Congratulations on your new flooring purchase. To ensure that you will enjoy your floors for years to come, please take the time to read the enclosed instructions thoroughly.

 Timber Creek Hardwood Flooring is manufactured in accordance with accepted industry standards, which allow for a defect tolerance up to 5% for manufacturing and/or natural defects. When ordering flooring, 5% must be added to the actual square footage required to allow for defects, grade allowance and cutting. During installation, the installer must be selective in which boards are used in the general installation and which boards should be used for cut off pieces. The use of stain, filler or putty stick for defect correction during installation should be accepted as normal procedure. The installer/owner has final inspection responsibility for acceptance of quality, grade, manufacture and factory finish.

 All flooring must be inspected before installation. Carefully examine flooring for colour, finish, quality and milling before installing it. If the material is not acceptable, do not install the flooring and contact the supplier immediately.  The natural colour of wood, as well as the colour of stain batches may vary. Timber Creek Limited does not accept any responsibility for colour variation once the product is installed.

Tape Measure                Power Drill with 1/16” drill bit               Miter Saw or Table Saw

Broom                             Hammer                                                  Moisture Meter

Chalk Line & chalk        Nail Punch                                               Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Pry Bar                           2” Finishing Nails                                    Pencil or Marker

Rubber Mallet                1 ¾” – 2” Floor Cleats or 15 ½  gauge staples

Flooring Nailer (manual or pneumatic) fitted with a proper 5/8” adapter plate

JOB SITE INSPECTION: Hardwood flooring should be installed only after all other work connected with water or moisture (plumbing, ceiling, masonry, dry wall, painting etc.) has been completed and is thoroughly dry.

 Concrete should be at least 60 – 90 days old. Exterior grading should be complete with surface drainage directing water away from the building.

CRAWL SPACES and basements should be dry and well ventilated to avoid damage due to moisture. Crawl space must be a minimum 24” from the ground to underside of joists. A ground cover of 6 – 8 mil black polyethylene film is recommended as a vapor barrier with joints lapped 6 inches and taped. The crawl space should have perimeter venting equal to a minimum of 1.5% of the crawl space square footage. The vents should be properly located to promote cross ventilation. Ensure that the floor and walls of the crawl space area is dry.

 Permanent heating and air conditioning systems should be in place and operational. The installation site should have a consistent room temperature of 15 – 24 C (60 – 75 F) and humidity of 45 – 60% for at least 14 days prior to the flooring being delivered to the site as well as during and after installation.  

 Timber Creek hardwood flooring should be installed on or above grade only. Do not install below grade. Avoid installing flooring in high humidity areas such as full bathrooms.

SUBFLOORS must be minimum 5/8” or preferred ¾” APA approved CSP/DFP-COFI Plywood or 23/32 OSB underlay grade PS3-92. DO NOT INSTALL OVER PARTICLEBOARD SUBFLOORS. Subfloors must be smooth, clean and free of protruding nails, staples, glue or paint spots, wax, debris, old carpet etc. Ensure that the subfloor is level and flat to within 3/16” in 10’. Sand out any high spots. Low spots or damaged areas should be properly repaired prior to installation. Nail or screw any loose areas that squeak.  Replace any water-damaged, swollen or delaminated subflooring as they are unable to properly hold fasteners.

 The subfloor must be checked for moisture content. The moisture content of a wood subfloor must not exceed 13% as measured using a reliable moisture meter. The moisture level of the subfloor should not exceed the moisture level of the product being installed by more than 3%.

MOISTURE BARRIER: Covering your subfloor with a good grade of 15 lb. asphalt felt/building paper is strongly recommended. This helps keep out dust, retards moisture movement from below, and helps prevent squeaks in dry seasons.

HANDLING AND STORAGE: Handle and unload your hardwood flooring with care. Flooring should not be delivered to the site until all windows and doors are in place. In addition, ensure that all wet work such as concrete, drywall, painting etc is completed and dry. Do not handle or unload flooring in heavy rain or snow. Flooring should be allowed to acclimatize to the ambient temperature of the room in which they will be installed for as long as necessary to meet installation moisture requirements.

