Floorbit Installation Manual Herringbone

Floorbit Installation Manual

For Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone Only

Golden rules

Install your floor between 18 and 35°C and a subfloor temperature of above 15°C.

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone has been designed for indoor installations, preferably at normal room temperature, and should not be installed over any floor with a sump pump or in a room with a floor drain.

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone cannot be installed in solariums, seasonal porches, camping trailers and boats.

Heavy objects (for example a heavy stove, electrical accumulators, built-in cabinets and other fixed objects) should not be installed on top of the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor. It is recommended to install the stove/accumulator and other heavy objects first, then install the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone around and respect the expansion gaps.

If you have any concerns about the temperature of your floor, please contact the Floorbit customer service.

Make sure that you leave an expansion gap of 12mm.

Never block the floor.

If heavy/fixed objects (ex. kitchen, kitchen island, built-in cabinets, heavy stoves) are on the floor they act as a wall, so the minimum expansion should be foreseen there.

Floating installation should stay floating!

In most cases, you need an expansion profile between different rooms.

However, the use of an expansion profile is mandatory when the maximum room size is exceeded.

For standard residential use (15-35°C), the maximum room size is 10mx10m.

Larger rooms require additional expansion gaps and expansion profiles.

IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A GOOD RESULT, WE ADVISE ALL PARTIES TO FOLLOW ALL GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.

National regulations regarding floor application must always be followed.

Site and installation conditions must always comply with the relevant national regulations and installation standards.
In case the national standards or regulation conflicts with the manufacturer’s recommendations, the most stringent of the two prevails.

Preparation

Always store and transport Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floors carefully to prevent distortions. Store and transport the boxes on a flat surface in neat stacks. Never store the boxes upright or in moist or in dusty rooms. Do not store the boxes in very cold (< 5°C) or very warm (> 35°C) or in humid places. Install your floor between 18 and 35°C and a subfloor temperature of above 15°C.

Floorbit floors can be bought in different formats, decors and qualities. Make sure you have received the correct flooring that you ordered before starting the installation. It is always a good idea to store the end labels together with your purchasing receipt.

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone has been designed for indoor installations, preferably at normal room temperature (= 18-30°C), and should not be installed over any floor with a sump pump or in a room with a floor drain. Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone cannot be installed in solariums, seasonal porches, camping trailers and boats.

Never block the floor.

If heavy/fixed objects (ex. kitchen, kitchen island, built-in cabinets, heavy stoves, electrical accumulators, door frames, stairs and others) are on the floor, they act as a wall.

Heavy objects should be installed first and not placed on top of the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor.
For heavy objects with radiant heat, it is recommended to install the stove/accumulator first, then install the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone around and respect the expansion gaps.

The Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor must be able to move around the heavy objects to avoid open joints and separating planks. The expansion gaps size must be respected around all heavy/fixed objects. A floating installation should ALWAYS stay floating!

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone is a floating floor and should never be adhered to the subfloor.

If the door frame is installed after the floor installation, please make sure that a minimum 6.35mm vertical gap is left between the base of the doorframe and the surface of the floor.

The type of subfloor, its quality and its preparation have a big influence on the final installation result. If the subfloor is not appropriate for the installation of Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone then necessary actions should be taken. Contact your Floorbit dealer, who will be more than happy to help you. Be aware that unevenness in the subfloor may leave marks and can create gaps in your Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor. The subfloor should be stable and firmly fixed.

Furthermore, it cannot be soft, damaged or loose laid.

Remove existing and/or too soft floor coverings like carpet, needle felt and cushion vinyl. Floating floor coverings need also to be removed.

Undercut door frame and wallbase. Slide the flooring at least 6.35mm (1/4") underneath the door frame and wallbase. Also leave a concealed 12mm minimum expansion space under each. Never undercut metal door frames. Cutting tip: to undercut the door frame, lay a scrap piece of flooring next to the door frame and lay the saw flat on top of the flooring so that the saw easily cuts to the height of the plank.

Make sure that the subfloor is dry, flat, stable, clean and free from grease and chemical substances. If needed, scrape off and clean up old adhesives. Prior to installation, carefully remove all debris (including nails), sweep and vacuum. Repair major surface imperfections and large cracks. It is recommended to remove old skirtings and to install new ones after the installation of the floor.

Cement joints between tiles or other gaps of more than 2mm in depth and 5mm in width should be levelled.

For Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floors: any subfloor unevenness of more than 1mm over a length of 20cm must be levelled out. The same applies to unevenness of more than 4mm over a length of 2m.

Bumps should be removed by sanding or scraping.

