Installing Oak flooring on Moist sub floor?

[azhar]

Hi

I would like to get some advice regarding the installation of the oak flooring we bought which is 18mm thick and 120 mm thick . I have carried out moisture readings with a moisture meter from maplin see (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=220803) The wood sub floor moisture reading was 19-20% the oak moisture content was 12-15%. The humidity in the room is between 52% to 61% and the temperture of the room is 10c - 14c.

are these conditions adequate for me to lay the flooring? Should i let it acclimatise in these conditions. At the moment i have left the flooring sealed in the boxes as the humidity and temperature are slightly higher in the boxes

I was planning to put 1/2 plywood down on the wood subfloor then the barrier underlay? Is this good practice and wood it protect against the moisture of the wooden subfloor? Also i planned to use elka toungue tight screws instead of nails. see http://www.completelyflooring.co.uk/Elka-Tongue-Tite-Screws-200-pack.html

I would appreciate it if you can get back to me with your expert knowledge and what i should do about the acclimatisation?

P.S. as the temperature is low should i just install it and leave larger gaps on the edges?

 

[WoodYouLike]

For starters the Oak is too moist if your readings are correct. should be between 8 - 11%
What's the subfloor?
Room temperature is too low to do anything practical or allow the extra moist to evaporate

DO NOT start the installation of the wood floor in these circumstances - you'll regret the day!

 

[azhar]

The subfloor is old victorian pine, my plasterer was messy. Should i turn the heating on and then do checks? Also the manufacturers guidelines say there should be no more than a 4% difference between oak and subfloor moisture levels. When i take the readings for the oak, it gives me different readings from 5% to higher. especially when i put it in different parts of the wood. Would the wood get ruined if i leave it in these conditions for a few weeks?

Also is the pywood then barrier underlay then oak flooring with elka screws a good idea?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Also is the pywood then barrier underlay then oak flooring with elka screws a good idea?

Best ask Elka - we don't have any experience with this type of installation method (IMHO screws should never be used with wooden flooring, but then again we're only installing floors, not manufacturing them - so what do we know?)

 

[azhar]

your humble experience is very valuable, can you tell me why screws are not a good idea. P.S i read on your website about being carefull about wood offers on the net and random lengths. I found it very informative. So thanks for that. Also should i leave the wood in the current room temperture 12-15 c?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Why no screws in wooden floors? Wood works, no matter which installation method you use. In our opinion (we've seen it happen) screwing a floor down restricts this natural movement too much which can result in split boards (right through the middle, not just on the T&G's). Elka has supposedly a new system and as said before we don't have experience with that system so cannot say if it circumvents the normal problems screwing a floor can/will give.

You should acclimatise the floor in the room where it is supposed to be installed in, but with a temperature and humidity that will be normal for that room. If you room is now 12 - 15 degrees, but when all the work is done it goes to average 18 - 20 degrees installing a wood floor now (with the colder temperatures) you can just wait for problems to happen.
If your room always stays at around 12 - 15 degrees then you "only" have to solve your moist problem and can install you floor.

 

[azhar]

thanks for your reply. I was thinking that if the temp is between 12-15 then the wood would be at the smallest (contracted size) so if i laid it with say 30mm gaps then that would be sufficient when it expands with the temp rising? or is that not feasable.

 

[azhar]

also should i lay the plywood then the barrier underlay, obviously after the moisture content decreases?

 

[WoodYouLike]

The wood is now at its coldest, you cannot determine correctly how much moist it has when you do not take measurements in "normal" circumstances.
The temp in your room is too low to install the floor now, sorry.

Lay the ply first (what are you going to use: staples, screws?) and then lay insulation that does not contain a DPM (the normal Barrier is good, the Barrier Plus isn't).

First make sure your wood floor can be installed using the floating method though.

 

[azhar]

ok i will turn the heating on after the sparkie connects it up. then i will lay the ply, nailed down onto floor joist, then barrier underlay (http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk/Accessories/Barrier_Wood_Laminate_Underlay.html), then porta nailer the oak.

I really get confused about floating installation, i thought its only for concrete. Would you kindly explain.

kind regards

 

[WoodYouLike]

See our article: Solid floors - what to note.