This abridged 'Checklist' has been prepared for the benefit of many of our customers who are unaware of the myriad of practical and technical considerations that impact on their timber flooring decisions. It is by no means the complete A-Z of flooring decisions - rather a beginners' guide to help you get the ball rolling and feel a little more in control.

Laying new timber floors usually requires expert help. So, in the first instance just ask any of Ironwood's sales staff. If they cannot assist they will put you on to the experts who we work with. These experts will usually need to visit you in your own home and are more than capable of answering your queries. At Ironwood we are comfortable in referring you to the independent experts who we have worked with for years, who we know and trust.

As always, as an independent group of individuals these experts all have their own ideas, methodologies, preferred products and preferred finishes which they subscribe to and work with. Some of our ideas expounded below we know are a little old fashioned - due to advances with modern glues, the increase in insurance litigation and development of finishing products. We are therefore happy to debate and toss around the pros and cons regarding any of the following advice. Don't hesitate to call us.

TIMBER, CARPET OR TILE

The benefits of owning timber floors are many:

• The natural beauty of selected hardwoods, with their range of colours, features and tones, are guaranteed to enhance the floor of any home.
• Timber floors are non-allergenic. Timber provides an easy to clean surface, which is ideal for asthmatics and hay fever sufferers.
• When compared with alternative floor coverings, timber floors are very competitively priced and are a preferable investment option.
• Timber floors are considered to have the lowest maintenance requirement.
• Timber flooring is also considered to enhance the value of a home and is therefore a wise investment compared with other floor coverings.
• Timber floors are however noisier than carpet. There are however a variety of systems that are effective in reducing timber acoustics in multi-storey dwellings to acceptable body corporate levels. Speak to our staff if you would like more information on this subject, as it is a study within itself.

DURABILITY

Durability of our Australian hardwoods is without peer. We have some of the hardest timbers in the world - it is usually the finishes on the floors that are damaged, not the hardwearing timber itself, which can easily be re-sanded and polished.

• Ideally suited to high traffic areas.
• Unsuitable in high moisture areas such as bathrooms and laundries.
• Outside areas that get wet (decks, patios and verandas) better suited to decking timber rather than tongue and groove sections.

FLOOR HEIGHTS

• Timber floors come in several different thicknesses and use a variety of floor laying systems. Consider these:
  • standard floorboard thicknesses are 22mm (the most common), 19mm and 10mm;
  • floorboards can be laid on top of existing floors;
  • 10mm thick floorboards can be laid either directly onto existing floorboards or onto plywood;
  • floorboards can be laid onto plywood (changes the acoustic properties and protects floors from moisture).
• The thickness of a new timber floor:
  • affects transitions between carpeted and tile areas. Ideally the difference in height should be minimal. It is common practice to reduce the height difference from one surface to another by laying plywood sheets under carpeted areas;
  • will require your skirting boards to be raised and refitted;
  • impacts on the height of your doors and door jams; and
  • effectively reduces the height of a room (see also 'Floor Laying Systems' below).

EXISTING FLOORS

• It costs money to lift an existing floor.
• Overlay floorboards need to be laid in the same direction as the existing floor.
• Can only keep an existing floor if it does not squeak and creak and is reasonably even (it should not have rotting areas or any pest infestations).
• Over laying onto an existing floor provides a moisture buffer and make for a more solid sounding floor.