If an appropriate levelling compound is required, check if a primer or sealer is needed.

In case of installation on a wooden subfloor, please remove any existing floor covering first. No signs of mould and/or insect infestations should be present. If there is moisture in the wood-based subfloor or there is no proper moisture barrier below the wood-based subfloor it has to be removed first. Reason is that the wood will rot after time because the moisture is blocked by the new flooring and its underlay. Make sure the subfloor is level and nail or screw down any loose parts. Apply a suitable wooden floor panel (eg. plywood), level floor, or use self-levelling compound on top for a perfect subfloor preparation. The levelling boards must be fixed with an appropriate glue or every 30cm with screws. Make sure that the moisture content of all the floor layers (wooden subfloor + subfloor (eg. cement screed, anhydrite, etc. )) are lower than the mentioned values below. The moisture content of the wooden subfloor must not exceed 10%.

In case of installation on a mineral subfloor, it must be permanently and sufficiently dry prior to installation. Installation on cement subfloor requires a CM < 2.5% (75% RH). An installation on anhydrite subfloor requires a CM < 0.5% (50% RH).

Always measure, record and keep your moisture content results.

A new cement screed floor must dry at least 1 week per 1cm (3/8”) thickness up to 4cm (1-1/2”). Thicknesses over 4cm (1-1/2”) require twice as much drying time. For example, a 6cm (2-1/2”) concrete subfloor must dry at least 8 weeks. For renovations, always measure the moisture content in all the different subfloor-layers and make sure that they are lower than the mentioned values.

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone is moisture resistant, however, best practice should be followed to avoid bacteria and mould growth under the floorcovering: Direct-to-earth mineral subfloors must have an effective damp proof membrane (DPM) in accordance with the national standards for the installation of resilient floor coverings. In most cases such a DPM has been installed during the building process, if not, post-construction solutions are available on the market. Where necessary, follow the manufacturer’s detailed instructions for the installation of a surface-applied DPM and the use of self-levelling compound.

Separate rooms/zones with different temperature or temperature behaviour, must be installed with a transition profile with respect of the expansion gaps of 12mm on each side.

For concrete subfloors, install a vapour barrier with overlapped seams of 2cm or more and seal with a waterproof cellophane tape.

Install Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone over single layer of 2mm underlayment appropriate for laminate floors. Make sure to follow the underlay’s installation instructions, taking special care to seal all foam edges with sealing tape and repair all rips and perforations, if any, in the underlayment and vapour barrier prior to flooring installation.

The following standard tools are needed: hammer, saw with blades for plastic (a jig-saw, hand circular saw, hand saw or cross-cut saw), mouth mask (during sawing), measurer, safety glasses, thin rope, gloves and a pencil. Besides that, you also need the following accessories: a pulling iron, spacers, a tapping block and suitable maintenance products.

The use of accessories other than Floorbit accessories may cause damage to your Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor. In such cases, the guarantee provided by Floorbit will be void. For this reason we advise to use only Floorbit accessories, which have been specially designed and tested for use with your Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor.

Choose the correct profile to cover the expansion gaps depending on the situation.

In most cases you need a transition profile between different rooms.

However, the use of an expansion profile is mandatory when the maximum room size is exceeded.

For standard residential use (15-35°C), the maximum room size is 10mx10m.

A subfloor control joint can be covered with Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone flooring. Please check the subfloor flatness requirements above.

Building movement joints must be transposed to the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor and a profile must be used.

Check all planks before and during installation in optimal daylight conditions under the angle of light reflection.

Check that the colours correspond to those ordered, the quantities are correct and no visible damage to the boxes.

Check Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone during installation for any visible defects. Do not install any planks that display any imperfections.

Be aware that some designs have a natural variation within them.

Defective planks must never be used.

An installed plank is considered as accepted and cannot be claimed.

Installation

Before starting carefully measure the length and the width of the room to plan a precise lay-out to achieve a balanced appearance of the floor. This will ensure also you won’t end up with the last row being too narrow. We advise to make sure that the smallest pieces are always wider than 200 mm. To assure this, you can slide the middle line of the floor.

During installation, make sure that you mix the floor planks (and floor boxes) sufficiently so that there are not too many identical, lighter or darker planks next to each other.

To shorten the length of the plank with a straight cut, you can cut the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floors with the decor side face up, using a jigsaw. In order to cut the plank, draw a straight line along which you will be cutting, and use the jigsaw to make a firm cut in the surface. You never need to completely cut through the plank. Then break off the plank using both hands. For any other cuts, you need to saw the planks. Depending on the type of saw, position your plank with the decor side face-up or face-down. Before making the actual cut, use a leftover piece to determine how the cleanest cut can be obtained (decor side face-up or face-down).

Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone flooring has a locking system and is intended as a floating floor; planks should not be bonded to the subfloor, but in addition to that, it is not allowed to glue the joints between the planks.

Only for a plank replacement, it is allowed to glue the joints between the planks locally.

A herringbone design should typically be started from a central axis. Use a chalk line or straight edge to mark the centre of your room, creating the ‘Y’ line.

Place your first plank (1) at an angle of 45°. Draw parallel to the “Y” line, extra “L” and “R” lines to mark the corners. Also draw an extra reference line “X”.

Place your first plank (1). Use another plank (3) and attach it to the first by inserting it into the groove at an angle of +-20°. Do not fold it down. Use plank (3) as a guide to install plank (2). Let plank (3) extend past plank (1) with ± 5mm at the bottom. Now insert plank (2) into the short side of plank (1) and slide it till it is stopped by plank (3). Now fold down plank (2).

Now repeat the same method with plank (3) and (4). Plank (4) now serves as a stopper for plank (3). Fold down plank (3). Continue this process until you finish the centre rows.

Make sure that the joint is closed tightly. Use hammer and tapping block to gently tap and ensure the locking mechanism is correctly engaged.

Work your way down. Do not forget to tap gently to perfectly engage the joint. Use a straight edge or additional reference line to ensure that the rows remain straight! Repeat this line with new rows.

Having placed multiple planks in the centre row. Fill the open triangle close to the wall. Use the spacers to maintain the correct expansion gap between the wall and the floor. It is recommended to place some unopened boxes (or other type of weight) to keep the already installed section in place.

Now work your way up the pattern.

Connect the long end first by lifting at +/-20°.
Now gently tap the short end of the plank with a tapping block and a hammer.
Both ends are closed now. However it’s wise to check, just to be sure, that during the manipulation no small gaps have formed.

Place your planks in the last row in the position as you were to continue a normal row. Now turn one plank 180° and place the corner against the wall minus the distance of the spacer. You now can draw the cutting line and cut off the surplus.

Turn back the plank 180° and install it. Repeat this with each individual plank.

Once finished, remove the spacers. Your floor can now expand and contract freely.

Tips:

It is advisable to sit with your knees or stand with your feet on the already installed planks, to ensure that they don’t start shifting during further installation.
In order to make the start of the installation easier, assemble the first 10 planks away from the wall, so you can sit on the planks during the assembly. Then slide the first 10 planks at the wanted position close to the wall with distance spacers in place. Take a thin rope and hold it alongside the installed planks to check and adjust the straightness of your installed first rows. It is recommended to make additional checks of the straightness, in order to confirm the straightness during the installation. Remember to use the distance spacers for the expansion gap of 12mm along the perimeter.

After the installation of each plank and before continuing with the next plank, check each short and long side joint to make sure there are no height differences and no openings.

Continue the installation like this - row by row - towards the end of the room. The easiest way to work is to sit on the already installed planks.

Room temperature varies continuously, so it is vital that the floor is able to expand and contract. For this reason, make sure you leave an expansion gap of 12mm on all sides of the floor, around pipes, thresholds and under door frames. Expansion gaps can be finished by means of a skirting that is attached to the walls or with an end profile.

In most cases, you need a transition profile between different rooms. However, the use of a transition profile is mandatory when the maximum room size is exceeded.

For standard residential use (15-35°C), the maximum room size is 10mx10m.

Larger rooms require additional expansion gaps and expansion profiles.

Finishing

Remove all spacers. Inspect the final surface of the installed floor.

Install the skirting against the wall. Never attach the skirting to the floor. This method allows the floor to expand and contract under the skirting.

Do not fill the expansion gaps with silicone or other kit.

If you would like to finish your floor waterproof, read the instructions below “FINISHING OF THE FLOORING IN WET AREAS” before installing the skirtings.

When the new floor meets a threshold or a doorway, we recommend undercutting the door frames or mouldings. To secure the correct cut, turn a plank upside down with the underlay below, and place it on the floor up to the door frame. This ensures that the cut will be made at the correct height. Then place a multi tool or hand saw flat against the plank and simply cut through the frame. When sawing the planks make sure that the expansion gap under the door is 12mm. Remove the cut out pieces and vacuum away any debris.

Install the plank on the long side, keeping the short side close to the undercut moulding. Then slide the plank underneath the undercut towards the already installed plank in order to close the short end joint. Use the pulling iron and/or tapping block to secure absolute tightness in the long and short joint.