 As the wood flooring is exposed to varying temperatures and humidity, it will release or absorb moisture until it is balanced with its new climate. Proper humidity and temperature controls are vital to maintain wood floors in good condition. Humidity levels between 45 – 55% relative humidity and ambient temperatures of  20 – 22 C    (68 – 72 F) should be maintained at all times.

During Heating Season: When the furnace or other heating systems are in operation, the use of a humidifier is strongly recommended. All heating systems, especially electrical heating, create a very dry atmosphere. Proper humidity levels will help to prevent excessive shrinkage of wood that my result in separation between wood pieces.

During Non-Heating Season: During late spring, summer or early fall the use of a de-humidifier is strongly recommended. This will help to protect your floors from absorbing excessive moisture and minimize expansion.

 Should you choose to install your flooring over radiant heat, it is imperative that you understand radiant heat and how it can impact hardwood flooring, what precautions must be taken and what type of flooring is best suited for installing over radiant heat. Information for installing over radiant heat can be obtained from the National Wood Flooring Association. Separation of hardwood flooring over radiant heat is a natural occurrence during the heating season. Timber Creek Limited will limit its warranty on hardwood flooring installed over radiant heat.

 STEP 1:  Planning the layout and establishing a start line

·         Before beginning the installation remember to provide a proper layout by distributing short and long lengths equally over the area of the floor to be installed.  Installation of the flooring from several cartons at the same time will ensure a good mixing of colour and shade.

·         Lay out the moisture barrier, parallel to the joists, with a 4” overlap and flush to the wall.

·         Pieces should be selected so that end joints are staggered at least 6” from each other in adjacent rows to avoid close proximity.  (See Figure 1)

·         The flooring must be installed in a direction at right angles to the floor joists.

·         Snap a chalk line along the longest and straightest wall of the room chosen.  The line will be at a distance from the wall equal to the width of the flooring being installed plus an additional ¾”. (For    3¼” floor snap a line 4” away from the wall).  This will be the start line.   (See Figure 2)

·         The extra ¾” space is left for expansion of the wood and will be covered by baseboard and shoe-mould.

·         Align the first row of planks in a straight line with the tongue along the chalk line leaving at least ¾” space from the starting wall.

  STEP 2: The First Row

·         For the first row select the longest pieces available to ensure the straightest possible line.

·         Lay the first row with the tongue end flush to the chalk line.  (See Figure 2)

·         Lay out 6-7 rows of planking before installation to allow for mixing of lengths and to ensure that the end-joints are staggered properly.

·         Pre-drill holes ½” to ¾” away from the groove side through the face of the panel, 8-12” apart along the length and 2-3” from each end.

·         Nail the panels to the sub-floor through the holes using 2” finishing nails and a nail punch to counter sink the nails.

·         Edge nail these same panels by driving nails at a 45º angle through the tongue every 10-12” and to within 2-3” from the ends.  Countersink the nails when completed along the entire length of the row. (See Figure 3)

·         If it is apparent that the baseboards will not cover the face nails, fill the holes with filler of an appropriate shade.

   
STEP 3: The Second Row and Continuation

·         Install the second row by repeating the edge nailing ONLY as described in Step 2.

·         DO NOT face nail as in the first row.

·         Interlock the panels along the lengths and ends tightly before nailing.  Tap gently with a mallet to get the tightest fit.

·         Typically the first few rows will have to be nailed by hand as there will be insufficient clearance for the power nailer.  Always ensure that the end-joints are off set 6”-8” from joints in adjacent rows.

·         Once there is sufficient clearance use the edge-nailing machine which drives 2” fasteners, to speed up the process.

 
STEP 4: Completing the Job

·         Install each succeeding row by edge nailing the tongue side every 10-12” along the length to within 2-3” from the board ends.

·         Continue to be attentive to staggering the ends by at least 6” in adjacent rows.

·         Upon reaching the last row to be installed, the planks may have to be ripped along the length to allow for the required ¾” expansion space.

·         The last row must be fastened by face nailing ½” to ¾” from the edge of the ripped side of the plank, every 10-12” along the length and 2-3” from each short end.  As before pre-drill the holes for face nailing.

·         Repeat the process for countersinking the nails and apply filler if necessary.

·         Replace or install baseboards and other finish pieces when completed.