Laying wooden floors

Marianne Suhr offers her advice on what to consider when laying wooden floors.

Wooden floors are subject to expansion and contraction due to changes in relative humidity. When using underfloor heating beneath a wooden floor, the movement of the boards is even greater due to fluctuations in temperature. Because of this, it’s generally recommended to use an engineered wood board in conjunction with underfloor heating, rather than a solid wood board. An engineered board is simply a sandwich of plywood with a veneer of wood on top, giving the illusion of solid board. Even with this more stable board, it’s still important to follow a few simple rules:

• Store the boards flat and leave them in the room with the heating on for several days before laying; this will give them time to reach a moisture equilibrium. Leave a 10-15mm gap around the edge of the board, and cover with a suitable skirting.

• Boards can be secret-nailed to battens, but great care should be taken not to nail through the underfloor heating.

• Alternatively, boards can be ‘floated’, or loose laid on a special foam underlay – they should then be glued along each junction to stop them from creaking or moving.

• Once fitted, turn the heating up very gradually over a number of days.

ABOVE (left-right): A narrow bead of wood glue is squirted into the oak floorboard groove prior to fixing; The oak floorboards are carefully pushed together, leaving a 10-15mm gap around the edge.

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WORDS MARIANNE SUHR PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE SUHR; CAMERON SCOTT
Featured in the March 2012 issue of Period Living