If you cannot lift the plank, use the pulling iron and/or tapping block to tap the planks together.

In rows where there is a pipe, make sure the pipe falls exactly in line with the short side of two planks. Take a drill bit with the same diameter as the pipe plus 24mm.

Click the planks together on the short side and add a third plank on the long side for stability. Drill a hole centred on the joint between the two planks.

Now you can install the planks.

In rows where there is a double pipe, proceed as follows:

Measure where the pipe will come through the plank. Don’t forget to allow room for the expansion gap. Measure the diameter of the pipe plus 24 mm for the expansion.
Drill through the plank where the pipe will come through.
Extend the hole to the edge of the plank.
Lay the plank around the pipe.

Then, using an appropriate wood glue along the cut edges of the piece you cut out, glue the piece in place. Be sure no glue comes between the cut out piece and the subfloor.

For a perfect finish around pipes, use pipe covers (floating placement).

In places where it is difficult to install the planks with the tapping block, you can tap them together with the pulling iron and a hammer.

Finishing of the flooring in wet areas

This installation instruction can prevent water infiltration around the perimeter and obstacles of your Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone. Following these instructions carefully ensures the water-resistant floor will perform in most applications/room settings. These instructions will help to seal the perimeter of the floor preventing water infiltration into the coreboard in high-risk areas - i.e. areas with risk of liquid spillages on the surface, direct access to outside, etc.

The floor is not suitable for use in *damp spaces* i.e. within shower enclosures, pool areas, saunas, and rooms with built-in drainage.

Please note that some national regulations do not allow floating installation in wet rooms, such regulations regarding floor applications must always be followed. For a water-resistant finishing, use the Floorbit Sealant and the Floorbit RollSkirt.

Sealing the perimeter expansion gaps combines a compressible PE foamstrip (RollSkirt) and the Floorbit Sealant. Place the RollSkirt in the expansion gaps and apply the Floorbit Sealant under slight angle towards the floor. Make sure that the Floorbit Sealant covers about 1 to 2 mm of the wall, the whole RollSkirt and 1 to 2 mm of the floor.

Tip: To make work more clean, remove any excess Floorbit Sealant immediately.

Install the skirting with Floorbit Glue against the wall.

For a perfect finish around pipes, use pipe covers and the Floorbit Sealant, taking into account the expansion of 12mm. Place the RollSkirt in the expansion gaps. Apply Floorbit Sealant on the RollSkirt. Then place the pipe covers in a floating installation.

Maintenance

You can immediately walk on your new Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor after installation.

Appropriate maintenance procedures will help to preserve the appearance and will extend life of a Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor. The frequency of maintenance will depend on the amount and type of traffic, degree of soiling, the floor colour and type.

For full maintenance instructions and recommended products we refer you to www.floorbit.com/pages/care-and-maintenance-guide.

For dry maintenance, we advise a mop or vacuum cleaner. Make sure the vacuum cleaner is equipped with soft wheels and a special brush to avoid scratches on your floor.

Do not use a steam cleaner on the Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone.

Your Waterblock Pro 12.6mm Herringbone floor can be cleaned with a damp or wet mop. Never use natural soap detergents since this will leave a sticky film on the surface which will collect dust and dirt and will be difficult to remove. The same with cleaning agents containing abrasive particles, these might matt down the surface. It is always important not to overdose any cleaning agent, as this will lead to a build up of cured cleaning agent which is difficult to remove.

Bad maintenance can damage your floor and will void the warranty.

For further information on how to clean and maintain your floor, please visit www.floorbit.com/pages/care-and-maintenance-guide. For specific cleaning instructions in commercial applications or projects, you can contact Floorbit customer service.

Always remove spilled liquids from the floor immediately.

Protect furniture and chair legs. Use (office) chairs type W and seats with soft wheels that are suitable for a laminate floor and/or use a desk mat that is suitable for laminate.

Never drag heavy items or furniture over the floor, but lift them up.

Make sure furniture legs have a large floor surface and are provided with non-staining floor protectors. The taller and/or wider the furniture feet are, the better the weight distribution on the floor will be, and the less chance there is to damage the floor.

Place non-rubber backed mats at all outside entrances to prevent dirt, grit and soil from being transferred onto your floor. This will reduce damages, the maintenance requirements and extend the life of your floor. Please note that prolonged contact with some rubber types and/or latex can cause a permanent stain.

Do not allow cigarettes, matches or other very hot items to contact the floor as this may cause permanent damage.

Ensure that the indoor climate conditions are always kept > 5°C and preferably between 18-30°C. It is also important to keep the subfloor in the temperature range mentioned above.