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How
much will my floor cost? |
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How
long will it take to fit? |
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Can
I install wood flooring in the kitchen? |
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What
is pre-finished engineered wood flooring? |
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What
is laminate flooring? |
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My
sub floor is bumpy and uneven, does this pose a problem
for wood floor installation? |
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Will
the pattern be uniform across the floor? |
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How
should I care for my new wood floor? |
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How
hardwearing is engineered wood flooring? |
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Some
Do's and Dont's |
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How
much will my wooden floor cost?
Each real wood floor is individual and we can only give an accurate
guide to cost by visiting your home. Please contact
us to arrange an appointment.
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How
long will it take to fit?
Most average sized rooms can be completed in a day but
it depends on many factors such as whether the room has
been cleared of furniture, carpets and other obstructions
before our fitters arrive.
We will give you an estimate of how long the job will
take when we visit to measure and provide a quote. |
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Can
I install wooden flooring in the kitchen?
By all means. The kitchen is the perfect place for wooden
flooring. It is the heart of the home and shouldn't it have
the most warm and inviting flooring in the home? With
all the new finish technologies available, the performance
of wood is no longer a concern; and it is "softer"
on the feet than ceramic tile or stone. |
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What
is pre-finished engineered wood flooring?
Pre-finished engineered wood flooring is an all-wood product
with a 3-layer cross directional construction. The top
layer must be a thick durable layer of wood that can be
sanded several times giving the product a lifetime to
match that of your home. The middle layer is made of coniferous
timber fillets and the bottom layer is a conifer veneer
base. Thanks to this cross-glued three layer structure,
engineered wood flooring virtually eliminates visible
material expansion and contraction in wood floors. This
makes engineered wood floors very stable and allows them
to be installed over under-floor heating (although beech
and maple are not recommended for this purpose). |
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What
is laminate flooring?
Although not real wood, laminate flooring offers the appearance
of real wood, and easy do-it-yourself installation, aimed
at those on a tight budget. Fitted well it can look good
but has the disadvantage that it cannot be sanded down
and refinished. |
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My
sub floor is bumpy and uneven, does this pose a problem
for wood floor installation?
No. KBC consider sub-floor preparation to be as important
as fitting the wood itself. Quick setting levelling compound
is used to make sub-floors sufficiently flat, so that
the floor does not bounce and no unsightly gaps appear
(as often seen on poorly installed floors). |
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Will
the pattern be uniform across the floor?
The natural characteristics of wood include the grain
pattern, variable colours and shades and knots of different
sizes. They are a result of the growth of a particular
species and are influenced by sunlight and climate. The
natural characteristics of wood are what make it so attractive
to use in the home. |
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How
should I care for my new wood floor?
An ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure.
Protection
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Regularly sweep and
vacuum the wood floor to prevent any loose dirt or grit
from scratching the surface. |
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Place doormats inside
and outside at every entrance. |
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Use felt pads under
chairs and table legs to prevent any scratching. |
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Always protect your wooden floor when moving heavy objects. Use an old rug (wrong side up) and slide the object along the floor on the rug. |
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Place a rug in areas
where spillages may occur i.e. in front of the dishwasher
and sink. |
Cleaning
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Vacuum clean or mop
the real wood floor to remove any surface dust and grit. |
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Occasionally, the real wood floor
should be cleaned using a mild soap based cleaning
product. |
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How hardwearing
is engineered real wood flooring?
In the table below, the hardness of
the different wood species are compared to oak whose
reference value is 100. The Brinell scale is the hardness
value the wood species has acquired in a standardised
test. The higher the figure, the harder the wood.
The hardness of real wood is measured according
to the Brinell EN 1534:2000 standard and given as
a Brinell value. In the measurement, a steel ball
of 10 mm is pressed against the finished real hardwood
board at a force of 100 kg. The resultant indentation
is measured, and the result is calculated as defined
by the standard. The Brinell value is the average
of several measured results.
| SPECIES |
RELATIVE HARDNESS
|
BRINELL-HARDNESS
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| Pine |
42
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1,6
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| Birch |
67
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2,6
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| Birch Baroque |
67
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2,6
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| Maple (European) |
82
|
3,2
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| Cherry |
85
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3,3
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| Walnut |
90
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3,5
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| Beech |
95
|
3,7
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| Red Oak |
97
|
3,8
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| Oak |
100
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3,9
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| Rose Gum |
103
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4,0
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| Ash Baroque |
105
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4,1
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| Ash |
105
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4,1
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| Beech Baroque |
118
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4,6
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| Beech Antique |
118
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4,6
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| Maple (Canadian) |
123
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4,8
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| Jarrah |
131
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5,1
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| Merbau |
144
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5,6
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| Kempas |
154
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6,0
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Solid three-layer
construction
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Some
Dos and Don'ts
Do
• Stick felt pads to
the feet of chairs and tables to minimise scratching.
• Place door mats at
entrances to avoid grit and dirt from scratching the floors.
• Clean up spills immediately.
Common sense dictates spills should be removed as soon
as possible, certainly before they dry and set. Wipe clean
with a well wrung cloth.
Don't
• Pour water over the
floor, e.g. from a bucket.
• Drag hard, heavy items
across the wooden floor, as this will damage it: modern wood floor
finishes are hard but they are not impregnable.
• Forget to clean the wooden floor regularly. |
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