How should I clean my floor?
We have developed our own Appalaches cleaner. It can be used on all types of flooring we sell: ultra-matte, semi-gloss, brushed, and even oiled. It is recommended to use this product to clean your floor.
Sweep or vacuum regularly to prevent abrasives such as sand from damaging your floor. Never use wax, oil-based detergents, or other household cleaning products to clean your prefinished floor, as they may dull the floor’s shine. Use cleaning products specifically designed for hardwood floors. For more information, please refer to our maintenance guides.
Do Planchers des Appalaches products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs)?
Planchers des Appalaches finishes do not contain harmful chemicals and emit no VOCs that are harmful to health and the environment. Our finishes are free of chemicals harmful to human health. You can therefore use Appalaches floors with complete peace of mind.
My retailer suggests ordering a larger quantity of flooring than the amount required for the area to be covered. Why?
Depending on the site and type of installation, it is necessary to order 3 to 5% more flooring to compensate for loss caused by cuts.
It is also recommended to keep the remaining boxes of flooring for possible future repairs.
Can I glue the floor to the substrate?
Your Appalaches floor must be nailed or stapled to the subfloor.
What is the recommended subfloor for installing my Appalaches floor?
We recommend using 5/8″ plywood or 3/4″ OSB panels.
Can I install an Appalaches floor in my basement?
Solid hardwood flooring should not be installed in the basement or below grade. Appalaches engineered flooring, on the other hand, can be installed in the basement.
Can I turn off the heating or air conditioning when I go on vacation?
Absolutely not. You must maintain a relative humidity between 35 and 55%, and an average temperature between 65 and 75°F.
Should I acclimate the floor before installation?
Yes, it is absolutely necessary to acclimate the floor for 48 hours before installing it. The floor must be acclimated in the room where it will be installed (solid: relative humidity rate of 35-55%, and 35-70% for engineered). It is important to note that an acceptable moisture variation between the subfloor and the wood floor is 3 percent.
How long should I wait to walk on the floor after installation?
Since your Appalaches floor is prefinished, you can walk on it immediately after installation if it is nailed or stapled. If you opt for glue-down installation, please follow the glue manufacturer’s recommendations.
What can happen if I let my dogs run on the floor?
Appalachian Floors are highly resistant to scratches. However, it is important to note that no hardwood floor is completely pet-scratch proof.
How can I prevent furniture from damaging my floor?
Place felt protectors under furniture legs to protect your floor. Additionally, we recommend cleaning these felt pads regularly to prevent buildup of dust and other abrasives.
What is the industry standard distance for inspecting defects?
Inspection should be done standing with normal lighting. Light reflections from large windows can exaggerate the floor’s characteristics and distort its appearance.
What is a transition tongue?
This is a very thin strip of wood glued into the groove to reverse the installation direction. It can be made on-site with a table saw or router. This component may sometimes be necessary to change direction in a large room or in a bay window. Using this component allows you to transform a groove into a tongue and continue installation in the opposite direction.
Why is my floor cupping?
Cupping wood floor Hardwood floor that is cupping: the edges of the boards are higher than the center. This is not a manufacturing defect; it is caused by a change in the material’s moisture content that creates an imbalance. This imbalance can be caused by incorrect relative humidity levels, a subfloor that is too wet, a basement or crawl space that is too humid, or many other causes. These sources of moisture or dryness must be addressed before the floor’s moisture content can be reduced until it is in balance with a normal RH between 40-60%.
What is a micro-V?
Board edges molded at an angle around the perimeter of prefinished boards. These angles, also called V-joints, serve to accentuate the appearance of individual boards and give more depth to the floor. They also allow for easier product manufacturing and forgive small variations in the subfloor. Site-finished flooring is called square-edged because it does not have micro-V joints.
How do I clean urethane adhesive after installation?
First, clean the adhesive residue as soon as possible before it dries. Use Bostik adhesive cleaner or Sika wipes.
If the adhesive cannot be removed before it dries, test the following procedure somewhere inconspicuous or on a leftover piece.
