INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR LAMINATE FLOORING
1. A note of caution (click picture to enlarge)
Please follow these installation and maintenance instructions carefully.
Should you decide to disregard them, our quality guarantee will not apply.
Similarly, China Link’s guarantee will not apply should the installer install obviously defective boards.
2. Preparing for Installation
2.1 Storing Laminate Flooring
Store sealed Laminate Flooring cartons horizontally.
The storage room should be about 18 degrees Celsius with a 45-60% relative humidity.
2.2 Conditioning the room before installing your Laminate
Flooring
Laminate Flooring is not suitable for use outdoors or in damp rooms (bathrooms, etc.).
Before bringing Laminate Flooring cartons into the rooms, ensure that:
· Painting and wallpapering are completed.
· Plaster is dry.
· Floor and wall tiles have been installed for at least 3 weeks.
· Windows are in place.
· Radiators have been bled.
· No re-humidification takes place in the room where the floor will be installed.
2.3 Acclimatising your Laminate Flooring
Lay sealed Laminate Flooring cartons horizontally in the rooms at least 48 hours before installation. Stack maximum 3 cartons on top of each other, away from heat/air vents.
The room should be about 18 degrees Celsius with a 45-60% humidity.
2.4 Planning
Laminate Flooring will look more attractive if you install it parallel to the main light source.
Use wedges to secure 10 mm expansion gaps:
· Along the walls (later covered by skitings)
· At pipes (later covered by rosettes or elastic paste)
· At cabinets (later covered by elastic paste or skirtings)
· Underneath doors (later covered by expansion rails/T moldings)
· Along flooring wider than 8 m or longer than 10 m (later covered by expansion rails/T moldings)
2.5 Installation Tools
PE moisture barrier, foam underlay, saw, ha mmer, measuring tape, pencil, fitting bar, tapping block, wedges, water-resistant adhesive tape and a line.
3. The Sub-floor
Any sub-floor should be dry, clean, firm and level (no unevenness of more than 2 mm/m).
In principle, you will be faced with any of the following situations:
3.1 Concrete Subfloor
The concrete moisture content should be maximum 2.5% (1.5% for underfloor heating).For installation on underfloor heating, use a professional fitter.
3.2 Wooden Subfloor
The wooden subfloor should be fitted over insulation/crawl space and its moisture content should be maximum 10%. Otherwise, the wooden subfloor should be removed.
You should install Laminate Flooring perpendicular to the wood flooring.
3.3 Damp-Proof Subfloors (Linoleum, PVC, etc.)
You can install Laminate flooring directly on these subfloors.
3.4 Non Damp-Proof Subflors (Carpets, etc.)
First remove the non-damp proof subfloor, then install on adequate subfloor.
4. Installation
4.1 The Underfloor
Lay a PE moisture barrier (0.6 mm thick) along the longest wall. Overlap the sheets some 20 cm and fix them onto each other with water-resistant adhesive tape. The sheets should run up the wall. The part running up the wall will be covered by skirtings.
Use an appropriate sound insulation underlay. Lay the sheets along the longest wall, butt together and tape.
4.2 Installing the first row of Laminate Flooring boards
Use wedges to secure 10 mm expansion gaps (see planning above).
The width of the first and last row of boards should be approximately the same. This may require cutting the first and last row of planks to a shorter width. The last row should never be less than 5 cm wide (make sure you consider 10 mm expansion gaps).
Open the laminate flooring cartons right before installation.
Check all boards for defects and do not install any defective boards.
Lay the first board tongues facing the corner; then work towards the opposite corner.
From the second board onwards, start by adjusting the boards’ short ends. Use the ha mmer and tapping block to carefully adjust short ends.
Measure the distance between the edge of the penultimate board on the row and the wall, substract 10 mm, cut the last board to measure and install the last board with the help of a fitting bar and a ha mmer.
Should the distance between the edge of the penultimate board and the wall be less than 20 cm, cut off the first board in the row to make more space for the last board.
4.3 Installing the second and successive rows
Start the second and successive rows with the piece of board left over from the previous row, provided that it is minimum 40 cm long.
Stagger the heads of adjacent planks in order to produce a pleasant visual effect.
Insert the tongue on the long side of the first board onto the groove of the plank in the previous row at a 20-25% degree angle and jerk it gently until it is well in place.
Starting the second board on the second row, first insert the long tongue and then use the ha mmer and tapping block to carefully adjust short ends.
Keep on installing boards and rows until the room is totally covered.
Should you need to cut the last row of boards along their length: 1) measure the distance between the edge of the next to last row of boards and the wall, substract 10 mm; b) cut the last row of boards along their length and intall them with the help of a fitting bar and a ha mmer.
Take out the wedges
Screw the skirting onto the adjacent wall (never onto the floor).
Cover other spaces with rosettes, expansion rails/T molding, elastic paste, etc.).
Your Laminate Flooring is ready to use.
WARNINGS AND MAITENANCE INSTRUCTIONS
Laminate flooring is not suitable for use outoors or in humid areas (bathrooms, etc.).
Keep room temperature at about 18 degrees Celsius and room humidity at 45-60%.
Place felt or alike under furniture legs.
Use soft wheels suitable for laminate flooring on mobile chairs.
Place a floor mat at every entrance and use them to keep away dirt, water and sand.
Use dry cleaning methods such as wiping, dry mopping or vacuuming. Avoid water.
Should Laminate Flooring be exposed to water, sand or dirt, remove them i mmediately.
Remove stains with a gentle detergent and a well wrung out sponge/mop/ cloth.
Never use abrasive detergents, steel wool, soap based detergents, waxes or polishes.
GUARANTEE
The guarantee is conditional upon the respect of the above installation instructions, warnings and maintenance instructions.
There is no guarantee for laminate flooring installed in bathrooms or other humid rooms.
The guarantee will become null and void should laminate flooring become exposed to water (for example, leaving windows open in a way that the laminate flooring is exposed to rain water).
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