MOISTURE

• Most experienced floor layers use a moisture metre to check what they are doing. We advocate that all floor layers should use them. While the moisture content in a floor is moving it is not safe to glue and nail down. It is a basic and sensible precaution to measure the moisture content in a floor when it is first taken onsite and to again measure it after it has acclimatised for a few days / weeks (this period is sometimes subjective and dependant on the environment in which the floor is being laid and the system being used - that's why you should only use an experienced professional to lay your floors.)
• Drying, shrinkage and moisture expansion are the most significant issues that impact on floor laying and floor laying environments. They have to be carefully managed in order to successfully lay a floor. The simple rules are (a) never lay a floor during weather extremes; (b) make sure your new floor is fully acclimatised before it is glued and nailed; and (c) ensure your floor can be kept dry.
• Floors can only be laid when the roof is on and all wet trades have been completed.
• Floors need to be properly acclimatised. This is achieved by laying out floors in situ for up to 8 weeks (subject to external weather conditions). This is best achieved by laying the floor in position (not glued or nailed) until such time as it has acclimatised. If it is not possible to do this the floor should at least be 'stripped' out and stacked in the same room where it will be laid.
• We deliver floors with an approximate 12% moisture content. For every 1% change in the moisture content of the timber, over a width of 1 metre a timber floor will expand or contract by 2½mm. Therefore when dealing with floors several metres wide this movement can cause very significant issues that may result in floors 'doming' if the boards have no where to go or gaps appearing between the floor boards. To manage this expansion and shrinkage, timber floors have to be acclimatised to the local environment. (NB: the movement is mostly evident across the width of a board rather than the length).
• Concrete:- every 25mm of concrete slab requires approximately 1 month to dry before a timber floor can be laid - i.e. timber can only be laid on a 150mm slab after 6 months. Slabs must be moisture tested before laying down timbers (below 5.5%). There are moisture membrane products available to restrict the concrete from sweating. (Laying plastic down on the slab does help but does not overcome the issue of moisture expansion and contraction).
• Bearers:- the subsoil beneath the timber floor should be dry. If it is moist the sub-floor area needs to be well ventilated. You then should also consider:
  • laying the floor on plywood;
  • installing sub-floor vents and / or ventilation fans;
  • concreting the sub-floor area;
  • laying down plastic on the ground (though this does encourage termites);
  • repairing the drainage around your house and consideration of the effectiveness of storm-water overflow systems.

EFFECTS OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT

• Northerly or westerly sunlight directly onto a floor needs to be filtered. Direct sunlight can cause drying out of timber and subsequent shrinkage leading to gaps in the floorboards. Direct sunlight can also cause some coatings to darken excessively or to "yellow".

AIR CONDITIONING & CENTRAL HEATING

• It is essential to think about the effect that central heating / air conditioning systems have on floor microclimates. You should discuss the implications with your floor layer. Heaters and air conditioners both tend to dry the air. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the eventual microclimate is the same during the acclimatisation period as it will be after the floor is laid.

FLOOR LAYING SYSTEMS

• Concrete:- boards are normally attached using hardwood battens. It is possible to lay boards directly onto concrete slabs - this however is not the usual practice because people do not like to weaken their concrete slab by drilling it full of holes. Battens cost approx $7 per sqr mtr of flooring:
  • battens are usually 40mm x 19mm thick, and are spaced approximately 450mm - 600mm apart and are nailed / screwed or dyna-bolted directly into the concrete slab;
  • floorboards of different widths require different sized battens. up to 130mm in width can use a 19mm thick batten. Floorboards over 130mm in width require a 30mm thick batten (usually 45mm wide);
  • 15mm - 19mm CD plywood can be used in place of battens. Plywood can make levelling out of the sub floor a lot easier. In a plywood installation the sheets are typically "plugged" and "screwed" into the concrete and the flooring is nailed and glued to the plywood. This produces a more solid sounding floor, and can be better in terms of acoustic noise transfer. Importantly, the plywood provides a moisture insulation layer to protect your floorboards. It is however a little more expensive than battens (costs approx $14 per sqr mtr);
  • TABMA says that boards can only be secret nailed if 80mm wide or less (though with plywood and modern glues some of our floor layers are now comfortable secret nailing 150mm floors onto plywood and have been doing so for several years. The truth is that the traditional advice has not changed in the last 20 years);
  • floor boards have to be nailed and glued to the battens.
• Joists:- board are usually attached directly onto floor joists with nails and (flexible floor laying) glue. It is also possible to place plywood down first to act as a moisture insulator.
• Overlaying onto existing floors:- need to nail and glue floorboards, remove skirting boards, redo door heights and check transition steps from timber floor to concrete/carpet.
• Floor boards wider than 80mm should not be secret nailed - NB: secret nailing is usually only done on the tongue sections which have an offset profile.

