plunger
20th December 2005, 05:14 PM
There seems to be differing opinions on direct stick flooring onto a concrete slab, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.
I got the marri timber from a local mill, rough sawn at the time, it was kiln dried for a few months then milled down to 90mm x 11mm tongue and groove. It sat in the house to aclimatise for 3 weeks.
I decided to get professionals to lay it after considering doing it myself. A coat of waterproof membrane was rolled on, then the timber was glued and nailed to the concrete (took one guy 3 days to lay 65 sqm). After seeing what was involved I was pretty glad I didn't do it myself.
Then came the filling and sanding to 150 grit, the machines had extractor bags so there was only minimal dust. The next day they did fitted the splay beading and another fine sand (180 grit) and applied the finish. I went for a 'solid' oil finish (not sure what that means) as I wanted a more natural look and is supposed to be as durable as solvent based finishes with the added advantage of being able to repair sctratces etc. easily rather that recoating whole floor with a poly. Also I was able to walk on it within hours of buffing rather than moving out of home. I guess only time will tell how the finish will hold up.
First set of pictures 1 & 2 show laying, 3 shows the sanded finish, 4 & 5 the oiling. (more pics in the next post of finished product)
I got the marri timber from a local mill, rough sawn at the time, it was kiln dried for a few months then milled down to 90mm x 11mm tongue and groove. It sat in the house to aclimatise for 3 weeks.
I decided to get professionals to lay it after considering doing it myself. A coat of waterproof membrane was rolled on, then the timber was glued and nailed to the concrete (took one guy 3 days to lay 65 sqm). After seeing what was involved I was pretty glad I didn't do it myself.
Then came the filling and sanding to 150 grit, the machines had extractor bags so there was only minimal dust. The next day they did fitted the splay beading and another fine sand (180 grit) and applied the finish. I went for a 'solid' oil finish (not sure what that means) as I wanted a more natural look and is supposed to be as durable as solvent based finishes with the added advantage of being able to repair sctratces etc. easily rather that recoating whole floor with a poly. Also I was able to walk on it within hours of buffing rather than moving out of home. I guess only time will tell how the finish will hold up.
First set of pictures 1 & 2 show laying, 3 shows the sanded finish, 4 & 5 the oiling. (more pics in the next post of finished product)