What do I have to do before I start laying my wood floor?
Before you start installing your new hardwood floor, make sure it has a great foundation. You’ll only need a vacuum cleaner and a broom.
You’ve thoroughly inspected your subfloor, made sure it’s dry, clean and level and now you’re ready to start installing? Simply check a few things and you’ll be ready to go.
- Keep your new flooring panels in their packaging and place them in the room where they will be laid. This will give them the chance to acclimatize to local conditions. Keep them there for at least 48 hours in summer, and for 4 to 5 days in winter. It’s best to lay a new floor at a room temperature between 18 and 20° C, and a relative humidity level between 40 and 60%.
- In the meantime, check your toolbox to make sure everything you’ll need during the installation is right at your fingertips. Don’t worry. Installing wooden flooring requires no ‘special’ equipment. You can find everything you’ll need at your local DIY store.
- Remove all dirt from the subfloor with a broom or a vacuum cleaner.
- If you haven’t done so already, check the floor base and make sure it’s flat. It shouldn’t contain any irregularities larger than 2 mm per 1 meter AND 1 mm per 20 cm. Anything bigger will have to be evened out.
- It’s important that your subfloor is dry before you start installing. The moisture content needs to be less than CM < 2,5% (75 % RH) for cement-bound screed and CM < 0,5% (50% RH) for anhydrite-bound screed. If the moisture content is higher or may become higher other types of damp proofing must be used. If floor heating is used, cement subfloor requires a CM < 1,5% (60% RH) and anhydrite subfloor requires a CM < 0,3% (40% RH). Make sure that the moisture content of a wooden subfloor is less than 10%.
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