Standard installation
Please note: This product is no longer available.
Conditions
Multi Top Floor XL® flooring does not need to acclimatize; it can be used as soon as delivered to site. If not used immediately, planks should be stored indoors.
The moisture levels of the sub-floor must be - between 10-15% if wooden - chipboard, plywood or softwood - 4% or less if concrete.
Floating installation over wood or concrete
Check the level of the floor: if there is a gap of more than 3mm showing under a 3000mm straightedge, then use a self-leveling compound to take out the unevenness.
Cover floor with a layer of 3mm combined foam/dpm such as Alveolite foil - making sure that joints are well lapped and taped, and that the dpm runs about 35mm up the four walls in order to 'tank' the flooring.
Where the first plank is to be laid, insert a strip of cork or low-density fibreboard 8-10mm thick along the walls. This acts as an insulator against sound transmission from the floor into the wall. It will also chock the floor in place and dampen whatever negligible expansion there might be.
Lay the floor with randomly staggered joints; this is normally achieved by using the off-cut from the first row as the starting piece for the second, and so on.
Subsequent rows should be knocked up against the previous one, using a mallet and wood block. The tongue and groove profile of the flooring will hold adjacent boards in place, but does not lock them.
Header joints between boards in adjacent rows must be at least 450mm apart and should not fall in line with each other any closer than 3 rows apart.
Small pieces of under 450mm length at the end of a run should be glued into place in order to prevent them being kicked out of position. Run some PVA adhesive under the tongues where they join the next pieces all round. You can glue all header joints and eliminate any potential opening up.
Laying sheets of 7-8mm low-density fibreboard under the planks will improve the feel of the floor and reduce the transmission of impact noise to the floor below, if the space and budget allow.
Structural
Multi Top Floor XL® flooring is strong enough to be used structurally. It can therefore be either secret or face-nailed straight on to joists.
Larger areas
In order to ensure stability in larger areas - over 10m wide - we recommend fixing each tenth row in place. However, this is not a hard and fast rule; each installation needs to be judged on its own merits, so please refer to us for specific advice.
Guarantee
With the exception of use with under floor heating, Multi Top Floor XL® flooring is guaranteed for 12 months against delamination and plank defects when installed indoors in accordance with the above instructions. This guarantee will be void if the floor is at any time exposed to water spillages, relative humidity levels outside the range 25% - 80% or temperatures outside the range 15°C - 30°C.
Floating installations of Multi Top Floor XL® flooring are also guaranteed for 12 months against excessive cupping, gapping and movement as long as the installation and maintenance instructions are followed.
