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Yes, engineered flooring is made up of real wood veneers (generally3, 5 or 7 plys) . The graining of each layer runs in the opposite direction of the layer above and below it, thus acting as a check and balance system, keeping the wood from expanding or shrinking too far in one direction.
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Laminate: pressed particle board with a photograph of wood applied to the surface.
Laminate flooring contains NO actual wood. It can be installed almost anywhere, using a click together or glue installation. Solid: Generally a 3/4” thick solid piece of wood. It can be installed on or above grade by a staple or nail down application. Engineered: Flooring made up of layers of real wood veneers. The graining of each layer runs in the opposite direction of the layer above and below it, thus acting as a check and balance system, keeping the wood from expanding or shrinking too far in one direction. Engineered floors are ideal for areas of high humidity or dramatic temperature changes. It can be installed above, on or below grade using glue, nail, staple or floating applications. Having a child can cause first-time parents to re-examine many aspects of their home to ensure that it is as safe as possible. While there are several easily recognizable safety precautions, such as protecting electrical outlets or sharp corners, many homeowners may overlook the importance of choosing a safe flooring option. CBS affiliate KVAL reports that many toxic chemicals can make their way into the home through the floor.
Vinyl products are a huge concern," expert Ivy Sager-Rosenthal told the news source. "So that would include vinyl flooring, vinyl wallpaper. Vinyl is just not a healthy choice for families." Nonprofit group Healthy Stuff.org conducted an extensive study of more than 3,000 samples of flooring and wallpaper and found that many contained high levels of harmful metals and chemicals. For many new homeowners, one of the first areas that is addressed is how to furnish the floor. While some may think that wall-to-wall carpeting is the ideal choice, experts say that there are a number of drawbacks to the traditional floor covering. The San Jose Mercury News reports that hardwood flooring is a better choice for a wide array of reasons.
One of the largest advantages that hardwood flooring boasts over carpeting is how much easier it is be kept clean. Dirt and dust can easily become trapped in carpeting, which can have a negative impact on the indoor air quality. Conversely, hardwood is easy to clean as regular sweeping can capture most dirt and debris. Along with being easily kept clean, hardwood flooring offers a pleasing aesthetic choice as well. The news source reports that real estate agents find that homes with hardwood flooring are much more popular than those outfitted with other materials. Millstone Wood Flooring warrants to the original purchaser that its factory applied surface finish will not wear through or separate from the floor for a period of 25 years from purchasing date, when used under normal residential traffic conditions. ENGINEERED STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY A LIFETIME WARRANTY
Millstone Wood Flooring warrants to the original purchaser that its Engineered Factory Finished Hardwood Flooring will not delaminate (separation between plies) in normal environmental conditions, when used in residential applications, for a lifetime period. Tools & Materials:
- Power saw, hammer, chalk line and tool listed below - Staple Gun: Stanley Mark 3 - Staples: 1 1/2” Staples For 1/2” for MIFS or 1-1/2” Power cleats for Model 445 Sub floor & Preparation: Sub floors should be flat to 3/16” per 8’ radius. If sub floor prep work is required, “highs” should be ground down and the “lows” filled with an underlayment patch. Acceptable sub floors are the following: Acceptable sub floors are the following:
Tools & Materials: Hammer, hand or power saw, chalk line, proper adhesive (see below) and proper trowel (see Figure 1 below)
Franklin # 821 or # 811 Urethane Adhesives Suggested Notched Trowels: Engineered Plank Flooring (over level sub floor) use a 3/16”w x ¼”d x ½’ c-c V - Notch Engineered Plank Flooring (over un-level sub floor) use a ¼” c ¼” x ¼” square notch Thoroughly Clean Sub floor: Remove paint, wax, oil, plaster, “sheetrock Mud” and other foreign materials as well as other surface irregularities. All previous or existing glues or adhesives must be removed before installation. #3 1/2 grit open coat paper may need to be used to grind a concrete sub floor. This will loosen any dirt, loose concrete or contaminates. Sweep or vacuum thoroughly. Sub floor Preparation: If sub floor is concrete, check for dryness. Use the standard rubber mat or taped plastic test. Remove after 24 hours, and then visually inspect the floor for moisture. If moisture is present, DO NOT LAY. All concrete sub floors on or below grade can also be tested using a Delmhorst moisture meter, Model G-40, Tramex Concrete Encounter or Wagner Concrete meter. (Check floor in several areas). Concrete sub floors must be clean, level, sound and of sufficient compression strength (3000 lbs. P.S.I.) being sure that the surface is not slick. Sections not level such as waviness, trowel marks, etc. is to be eliminated by grinding or the use of a leveling compound. Level to 3/16” in an 8’ radius. In addition to cement sub floors, our products can be installed over dry, flat wood sub floors such as plywood. If the plywood is used as an overlay over an existing sub