Central Coast Home & Lifestyle Magazine Summer 2016

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Home&Lifestyle Magazine | Summer 2016 7
Bamboo Timber &
Laminate Flooring
Large Showroom
Free Measure and Quote
258 West Street, Umina Beach | P:4342 6666 | email
Quality
I play the bagpipes, so that question
gets asked all the time but when
it comes to what goes under the
floor you choose, the answer is more
important.
Whether you are laying Laminate,
Bamboo, Cork or Timber there are
several important factors that must
be right.
Preparation of your sub floor is the
first consideration. Renovators are
frequently facedwith different levels
in the house caused by different old
floor coverings. For example tiles in
the Kitchen and Carpet in the Living
area. Common sense dictates your
new floor covers all these areas at
the same height without ramps.
Companies are emerging that
specialise in just preparing your sub
floor. Alternatives include raising the
lower levels with ply. Seek advice on
what is best for your place.
The next challenge is to get the
sub floor level. Manufacturers’
recommendations are that
flooring be installed on a subfloor
with variation in levelness (not
smoothness) no greater than 3mm
over a 3m span. Failure to do this
will result in soft spots and possible
creaking.
Low spots are filled with Ardit
(think self levelling concrete) or
Arditex (a latex based Ardit) to
smooth any imperfections which
would affect the installation and
subsequent performance of
the floor covering. The installer
could also plane and sand the
high spots of a timber subfloor
to reduce the need for levelling
compound.
Next comes an appropriate
underlay. This provides a water
barrier and a smooth surface to lay
on. It can also add significant sound
proofing. In recent months, the
European Federation of Producers
of Laminate Flooring (EPLF), the
most recognised and respected
body on laminate flooring in the
world, released a technical bulletin
regarding underlay specifications.
Of important note was a new
“minimum benchmark” for moisture
vapour transmission (the ability of
subfloor borne moisture vapour to
transmit through the underlay and
into the underside of the flooring).
The report in question specifies that
all underlays should reach an SD
Value ≥ 75. The
higher the SD
Value, the better
the underlay
is at blocking
moisture
vapour. This
can eliminate
the potential
for cupping,
peaking, noisy
floors and
excessive
expansion
as a result of
rising moisture
vapour from the
subfloor.
What’s Down Under?
By Guy Thornycroft (ProFlooring)