Installation Sheet

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your floor will expand slightly. It is important for this contraction or expansion to occur prior to installation.
Flooring that has not been acclimated can expand and buckle or shrink and gap or cup after installation.
Acclimate planks out of the box, sticker-stacked (all edges and faces exposed), for a minimum of 72 hours prior to
installation. Always acclimate the flooring in the installation environment at the average temperature and
relative humidity at which it will be maintained on an ongoing basis (if you are going to keep your house at 72
degrees at 55% relative humidity year-round then acclimate your flooring prior to installation at this
temperature and relative humidity). Note – it may take up to 1 week per percent of desired moisture content
change for the planks to completely acclimate. Acclimation is complete when the moisture content of your floor
no longer changes.
NAIL DOWN INSTALLATIONS ONTO WOODEN SUBFLOORS:
Subfloors must be dry, clean, and level. Fill any low spots with appropriate filler and sand any high spots. The
tolerance of level must be within 3/16” in 10'. Use a handheld moisture meter to check the moisture content of
your wooden subfloor. Wood subfloors must not have a moisture content (MC) greater than 2 percentage points
more than the flooring being installed (if your flooring has a 9% MC, your subfloor should have a MC no higher
than 11%). Note – to prevent moisture from migrating into your subfloor, check basements and under-floor crawl
spaces to be sure they are dry. For buildings with crawl spaces, 10 mil polyethylene sheeting should be used as
ground cover over the earth in the crawl space.
1. IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use a cleat nail larger than an 18 gauge cleat nail. Larger nails (such as a 15
gauge cleat nail) will permanently damage the flooring and will likely cause surface dimpling.
2. Clean your subfloor carefully, removing all staples, nails, and other surface contamination. Prior to installing
flooring, roll out Aquabar “B” or similar moisture vapor retarder in the same direction of the flooring
(perpendicular to floor joists). Overlap each row by 3” to 4”.
3. Determine the direction of the floor joists – Run the flooring perpendicular (90°) to the floor joists. Do not run
flooring parallel to floor joists.
4. Establish a starting point. Preferably the longest exterior wall running parallel with direction of flooring and
perpendicular to the joists.
5. Measure the total width of the flooring (including the tongue), plus 1/2” for expansion. Measure out this
distance in at least 2 places from the starting wall and 12” from the corners. Snap a chalk line parallel to the
starting wall.