FLOOR LAYERS, SANDERS AND POLISHERS

• Ironwood does not employ its own floor layers and polishers. We use a system whereby we refer our clients to a select few people who we know are reliable, are experienced in laying wideboard floors and have an exemplary track record for servicing our clients. We do provide you with an indication of what it will cost to get your floors laid, however this price is only indicative and will vary depending on the size of the area to be laid, the floor laying system involved, the difficulty and intricacy of the job. A floor layer therefore will need to visit your site before he can provide you with an accurate quote. You will need to negotiate and contract with the floor layer directly.
• Floor layers should be able to provide you with a reliable assessment of your sub-floor moisture situation, remedies to fix potential moisture issues and a timetable to get your floor completed.
• Always ask for, and check out floor layer references. We never follow-up client references and only respond to complaints that we hear about - you therefore cannot and should not rely on our referrals.

HOW TO GO ABOUT SELECTING YOUR FLOOR

• You need to come in and visit our showroom. We don't do it any other way. We have on display over 70 different timber samples and our display rack boards are prepared out of stock that we currently have on-hand. Our range of wideboard, narrow board, recycled and regrowth (new) timbers is the largest on display anywhere in Sydney.
• All you need to bring is a reliable estimate of the floor area (i.e. sqr mtrs) to be covered.
• Did you know that you should never select a timber based purely in its specie. We can show you display panels from the same specie that look entirely different. It is important that you receive the same coloured floor that you selected - therefore come in and see us and make sure of your selections.
• Once you have selected the timber you want call in a floor layer to visit you at your site and give you a quote.
• At Ironwood we have developed our own proprietary CHOICE timber selection system to ensure that our clients consider all the important and relevant selection criteria that may impact on their selections. Choosing timber is not just about Colour. There are other considerations - Hardness, Originality, Individuality, Climate and Environment. You can find out a little more about these various considerations at our website - www.ironwood.com.au.

FINISHES

Preferred finishes are very personal - even within Ironwood. About the only thing we all agree with is that floors should not be finished with high-gloss finishes. They detract from the natural look and feel of timber.

Here are the 2 most basic options, together with a few pro's and cons of each.

• POLYURETHANE: Available in both solvent based and water based forms. Hard-wearing, low maintenance and available in gloss, down to satin. Over time the finish will scratch. To reinvigorate the surface the floor needs to be resanded, and recoated. Even though it looks waterproof, polyurethane is slightly porous so when/if the floors do get wet ensure that you dry them. One criticism of polyurethane is that when it is applied to floors it does seep between the floor joints. In so doing it has the propensity to acts as a glue between the floorboards so when the floor expands and contracts it holds several boards together and larger than normal cracks open up on a single section, this is known as "clumping". Polyurethanes also have the tendency to "yellow" over time. However, non-yellowing additives are available and some new products advertise they will not yellow.
  
  Timing: After sanding, your floor will need to be sealed and will then have a layer of gloss polyurethane applied - both applications usually completed on the same day. The following day the final mat / satin or gloss finish can be applied, after a fine sanding. Each coat dries within 24 hours.
  
  
• TUNG OIL: Is considered to be more environmentally friendly than polyurethane. It soaks itself into the timber to a small degree so scratches do not show as readily. Repair is also easier using a rag with a bit of oil which will not leave the same rim mark as polyurethane. After a floor is sealed and the tung oil applied, the surface is sometimes waxed. The wax needs to be cleaned off with warm water and reapplied every few months. It is easier to maintain a high quality finish using this method for years to come - a more manual finish than polyurethane, though not as high gloss and hard wearing as polyurethane. Tung oil floors cannot later be covered with a polyurethane finish unless it is first resanded.
  
  Timing: 3 coats of tung oil are usually required. This process usually takes a full week to complete.
  
  
• NEWLY COATED FLOORS: After the above process is complete you can walk on the floors. You should however avoid wearing shoes as the soles act as a rough abrasive. 90% of curing takes place after the initial 24 hours so take care for at least 2 full weeks while the floor hardens. Wait 2 weeks before laying rugs and carpets on your floors.
• RECOATING FLOORS: We recommend that floors be lightly sanded and recoated every few years. How well you look after your floor and the amount of traffic it receives will determine how often you need to recoat your floors.
• ACRYLIC 'OVERCOAT' FINISHES: though they make wooden floors easier to maintain we do not advocate using acrylic finishes as they look unnatural and are easily scratched.