The most popular floor is prefinished hardwood flooring. Customers love to buy and maintain it. The factory’s finish makes it more attractive than unfinished hardwood. Because of the factory’s finish, the floor installer needs to know seven key tips when he sets this type of hardwood by nail down.
One: Learn everything you can about the qualities of the wood which you are going to install. When working with prefinished hardwood flooring, you should always be on guard. This is a very brittle wood, which when stapled, may not always withstand. For example, if you work with Brazilian Cherry hardwood, know that it “does not like” the nail down method of installation, and often cracks. To avoid this, try changing the size of staples or replace them with clits (nails).
Two: Check the factory’s series, shown on the boxes of material. Before installing prefinished hardwood flooring, always check the batch number specified by the manufacturer on all boxes. Customers often buy material on sale in shops and auctions. They are often attracted only to the beautiful price, not questioning the reason for the drastic discount.
The difference in the serial number on the packaging indicates that the material can have important differences. These differences may be there even if the color shown on the box is exactly the same.
Three: Choose the right size staples and clits. For example, if the material thickness is 3/4 inches, and a subfloor’s height is one inch, you need to use staples and nails 2 inches or 1 and ¾ inches.
Four: Place the board across joints. It is advisable nailing boards across joints; otherwise it will look like an accordion’s surface.
Five: Cutting boards. To cut prefinished hardwood flooring, lay each piece of wood facing up. If you need to cut it by setting the blade across it, then turn the board facing you.
Six: Give a competent consultation to the customers. During or after hardwood installation, clients are often concerned about the fate of their new investments. One of the frequently asked questions is: “Can I renew a floor if a family member damages it?” Tell them about the possibility of refinishing it, in case a sufficiently large area of the hardwood is damaged. Encourage them to be familiar with their type of floor, specifying the exact number of times they can restore it.
Do not forget to tell the client that if the damage is significant only in a small area, you can easily replace damaged boards on his first request.
Seven: Give good advice about taking care of prefinished hardwood flooring. During even minor repairs, people are tired of dust, dirt, and disorder. Therefore, after the hardwood installation, customers are in a hurry to replace the furniture, and see the final result. To save your completed work from injury, inform the client about safety buttons, which he must set under the feet of furniture, and direct his attention to the manufacturer’s instructions about caring for this type of floor.
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