floor, the thickness of the overlay material must be such as to yield a total 3/4” sub floor thickness. New wood type sub floors should also be checked for moisture using a moisture meter. In general, wood or plywood sub floors should not exceed 12% moisture content or 3% moisture content difference between the wood flooring and sub floor. Document your readings if needed in the future. Sub floor irregularities and undulations may cause any wood flooring installation to develop hollow spots between the flooring and sub floor. These hollow spots are NOT the result of any wood flooring manufacturing defect and are NOT covered by the warranty. As part of your sub floor preparation, remove any existing base, shoe mold, or doorway thresholds. These items can be replaced after installation, but should be replaced in such a way to allow at least 1/4” room for expansion and to avoid difficult scribe cuts. This is easily done by placing a piece of the actual flooring on the sub floor as a height guide for your handsaw or jamb saw. NOTE: Normally, expansion space around the perimeter of the room should be the same distance from the wall as the thickness of the hardwood flooring. See NWFA guide for details. Suggested Layout Working Line: For 3” material, snap a chalk line 30 1/4” from the wall on the door side of the room. This small area will be your working space and the last area to be installed. Temporarily nail straight board on chalk line. See figure 2 below. Wet-Lay Installation: When using this method, flooring is to be placed into “wet” adhesive and workers do not work on installed wood. The installation begins with the correct trowel (see above). Spread out the adhesive holding the trowel at a 60° angle. Engage the side tongue of a plank into the groove side of a plank in the installed area. Maneuver board in place so it is flush against the side plank and the end plank. After three to four rows of flooring are installed, tape rows together with removable 3M blue masking tape to prevent the floor from moving. Flooring that is not flat must be weighted to ensure good contact. Additional adhesive may be applied to fill minor voids. As you work, immediately clean any adhesive off pre-finished flooring with Bostik Hand & Tool Towels, Bostik AR 2000 or mineral spirits. Be careful not to rub adhesive residue too aggressively as it will cause a “glossy” halo in the factory finish. After the large part of the room is installed, go to starting area, remove the nailed starter boards, and complete the installation working out of the room. If you must walk on the floor, secure rows with blue tape and step carefully. When installation is complete, use wedges to hold the floor tight. Roll floor with 100 lb roller to insure transfer of adhesive. Installed floor will begin to hold tight in 8 hours, depending on humidity and temperature. Let installed floor cure for 16 before exposing to heavy traffic, and remove wedges prior to installing molding. (Consult with Bostik Findley to confirm.) When choosing the floating method for engineered wood flooring, the subfloor must be flat to within 3/16” per 10’ radius. The Millstone Hardwood is not warranted for damage due to movement or flexing of the floor when the floating installation method is used.
Millstone Wood Floors installed using the floating method can be installed above grade, on grade, or below grade. When installing over concrete or below grade, a moisture barrier of 6 – 8 mil plastic sheeting is required. Loose lay the sheeting with the seams overlapped 8 inches, and lapped up the wall 4 inches. The plastic can be trimmed at the walls after the molding is installed. Be sure to tape the seams with a plastic packaging tape. Once the sub floor preparation is complete, and the 6 – 8 mil plastic sheeting is installed, you are ready to install Healthier Choice / Sound Solution Underlayment. Determine the direction that the flooring will run and install the underlayment the same lengthwise direction you plan to install the flooring. Roll out the underlayment butting the edges being sure not to overlap the edges. Be sure to tape the seams with plastic packaging tape. Once the decision has been made as to the direction the flooring will run, be sure to allow for expansion space (thickness of flooring) around the perimeter of the room. Begin by snapping a chalk line 5” plus the expansion space off the starting wall. If the starting row is out of square, it is recommended that the first row of boards be scribed to allow for expansion, and a straight working line. Use wedges to secure the planks during installation at both the side and ends of each row. Always work with the tongue facing away from the starting wall. Before starting to glue planks, dry lay (no glue used) a trial layout of the first two rows of flooring. Working from left to right, install planks so that the tongue faces out. Leave a minimum of expansion space the thickness of the floor that is being installed, between flooring and wall. When reaching the end of the first row, cut the plank as necessary to fit. (An easy way to mark the last plank in the row is to place the plank in position with the side tongue against the side of the previously laid plank and the end of the plank against the spacing wedge. Mark across the plank with a pencil and cut along this line). Insert spacers around all vertical walls every 8” to maintain the expansion space between the flooring and wall. Look for walls that are not straight and use spacers as needed to keep the flooring square and straight. Apply Franklin Titebond Tongue and Groove Glue in