Apply liquid urethane adhesive cleaner to the adhesive and a little around it. Let it penetrate for one hour to soften the adhesive. Once the adhesive has softened, use a plastic putty knife to separate the adhesive from the floor. Be careful not to mark the floor with the tool. Use a magic eraser to remove the adhesive cleaner residue from the floor. Do not rub too hard or you may increase the floor’s sheen. Then clean the area with a hardwood floor cleaner.
Will my floor have color variations?
Yes. Wood is a natural building material that will show color variations from one board to another. Each board will react differently to stain application. Lighter stains will mask the wood’s natural color less than dark stains. Even a dark stain, however, will be influenced by the wood’s natural color.
What is the difference between solid hardwood flooring, engineered flooring, and laminate?
Solid hardwood floors are made from a single piece of hardwood, generally 3/4″ thick. Boards are generally available in widths of 2.25 ″, 3.25″, and 4.25″.
Board lengths can vary between 9″ and 72″ depending on the grade and species chosen. Solid wood floors react strongly to relative humidity if it is not controlled through the use of a humidifier/dehumidifier to keep it between 40-60%.
They can be installed on the main floor and upper levels. Solid hardwood floors are generally nailed during installation.
The term engineered flooring describes floors that are composed of multiple layers of hardwood that are glued and pressed together. The most common widths are 4″, 5″, and 7″ with thicknesses of 1/2″ (11.4 mm) and 3/4” (18.4 mm).
These floors are less affected by humidity than solid hardwood. They can be installed on the main floor and upper levels (just like solid wood floors), but also in basements, over radiant heating floors, and on concrete slabs.
Places where traditional hardwood flooring is not recommended. Different installation methods are possible, such as nailing or gluing.
Laminate (floating floor) is composed of an HDF or MDF core topped with a photo film with a wood image.
Is it normal for my floor to show marks?
Yes, hardwood flooring scratches and dents. CAUSE: High heels, dropped objects, metal furniture glides, heavy objects moved without protection.
SOLUTION: Remove high heels indoors, use felt or rubber furniture glides. Move heavy objects on a sheet of plywood over a natural fiber carpet. Additional details are available in our maintenance guide.
Nailed or glued?
Nailed hardwood floor
A hardwood floor can only be nailed or stapled if the floor is installed over a plywood or OSB subfloor. A hardwood floor cannot be installed directly over a concrete subfloor.
Staples can also be used to install hardwood flooring, but this is not the preferred installation method as these floors can be noisier. Mechanically fastened floors should not be installed in homes where humidity and temperature are not controlled during part of the year, as severe variations can cause significant floor movement.
Glue-down floors
A glue-down floor can be installed over almost any type of subfloor. Glue-down floors can be refinished. Generally, solid wood floors are not glued down.
What is the difference between sawn and rotary-peeled wear layers (on engineered flooring)?
Sawn dry – The wood is sawn lengthwise in the same way as solid hardwood flooring. Sawn dry veneers are higher quality than rotary-peeled ones.
At Appalachian Floors, we use only sawn dry veneers directly at our engineered flooring plant.
Rotary-peeled – The log is immersed in water and then peeled or rotary-cut by a fixed blade to produce a thin sheet of wood. The patterns will be repeated from one sheet to another.
What are the differences between site-finished floors and prefinished floors?
Prefinished floors avoid problems caused by site finishing, such as particles falling into the drying finish or application marks.
Site-applied finish generally scratches more easily and will need to be refinished sooner.
Prefinished floors wear less quickly and are less prone to scratching.
What is the Janka hardness scale?
The Janka hardness test measures the pressure required to embed a 11.28mm (0.444 inch) steel ball halfway into a hardwood board.
The result then indicates the wood species’ ability to resist various forms of wear, which is determined by the density of that species’ fibers.
This is why, when it comes time to choose your hardwood floor, not only are the color and look of the wood important, but you must also take into account its hardness, wood grain, and stability, according to your needs.
