Solid Timber floorboards & acclimatisation?

[vGolfer]

We have been told by a few people that it is a good idea to have your floorboards on site for a couple of weeks just to acclimatise to the conditions of the house before they are actually put down.

We are getting 130 x 19mm Sydney Bluegum floorboards glued and secret nailed on top of yellowtongue.

The boards are being delivered on Monday and there is a spot available on Wednesday for installation. Should I tell them I'd raher wait a couple of weeks or is this a bit of a waste of time?

Cheers

[ausdesign]

For exposed polished floors it is the only way to go [espec. comimg out of winter/spring] - or any time or situation with higher moisture content in the air.
Onsite acclimatisation should include stacking the boards on spacer battens to get air flow.

Besides the end result of any unsightly shrinkage there's the warranty aspect.

[vGolfer]

For exposed polished floors it is the only way to go [espec. comimg out of winter/spring] - or any time or situation with higher moisture content in the air.
Onsite acclimatisation should include stacking the boards on spacer battens to get air flow.

Besides the end result of any unsightly shrinkage there's the warranty aspect.

Thanks Peter, I suspected that was the case. My wife is keen just to get it installed, but I am inclined to wait a bit. Apparently it is a freshly cut batch also.

As far as warranty goes, the company that I am getting the floor from (quite a reputable place) are also installing, so I imagine they wouldn't do anything that would void the warranty.

[ausdesign]

As an aside, its good that the manuf. is doing the installation - warranty wise & possibly experience wise - as a come back.
We come across the occasional situation such as yours where the chippies are using too short a nail - usually gun nails - & relying on the adhesive to do the main work. Any particle board flooring that has been down for a length of time and has dust or a weathering film needs to be cleaned back to ensure the glue takes uniformly & bites into the chipboard. Pre sanding is possibly over the top but .........

[bitingmidge]

Just to add to the fire, this week's experience:

A friend is currently building a flash house extension to my design, (2 bedrooms and a LARGE living area = $750k's worth - if you have to ask how much it'll cost, you can't afford me to work for you!) The builder is a VERY good old-school timber worker, and very fastidious, and has just had his first floor failure in 30 years.

KD Blackbutt flooring glued and secret nailed on ply floor, very high humidity, lots of rainfall. Flooring was onsite for about a week, but still bundled and covered.

Laid, sanded, first finish coat, and POP! A nasty ridge appeared in the middle of the floor! About 12 metres and no expansion joint, will do that every time.

He has probably gotten away with it all these years because :
A) the timber was not quite as dry on delivery
B) he'd previously broken the bundles and stored indoors

The floor now sports a cork expansion joint in the centre, and should give no further troubles.

cehers,

P

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

The there's the less obvious opposite type of "failure." I learned about this one on my 3rd or 4th floor.

Like vGolfer, the boards were fresh from the kiln, worse, they were laid in the middle of the wet season after only a week onsite in the orig. bundles. My boss at the time wanted to wait but the owner prevailed against all his advice. Come that summer, gaps appeared at every T&G joint... only a mm or so but very noticable on a polished floor. Of course, the owner jumped up'n'down in a hissy fit but the boss simply said "I told you so" and then quoted a ridiculous figure to fix it. Which they paid. Damn, I miss that bloke!

[vGolfer]

I have convinced the missus that we are better off waiting the extra couple of weeks.

The boards are getting delivered on Monday - I'm going to unpack them and lay them around parts of the house - we're not living in the house just yet, so it's not a drama.

Floor due to get laid on November 14. Woopee!

Now we have to decide on the finish. I'm gunning for the high gloss - the wife wants satin. I just think the high gloss gives a more striking look.

[elphingirl]

The advice we got when purchasing timber floorboards, was that the store for few weeks advice was not always accurate. It really depends on the moisture content of the timber when delivered, and the relative humidity on site. Factors like whether the house is sealed make a huge difference when the humidity is 70% outside. They said that if the subfloor is dry, and the house is sealed, that often they put the timber straight down - especially for wider boards.

But, hey they are doing for you, so it is their problem to solve.

Cheers
Justine

[Gaza]

130 x 19mm Sydney Bluegum floorboards glued and secret nailed

I think you findit will be top nailed, as boards over 85mm need to be top nailed.

In regards to aclization good idea to leave for at leats a week, and it depends on the quality of the procducer, the biggest issue is the use of AC this is what causes the most problems.

[vGolfer]

They have told us they will be secret nailed.

[Gaza]

Mate,

They must have no idea, because you must top nail boards over 85mm it is common that installers will first sercte nail as a way of pulling the boards togther, then to go back and top nail. I perfer not to use the secrte nailer as a way of clamping the 6in board as it does not get it tight enough.

Dont take my word for this ring Boral timber or even Timber advsior centre in Syd (as melbournes just closed).

You will have trouble if you dont top nail!!!!!!

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

AFAIK there are two different base methods of secret nailing. The first is simple tongue-nailing or end-nailing. This is a cheap'n'nasty method,that should only be used on very narrow boards in the 2 1/2" to 3" range max. Care needs to be taken to avoid splitting the tongues or protruding nail heads which prevent the joint from closing tightly... but apart from that any idiot with a properly adjusted nail-gun can do it.

The second involves prying up a small section of top-grain, nailing, then gluing the strip back down. This is a slow method that demands above average skill to result in a good finish. My old boss was an expert, I never became proficient.

There may be other ways, but I reckon they'll only be variations of one of the above. Unless you consider using Liquid Nails a secret?


Either way, if a floor's gonna be secret-nailed, it certainly won't be by me.

[E. maculata]

What Gaza said rings extremely true, no reputable Manufacturer of Aussie flooring I'm aware of recommends secret nailing anything over 80-85mm, far too much too ask of poor ole nails.

[vGolfer]

What Gaza said rings extremely true, no reputable Manufacturer of Aussie flooring I'm aware of recommends secret nailing anything over 80-85mm, far too much too ask of poor ole nails.

We are dealing directly with a fairly large Boral dealer, so I guess they must have some clue. This is the first I have heard about warning against secret nailing wider boards. I'll have to bring this up with them I guess...

[glock40sw]

All Australian hardwood flooring is coverd by Australian Standard AS2796.1 & .2 1999.
It will tell you that moisture content must be 9 to 14 % at time of installation.

It also states that boards over 85mm in cover width shall be top nailed (face nailed).

Boards with a cover width less than 85mm may be secret nailed or top nailed.
No manufacturer of hardwood timber flooring will honour a garantee if the 130mm wide boards are secret nailed. the holding ability is no where near enough for this material.

Have you ever seen a 130mm floor blow???
Pray you never do...It is not a pretty sight to see walls pushed 200 mm beyond the floor on each side.

If you don't want problems with the floor, topnail it and sleep well at night.

Or go with secret nail and end up with ulcers from worry.

Some of us here do this for a living (timber flooring manufacture and installation). We do know what we are talking about.
This sort of advise that is given freely here on this forum, would cost you an arm and a leg out in the big bad world.
It is up to you if you want to partake of said advise.

Hooroo.
Regards, Trevor
Grafton.
Quality control technician.
Kiln drying Manager.
Dry products supervisor.
Timber floor inspector.
Australian Hardwood timber flooring manufacturer.