the groove of each plank as you install. Begin 2” from the end and place a 1/8” bead of glue the entire length of the board stopping approximately 2” from the end of the board. Be sure to fully glue the end joint also. (You may want test the glue application on some scrap pieces prior to installation to ensure proper glue transfer and coverage). Failure to follow proper glue application will void all warranties. Stagger a minimum of 6” between end joints of adjacent planks end joints should not repeat visually across the floor. The floor can be installed in successive rows, or with a stair step approach. We recommend using the stair step method to ensure a tight fit for the first few rows and limiting board separation during the initial set-up. Always use a random pattern to begin the installation. Most often the last row does not fit in width. When this occurs, follow this simple procedure. Lay a row of boards unglued, tongue toward the wall directly on top of the last row installed. Take a piece of engineered floor with the face down and the tongue side against the wall. The resulting line gives the proper width for the last row which when cut can be wedged into place using a pull bar. Be sure that when the installation is finished the wedges are removed and the expansion spaces are covered with the appropriate moldings. Never attach any moldings to a floating floor. This will cause an obstruction that could cause a failure of an otherwise perfect installation. Remember, the use of Healthier Choice Underlayment and Franklin Titebond Tongue and Groove Glue will help make the installation much easier. Be sure and follow the manufacturer’s instructions . INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENGINEERED WOOD FLOORING IMPORTANT! Inspect ALL materials carefully BEFORE installation. Warranties & Claims DO NOT cover materials with visible defects once they are installed. It is the responsibility of the installer/owner to determine if the job site sub floor and job site conditions are environmentally and structurally acceptable for wood flooring installation. We decline any responsibility for wood floor failure resulting from or connected with the sub floor, subsurface, job site damage or deficiencies after hardwood flooring has been installed. Time at which to install hardwood flooring: Lay only after sheetrock and tile work are thoroughly dried and all but the final woodwork and trim have been completed. The building interior should have been dried and seasoned with a comfortable working temperature of at least 60° F and a relative humidity of 45-55% should exist during installation. Most flooring is priced by the square foot but is sold by the box.
The square footage is the actual measurement of the area to be covered by flooring. A waste factor of 5% must be added to the amount of square footage of flooring needed to allow for cutting waste. Example: 10′ x 15′ room 10’x 15’ = 150 sq. ft. 5% x 150 sq. ft. = 7.5 sq. ft. = 8 sq ft Total sq. ft needed = 158 sq. ft. Sq. ft. per box = 18 sq. ft. 158/18 = 8.8 = 9 boxes Number of boxes purchased = 9 boxes The cutting waste also allows for some minor defects if any in the wood to be cut out. Solid ¾” - Nail/Staple down – 15 lb felt paper recommended.
All Engineered - Nail/Staple/Float FLOAT using a leading brand 2 in 1 (moisture barrier) floating floor pad required with leading brand PVA 2 floating floor adhesive. Solid Floors CANNOT be Floated. NO! Millstone Hardwood Flooring solid floors are not designed to float. Any of the Millstone Engineered lines will FLOAT but the solids DO NOT FLOAT.
How long should I allow for on site acclimation of my engineered wood floor before installing?1/22/2011 Engineered hardwood flooring generally does not require the detailed and strict acclimation required for solid wood floors. The thinner the wear layer the less acclimation required. However, we do recommend that all installers check the temperature and humidity of the environment which the flooring will be installed. The engineered flooring should be at a moisture content suitable for the environment which it will be installed. The “Equilibrium Moisture Content Chart” provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is available in our installation instructions. This should be used to determine the proper moisture content of the engineered wood floor.
Millstone Hardwood Collection offers a great finish with U.V. Cured Urethane and Aluminum Oxide including great species of Birch, Maple, Hickory, American Cherry, American Walnut, Mandarin Walnut and full line of matching colors moldings.
When it comes to hardwood, Millstone Hardwood floors are considered to be the top of the line when it comes to flooring. And many people who have had them installed will tell you that as far as quality goes, they pretty much get 5 stars consistently. The best part about Millstone Flooring is that they have a huge wood floor selection that will likely satisfy anyone's tastes; from solid wood to pre-engineered styles and all of their hardwood comes in a variety of stains and finishes.
MillstoneFloor.com would like to introduce you to The Millstone Collection, a distinctive and elegant line of fine hardwood flooring. This website is dedicated primarily to the Millstone Collection. Our product is a best seller for it's high quality, beauty and affordability and we'll be happy to answer any questions.
Millstone Hardwood Flooring dealer CheaperFloors.com is the largest specialty retailer of Millstone Hardwood flooring in the United States.
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