How To Treat and Handle Hardwood Flooring

A list of tips that will save you time, money and trouble.

Installation Safeguards for Hardwood Floors

ATTENTION INSTALLER:

• BEFORE INSTALLATION, Inspect the product for milling, grade, stain color or finish issues with a clear understanding of your client’s expectations. Any concerns must be directed to Baird Brothers before instillation. Baird Brothers Sawmill will not be liable for any cost of product, labor or replacement if issues of concern are not addressed prior to installation.

Baird Brothers Fine Hardwood Flooring

• This is a kiln-dried product. It is manufactured at 6% moisture content with a 2% allowance for pieces outside of that range, up to 8% maximum moisture content. To maintain these moisture levels in transit, do not transport or unload the material in rainy, snowy, or other excessively humid conditions. Be sure to cover the material with a tarpaulin or vinyl if conditions are either foggy or damp.

Prior To Installation

• Examine the job site for the following conditions. Any excessive moisture underneath/in the house, insufficient ventilation under the house, wet subfloors or subfloors with inadequate moisture barriers must be addressed prior to unloading any material in that area.

Crawl Space Construction

• A ground cover of 4-6 mil polyethylene is essential as a moisture barrier. Vents must be in place to provide adequate cross ventilation.

Concrete Slab Construction

• Proper on-grade construction requires both a vapor barrier between the gravel fill and the slab to prevent moisture entry through the slab, and a vapor barrier on top of the slab to prevent moisture from reaching the finished floor.

Subfloors Preferred

• For 5/8” or thicker plywood or dressed ¾” square edge boards (no wider than 6” laid on the diagonal) with maximum joist spacing of 16” o.c., minimum thickness ½” exterior sheathing grade plywood should be glued and properly nailed into place. NON-VENEERED PRODUCTS SUCH AS CHIP- BOARD ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.

Handling & Storage

• Flooring must be stored in a dry, well ventilated area.

Prior To Delivering Flooring

• The building must be closed-in with all outside windows and doors in place and sheetrock fully installed. All concrete, masonry and framing members, etc. should be thoroughly dry. Never pour concrete after flooring has been delivered.

After Delivery Of Flooring

• The material should be broken down into smaller lots and stored in the area in which it will be installed. Allow two to three days for the flooring to become acclimated to that particular job site. Temperature and humidity should be maintained at or near occupancy levels.

Waste & Defects

• The industry allowance for cuts and defects is 5%. It is the responsibility of the installer to check all pieces of flooring for any type of defect prior to the installation.

Tools & Tips For Installation

• A pneumatic air gun (with 1-1/2” or 2” nails) is recommended for ease of installation. Be sure not to over tighten the flooring during installation, as this is the most common cause of “cupped” boards. Start your rows with cut off pieces nailed evenly across floor joists.

After The Flooring Is Installed

• In order to maintain the beauty of the floor and to ensure that it remains in sound, structural condition – basements and crawl spaces must be kept consistently dry. Dampness in these areas must be avoided!

Recommended Maintenance

• All furniture which will be in contact with the floor should have felt pads that are maintained to help prevent surface scratching. You can sweep or dust mop your floor daily but only deep clean with appropriate cleaner as needed. Avoid wet-mops or steam mops that can dull the finish, or even damage the wood.

Tips:

Wood Expansion & Contraction Tips:

• Before installing hardwoods, the house should be closed in, with all outside doors and windows in place.
• The temperature and relative humidity should be maintained at occupancy levels for at least five days.
• Depending on weather conditions, plaster should be allowed to dry for at least a week or more, and sheet rock for at least two days.
• Excess moisture anywhere in the house should be allowed to evaporate.
• Use a humidifier in winter and an air conditioner and dehumidifier in the summer to maintain relative humidity between 40 to 50 percent.

Measuring For Hardwood Flooring:

• When ordering hardwood flooring you'll need the square feet of the area to be covered - to find the square feet simply measure the length of the area by the width of the area.  The result will be the number of square feet you'll need to order.  We recommend ordering 5% more than actual room size(s) to allow for waste when cutting to fit.

Door Care & Finishing:

• CARE AND FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS FOR INTERIOR DOORS & PRE-HUNG UNITS
• Deliver door(s) to building site after plaster or cement is dry.
• Handle all doors with clean gloves and equipment.
• Avoid dragging doors across one another or across other surfaces.
• Store flat on a level surface in a dry, well-ventilated area; avoid stacking on end. (Door slabs only.)
• Cover doors to keep clean; allow air circulation.
• Avoid subjecting doors to abnormal heat, extreme dryness, humid conditions or sudden changes in climate. They should be conditioned to average prevailing relative humidity of the locality prior to hanging.
• If doors are to be stored on the job site for more than a week; the entire door, including the top and bottom edges, must be sealed.
• Pre-hung doors should be stored standing up, but raised off any concrete floor, cover and seal... same as above.
• Surface should be clean and dry. All doors are mill-finished and require finish-sanding at job site.
• Clean doors thoroughly after sanding to remove all dust or foreign material. (Small amounts of grease or oil can be wiped clean with mineral spirits.)
• Make sure all surfaces are sealed and finished, including the top, bottom and side edges of stiles and rails. Incomplete finishing will increase the probability of warpage or twisting.

Terms:

S4S Lumber :

• S4S LUMBER (surfaced 4 sides - sanded 1)

Flooring Terms:

• SE - Square Edge Flooring: flush surface (no groove between pieces). Must be sanded and finished AFTER being nailed down to achieve a flush finish. Not available pre-finished.
• MV - Micro V-Groove Flooring: micro-v groove between pieces.
• VG - V-Groove Flooring: slight v-groove between pieces.
• EM - End-Matched Flooring: solid random length (16" - 54") pieces tongue & groove 4 sides.
• FJ - Finger-Jointed: smaller pieces joined together to make an 8 foot length, tongue & groove 2 sides, ends are square cut.
• CH - Character Grade - The flooring will have more variation in color and texture and contain more knots giving a more rustic appearance.

BairdBrothers.com
800.732.1697

7060 Crory Rd. • Canfield, OH 44406
330.533.3122 • Fax: 330.533.0781