GOOD WOOD WORK
Here, F. Ball & Co. Ltd provides expert advice on managing moisture for wood flooring installations.
Excess subfloor moisture can spell disaster for any type of flooring installation if not correctly managed, but wood’s natural characteristics render it particularly susceptible. Safeguarding against excess subfloor moisture is therefore an indispensable step when installing this kind of floorcovering.
If unmanaged, damp in a subfloor will rise up to the level of floorcoverings as it attempts to escape, causing wood to warp and adhesives to fail. Even low-level damage will spoil the aesthetic appearance of the flooring and, in severe cases, it may result in complete floor failure.
A moisture measurement test is therefore a vital step in the subfloor preparation process. For any type of floorcovering, a waterproof surface membrane will be required to supress excess subfloor moisture where a test indicates that subfloor relative humidity (RH) levels are above 75%. When installing wood floorcoverings, it is recommended that a waterproof surface membrane is applied where subfloor RH levels are as low as 65%.
CASE STUDY: ALLEYNE’S ACADEMY F. Ball and Co. Ltd.'s Stopgap F77 waterproof surface membrane has been used to guard against the adverse effects of excess subfloor moisture as part of a refurbishment of a school hall in Staffordshire following damage caused by flooding.
Having removed the existing wooden blocks from the school hall floor at Alleyne’s Academy, in Stone, contractors were met with minor damage to the building’s existing concrete screed. The holes of up to 25mm were repaired using a moisture- tolerant levelling compound, mixed with graded aggregate. Once complete, the subfloor was primed using a general- purpose primer, before applying a further levelling compound.
Before the project began, a moisture test determined that moisture levels in the subfloor exceeded the maximum threshold for installing wood floorcoverings, which are particularly susceptible to damage from moisture. For this reason, contractors applied F. Ball’s Stopgap F77 one-coat waterproof surface membrane, which cures in as little as three hours to create a barrier to impede the passage of excess subfloor moisture to the level of the floorcoverings.
After the waterproof surface membrane had cured, another layer of Stopgap 1200 Pro was applied to create a perfectly smooth base for the receipt of new wooden floorcoverings. If applied to Stopgap waterproof surface membranes within 24 hours of the membrane curing, there is no need to prime the surface beforehand. Contractors went over the levelling compound with an F. Ball spiked roller to dispel any trapped air to avoid pinholing occurring.
When the levelling compound had cured, contractors used F. Ball’s Styccobond B95 high performance wood flooring adhesive to install new oak blocks over the entire floor area in a herringbone pattern. Styccobond B95 is a one-part, flexible, moisture-curing adhesive for installing a wide range
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of wood floorcoverings and for this purpose, is designed to accommodate the natural movement of wood over the lifetime of the floorcoverings. It is also solvent and isocyanate-free, quick to develop a high bond strength and provides good grab, which provided an advantage for contractors creating the parquet design.
www.f-ball.com WOOD & LAMINATE | 21
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