides of the planks should be installed so that they run parallel to the incidence of light. That means, the longitudinal side runs in the same direction as the light. When several windows are present, please make your decision based upon the largest one of them. With extreme floor plans the decision for a certain installation direction can also be based upon the specific room layout.(See installation rule 10)
10. Installation direction / floor plan
Again, for optical reasons the longitudinal sides of the flooring should run across to the longitudinal side of the room. That will make the room look larger and also give it a slightly more “square” appearance so it won’t look quite as narrow and tube-like.
Inspect your laminate flooring boards thoroughly for their quality prior to and during installation. Flooring planks with visible defects or damages must not be installed. The installation must take place under daylight conditions or with excellent artificial light to make sure that any possible damages or faulty planks can definitely be detected.
2. Acclimatising prior to installation
The laminate flooring elements must acclimatise for a period of at least 48 hours at temperatures above 17ºC and humidity levels between 50 - 65 % in that room in which they are to be laid. That means the closed packages have to adjust to the climatic conditions in the room. If the climatic conditions in the storage location and the installation room are considerably different, the acclimatisation period should be longer. If the climate differences are very small the acclimatisation time may be shorter. Please store the packages flat on a base without opening them. Paying attention to these guidelines is especially important for new buildings, because humidity levels tend to be particularly high here.
3. No installation in areas subject to splashing water
No installation in permanently moist rooms / wet zones
Laminate flooring must not be installed in areas where splashing shower water may get onto the floor. Standing water will permeate into the laminate flooring boards and can lead to permanent damages. Laminate flooring should not be installed in permanently moist rooms or wet surroundings (saunas, small bathrooms etc.) because the danger of penetration with moisture can never be ruled out completely. If laminate flooring is supposed to be installed in a bathroom, it is important to make sure that it is not installed in areas subject to splashing water (i.e. shower, bathtub, lavatory or sink) and that the relative humidity in the room stays within the normal range between 50 and 65% continually. Any formation of puddles and moisture penetration must be avoided all around the corners of the room, for the joints as well as for the whole flooring area.
4. Condition of the subfloor
Any existing subfloor must be even (max. tolerance 3 mm per 1 m in length), dry and sufficiently stable. Larger depressions should be evened out using standard commercial fillers. The surface of the subfloor should be free of cracks and without any breaks or tears. Loose subfloors or insufficiently stable subfloors (PVC-/ textile ,flooring) need to be removed. Please also refer to the information in the special chapter on Subfloors.
5. Moisture barrier with mineral subfloors
Generally, when installing on any dry, mineral subfloor a 0.2 mm thick Polyethylene foil or alternatively Duo-Protect should always be used as a moisture barrier to prevent any residual moisture getting through to the backside of your laminate flooring. The purpose of the Polyethylenefoil is that of a moisture barrier only and the joints of the foil need to overlap approx. 30 cm and need to be glued together. In no way does the PE-foil act as waterproofing for the building! See also the chapter on Underlays.
6. Keeping expansion joints / wall spacings
Being a derived timber product, the substrate of laminate floorings is subject to swelling and shrinking processes depending on the climatic conditions, just like natural timber. That is why an installed laminate flooring requires sufficient spaces, called expansion gaps, towards all fixed constructional parts, i.e. walls, sustainer, heating pipes and the like. Furthermore, expansion gaps are required if the installation area exceeds certain defined values in length and width (see installation rule 7). One of the most common installation mistakes is actually insufficient wall spacing. Often, this will only become evident during the summer months when higher temperatures and humidity levels lead to a swelling of the laminate flooring.
The expansion gap/ wall spacing should be at least 8 mm* on each side; with large areas it should be proportionately more. For laminate flooring the rule-of-thumb is: Every meter of installed flooring requires at least 1.5mm of expansion space on both sides of the room. (Example: Room width 5m = min. 8mm expansion gap on each side).
* Note:
15 mm minimum with relative humidity > 65%.
Even if the installed material abuts only on a single point in the room the „floating material” may start to warp and press on. Popular areas where this is repeatedly happening are architraves, transition areas to stairs, heating pipes as well as end profiles.
Heavy pieces like for example kitchen islands and closets (where movements of the flooring are possible in one direction only) require the expansion space on one side to be doubled.
For heavy pieces and fitted furniture (e.g. fitted kitchens, built-in closets or aquariums) we recommend having them assembled prior to installation of the flooring. The flooring boards however should be laid to reach just under the base allowing easy dismantling of the flooring at any time. All along the walls the expansion gaps are covered with skirtings, in other places special flooring profiles are used. With metal architraves you can also use Acrylic sealants. All of the above is part of and can be found with the Parador range of accessories.
7. Layout of expansion gaps
Due to the fact that the laminate flooring will shrink and expand depending on the climatic conditions – as described earlier – the following situations do require additional expansion joints /spaces of at least 8 mm:
- With larger areas (exceeding 8 x 12m)
- With angular areas
- With installations that cover more than one room
Conceal expansion gaps with the suitable adapting or other transition profiles.
Note:
Liability for missing expansion gaps or joints is always with the installer.
8. Installation patterns
Laminate flooring can be installed either in a symmetric or in a random, asymmetric pattern. In either case it is imperative that between rows the short-end joints are staggered at least 40 cm; 15 cm for Trendtime 2.
9. Installation direction / incidence of light
For optical reasons the longitudinal sides of the planks should be installed so that they run parallel to the incidence of light. That means, the longitudinal side runs in the same direction as the light. When several windows are present, please make your decision based upon the largest one of them. With extreme floor plans the decision for a certain installation direction can also be based upon the specific room layout.(See installation rule 10)
10. Installation direction / floor plan
Again, for optical reasons the longitudinal sides of the flooring should run across to the longitudinal side of the room. That will make the room look larger and also give it a slightly more “square” appearance so it won’t look quite as narrow and tube-like.