Softwood tongue and groove flooring suitable for interior use.
These instructions relate only to the fitting of Metsä Wood softwood flooring products. For information relating to the substructure and joist requirements, please refer to COP BS8201:2011 or seek professional advice.
1) Metsä Wood UK Ltd softwood flooring species:
a. Scot’s Pine/European Redwood (Pinus Sylvestris)
b. Spruce/European Whitewood (Picea Abies)
2) Metsä Wood UK Ltd flooring is fully compliant with current CE requirements and conforms to:
a. BS EN 14342:2013
b. See table below for Declaration of Performance.
3) Metsä Wood UK Ltd softwood flooring applications:
a. The product is installed as a suspended timber floor supported on joists.
b. For use as an underlayment where the upper surface of the floor does not
constitute the “finished” floor, for example under a carpet.
c. If the upper
surface of the floor is required to be the finished floor then please ask your
stockist about different grades of timber suited to this end use. This requires
a specific “
hidden
fixing” profile and is available as a special order item.
d.
The product is supplied “unfinished”.
4) Metsä Wood UK Ltd softwood flooring installation instructions:
a. On site, all materials intended for flooring should be stacked carefully
to retain flatness. They should be stored in a weather tight and dry environment
with conditions that maintain the moisture content at the level recommended for
laying and as close as possible to the conditions of the finished
building.
b. Flooring should be ‘conditioned’ in situ for 2-3 weeks dependent upon conditions. As timber is a natural product this will give it time to absorb or lose moisture so that when fitted there is less likelihood of excess movement after fitting.
c. Mechanical fixings suited for the installation of pine and
spruce flooring are as follows: -
i) annular-ringed shank flat head
nails (“improved” nails); these should be 2.5 times the
thickness of the flooring.
ii) woodscrews should conform to BS
1210 and should be not less than size no. 8 and be no less than
two times the thickness of the flooring.
iii) Care should be taken to ensure
that all joints bear directly onto a joist to give the maximum bearing area and
should be staggered so that joints are at least two board widths or two support
spaces apart. All boards should be mechanically fixed by face nailing or screws.
The timber flooring should be double fixed to every joist.
iv) In each case
there should be two nails or screws per joist and the floorboards should be
face
fixed.
v) Nails or screws positioned near the end of a board
should have a pre-drilled pilot hole to avoid splitting.
vi) Nails and screws
should be placed not less than 20mm from the edge of the tongue or the groove.
vii) This product is intended to be nailed or screwed in place and
must not be
glued either board to board or board to joist.
d. The
flooring has a “face
side” and reverse side. The face side must be laid facing upwards
and can be seen by inspecting the tongue and the groove. The face side has the thicker
surface. For example: -
e.
Provision for expansion must
be made. It is recommended that a gap of not less than 12mm
around all perimeters and any abutments such as thresholds or radiator pipes be
made. Perimeter gaps should be sufficient that they be hidden by any skirting or
architrave or trim moulding such as scotia beading etc, this to be determined by
the end-user.
5) Metsä Wood UK Ltd softwood flooring performance expectations:
a. Owing to the natural movement of in-service timber flooring because of the
changing ambient environment in which it is installed, some convex or concave
cupping across the face of the boards can be expected.
b. Wood is a natural
product and therefore some opening up and closing of joints is to be expected.
Both species of wood used in the production of Metsä Wood UK Ltd softwood
flooring have a “movement classification” of medium as follows: -
i)
A 4% change in moisture content
will result in a movement of 1% across the face of the board, or as a rule of
thumb, the anticipated movement of a floor made from a medium timber is
approximately 2-3mm per metre width of laid floor across the grain for every 1%
change in moisture content.
c. Wood is a hygroscopic
material; the moisture content which the wood attains depends primarily upon the
humidity of the atmosphere and, to a lesser extent, upon the temperature. Wood
shrinks as the moisture content decreases and swells as it increases. To reduce
the dimensional changes which take place after wood is fixed in a building, the
temperature and humidity in the building before, during and after laying the
flooring should be approximately the same as those which are likely to prevail
during occupation As a guide, normally the following moisture content ranges are
encountered for various heating conditions: -
i) Unheated: 15% to 19%
ii)
Intermittent heating1): 10% to 14%
iii) Continuous heating2): 9% to
11%
d. The importance of
using wood at correct moisture content cannot be over-emphasized. If, at the
time of fixing, the moisture content is too great, shrinkage is inevitable and
it results in unsightly open joints. If the moisture content is too low,
swelling can occur, causing lateral pressure to solid floors which can produce
lifting.
These instructions apply specifically to solid softwood.
Metsä Wood UK Ltd
softwood flooring is not suited for installation over underfloor
heating.
Declaration of Performance Reference Table
| ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS | PERFORMANCE | HARMONISED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION |
| Reaction to fire | Fn | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
| Minimum mean density | 500g / m3 Pine (pinus sylvestris) 400g / m3 Spruce (Picea albies) | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
| Minimum overall thickness | 10-20mm | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
| Emmision release of formaldehyde | E1 | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
| Thermal conductivity | 0.13 W/(m K) Pine 0.12 W/(m K) Spruce | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
| Biological durability (EN335:2013) | Use Class 1 | EN14342:2005 + A1:2008 |
