Education
- Starting Point
- Manufacturer
- Products
Starting Point
Subfloor
- Is your subfloor concrete or plywood?
Plywood - you can nail the hardwood product directly to the subfloor. Traditionally a 3/4" solid wood product is ideally suited for this situation i.e. Vintage.
Concrete - plywood can be installed over the concrete and then Vintage can be nailed down. This has two negatives:
- you are adding 1 1/2" of height to your floor which impacts transitions, around door frames, etc.
- additional cost of supplying and installing subfloor.
Specially designed hardwood (Boen Classic) can be glued directly down to the subfloor. This also has two negatives:
- you introduce the element of glue which could possibly fail
- the quality of your subfloor must be exceptional in terms of being level and especially minimizing moisture content.
The recommended option is to install Boen's Engineered floating floor. This floor is glued together tongue and groove but not directly attached the concrete subfloor. Instead it "floats" lying on a layer of polyethelene foam underlay.
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Manufacturer
Once you know what type of product you need you must decide on a manufacturer of that type of product. When choosing a manufacturer you should evaluate the following:
- History - has the company been in business for a substantial period of time
- Reputation - are they known for producing a consistent, quality product
- Capability - can they produce the product on time or will it be continually back-ordered
- Strength - do they stand behind their products - not only in writing but in practice
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Products
- Vintage - 3/4" solid tongue and groove prefinished hardwood
- Boen - 5/8" prefinished engineered floating hardwood floor
- Lodgi - 5/16" laminate flooring
1. The key features of a quality prefinished solid wood are the finish and the milling of the board itself as well as an endless array of details.
The finish needs to be as strong as possible without compromising the natural look of the wood nor the ability to work with the finish in the future. Multiple coats of seven or more can be individually applied and ultraviolet cured which give extra strength and prevents the finish from yellowing. THe most obvious sign of good milling is the size of the bevel. The more accurate the milling, the smaller the bevel is required to assure there is no "overwood" (a ridge or lip) between the boards.
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2. The most important things to look for in an engineered floating floor are strength or thickness and stability. An easy determinant of quality is the thickness of the hardwood wearlayer. The thicker the hardwood the more times you can resand the product and the longer its life. Equally as important is the process that glues the hardwood layer to the core layer. The hardwood layer should be a true cut layer of hardwood and not a peeled or veneer layer. The core and back layers should be of substantial thickness and be from a coniferous source. This will increase stability.
A unique design originating in Germany puts the core in thin strips running perpendicular to the surface and the backing. Finally, the narrower the panel, the more stable the product will be. The reason that stability is so vital is that the floating floors are susceptible to movement either warping (cupping) or separation (gapping). This concern is eliminated with Boen.
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3. Besides the general look of the product the quality of a direct pressure laminate can be determined by looking at three of its features. The core of the board consists of various densities of fiberboard. The higher the density the greater the strength. The greater degree of water impermeability and the more stable the product. The board's backing should be made of melamine or of similar construction. This way it moves in conjunction with the top layer and decreases the chance of warping or separation. As well it further adds strength to the product. Finally and most importantly the strength of the surface or wearability. A standard "taber test" result of at least 6000 revolutions (the number of rotations before the full finish is breached) shows good strength. THe manufacturer's warranty is the industry standard for a high-end quality product.
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