By Louis Iannaco
Hicksville, N.Y.—With more wood species than ever before being used for both residential and commercial applications, and with wood flooring technology getting better and more sophisticated seemingly by the minute, mechanics have more than one method to master when it comes to installing today’s products.

This article concerns itself with new species and finishes, and how they might cause any problems during installation; the different methods of installation; new technology, and preferred installation methods among solid or engineered products.

“Unfortunately, regardless of species, you are limited to staple or cleat nailing if the product is a solid,” said Colin French, Preverco Hardwood Flooring’s sales rep/technical advisor for the greater Toronto area. “The other installation techniques only work if it is engineered. One issue, especially with import solid products is width. The conventional wisdom was not to mill wider than 3-1/4-in. The wider you go the more problematic wood becomes. It has a natural tendency to cup.

“Regarding exotics, the first thing installers need to be aware of is the density of these species,” added French. “Their cell structure is much denser than our domestic species, that’s why they show up on the far right hand side of the Janka scale. But denser does not always mean more stable. In the case of Santos Mahogany, it is 28% more stable than Red Oak. With Jatoba, the dimensional stability is the same as Red Oak. Both will move if moisture is added or taken away, it just means that the Santos Mahogany will take longer to get there.

“But there are dozens of exotics out there on the market today,” he added, “There is a lot for an installer to know in order to stay out of trouble and education is key. The days of banging down oak strip and plank daily are gone forever, and the first time an installer attempts to install a new product, he should proceed with caution.

According to French, “The single biggest problem we have in the industry is moisture. Has the wood been properly acclimated to the environment in which it is to be installed? Has the house found its equilibrium yet? Do the parties involved in making the decision to proceed with the install own moisture meters? Do these meters give accurate readings for exotics? Good ones do but they cost around $400 and I haven’t bumped into many installers who have one, and they’re expected to be the industry’s final inspectors before proceeding with the install.

“Exotic woods need to be acclimated longer than domestic species, and piling them tight in the middle of the room won’t get the job done either,” he explained. “The boxes need to be laid out 4-in. apart to create airflow. They can be cross-stacked so they don’t take up the whole room, but at least now they have a chance to acclimate. The bottom line is that wide and exotic hardwoods are not ready to be installed until they reach a maximum moisture differential with the subfloor of 2% (if I had my druthers it would be 0%). That’s assuming that the subfloor is dried to the point that it is ready to take the hardwood (new home). I don’t know any of these things if I don’t have a moisture meter on site.

“Lastly, some floors are better installed using cleat versus staple, depending on the species in order to avoid cracking. Installers need to be aware of this. The best way is to give the manufacturer what it wants—read the instructions.”

According to John Himes, Mannington’s director of hardwood business, and Terry Fitzpatrick, installation services manager, “While there may be different installation recommendations based on the profile of the tongue and groove, the increased use of prefinished engineered hardwood has made installation an easier, faster process overall.

“Because the installer community continues to grow, and new and improved products are entering the market, ongoing education is a must,” they explained. “Mannington is committed to helping installers hone their craft and we’ve invested in significant upgrades in our installation training center in Salem, N.J., where we will be running installation schools on all our products throughout the year.”

“Some exotic species, like Ipe, require special attention during the installation and sanding process,” said National Wood Flooring Association ( NWFA) executive director Ed Korczak. “Care needs to be taken to ensure that ‘blind nailing’ does not split or separate the tongue from the flooring. In some cases, predrilling for nails may be required. Sanding dust from various species can cause inhalation concerns. It is imperative that dust masks and respirators be used on all exotics.

“Each species has unique grain and hardness characteristics that require knowledge of proper sanding grits to use,” he noted. “A too-aggressive grit could damage the flooring while too-high a grit will prove ineffective.” NWFA’s Wood Species Manual addresses the above issues.

“New technology has and continues to improve installation.” said Korczak. “Advances in fastener systems are now less probable to damage the tongue and groove. Advances in adhesives are improving gluedown installations to a full range of subfloors on and below grade. Advances in sanding equipment continue to help bring the finished floor to a flat and scratch-free surface with greater precision. The ‘click’ type installations are advancing home re-modeling installations.” These issues are in NWFA’s Tools of the Trade Manual.

“Some of the new species we are using need to be acclimated longer,” said Rick Jones, training/technical service manager for Columbia Flooring. “Some species need to be nailed not stapled to keep from splitting the tongues. Some of the harder finishes and square edge require a special foot for the mechanical fasteners to keep from fracturing the finish along the edge.”

“The toughest item faced today is very few installers seem to know about the wood, conditions and methods of installation yet they still install it as they did years ago,” he explained. “The wetter slabs they are laying floors on without checking for moisture or what to do with this higher moisture cost the industry and not only for hardwood but other flooring materials. They have not and do not seem to understand that they must use the recommended adhesive and/or method of installation. As mentioned previously, methods and fasteners change according to the species or style of wood.

“As for floating floors,” explained Jones, “that is not a new item but is a method that most have not done except with laminates and they treat the wood just like laminate, which it is not. Also there are more floating situations and types of hardwood that can be floated today as in previous years.”

“There are preferred methods for different applications and subfloor,” said Jones. “Subfloor is just one of many items to deal with when choosing the proper method. Is it concrete, Gypcrete, wood, plywood, OSB, particleboard, etc.? Is there an existing flooring material to remove or to install over, radiant heat, what grade (on, above or below), new or existing construction, and on and on?