At Oakra we know what we are talking about and wish to share some of the technical information with you.

When you are looking for a wooden floor you need to ask yourself three questions:

1. How long do you want your floor to last.
2. How much will the floor cost and how much time and mess will it take to install..
3. What type of building am I going to be using this flooring in? eg house, shop, coffee shop, hotel, holiday home etc.

If you want a floor that is excellent quality, will look fabulous even with reasonable wear and tear, is reasonably priced and can be sanded up to 12 times their is no reason why it shouldn't last at least 50 years or more then read on.

Wood on our island has a lot to cope with! Some days it’s hot and humid then the next day its wet and cold. Central heating is turned up and down, on and off.
Wood is hydroscopic which means when it is hot and humid the wood will draw in moisture from the air and increase in moisture content and hence increase in width across the board, ie expansion.

When it is cold and dry wood will give up moisture to the air that will lower the moisture content in the board and hence cause a decrease in the width of the board, ie shrinkage. Couple this together with central heating on and off, outside doors opening and closing , wood has an awful lot of moving about to do. This can be minimized by providing a constant environment for the floor which will lead to a beautiful floor for a very very long time. Basically what were saying is that the temperature and humidity where the flooring was manufactured, delivered and acclimatized to, must be maintained throughout its life for a quality floor.

How is this achieved?

1. Make sure you buy wood from a manufacturer who stores the raw material in a dry, humidity controlled and heated environment.
2. Only buy wood with a moisture content of between 9-11% for non underfloor heating applications and for underfloor heating 7-10%
3. Stack the timber correctly
4. Acclimatize the timber for at least 1 week at the temperature of the house that it will be for the foreseeable future.
5. During the summertime keep the heating system switched on and the thermostat set at 18 degrees. it might only come on twice a month during a cold spell for instance, but it will always provide a constant environment.

Sub floors and preparation

The floor that you have chosen is a serious investment, it should last for one lifetime and possibly several. You must expect some disruption and inconvenience if you are having a floor installed. Please make sure you give the floor fitter the time he says he needs to carry out the work without interference from other trades. Remove everything from the room for example furniture, pictures, curtains, carpets etc. All wet trades,(plastering painting tiling etc) should be completed and their work dry. Air-conditioning, heating and ventilation systems should be commissioned and operating for at least 2 months prior to your new floor being fitted. The temperature and relative humidity must be at "normal living conditions" ie between 15-22 degrees and between 40-65%humidity for a minimum of two weeks prior to the delivery of your wood.

Sub floors

Good preparation is everything. If a base is not prepared correctly you will struggle to fit the floor and make a job of it.

Joisted floors

All joists should be at 14" centres maximum, be free from infestation or rot. In new houses it is worth spending a little more in kiln dried joists. Very many buildings, old and new suffer from joists which have shrunk after the building has finished. The floor drops away from beneath the skirting leaving an ugly dark gap between skirting and floor. Once you have fitted the expensive floor it will be very costly to put right any inherent defects.

If the joists are uneven in their height they may need to be packed. Packers are strips of timber laid over the top of the joists to equalize the levels across the joists.

Concrete floors

These should be level sound and dry.

By level i mean level in any direction over 5 meters with a tolerance of +or- 3mm. Anything more than this will have to be filled up using laytex self leveling compound up to a maximum of 6mm.

By sound I mean that it should no be crumbling, breaking, dusty or rough. It should have a well towelled smooth finish.

By dry I mean that the floor should be carefully checked using a professional moisture meter or relative humidity meter. You are looking for a moisture content in concrete of less than 3 1/2% or a maximum relative humidity of 75%. Once this level has been achieved I would advise treating the floor with at least two coats of epoxy polyurethane damp proof coating purely as a matter of precaution.

Over the top of your level, dry and sound screed I like to lay 18mm of tongue and groove osb3 sheeting which is generally bonded to the screed or with a mechanical fixing such as a fischer fixing.

Bonding is the best method with a high quality adhesive that when dry still has a flex of 2% which when coupled with the stable sheeting should give a sound base for the wooden flooring.