Introduction
Since 1989, VCS has been involved in the supply of many types of timber flooring in Western Australia. Our background is in installation, sanding and finishing. We now supply many thousands of square metres of hardwoods each year as well as all the adhesives, abrasives, coatings and accessories required by many of Western Australia’s flooring businesses.
We appreciate that when potential clients visit the showrooms around Perth, they hear different ideas presented. We have gathered together key questions that people ask and put the answers in writing into this little booklet. It is designed to clarify matters somewhat.
Manufacturers provide guidelines on how their products should be used. When these are followed the results are superb. Our thanks go to our associates who have assisted us to present the answers to the questions as accurately and simply as possible.
Please enjoy!
WA Blackbutt
What is the difference in performance between imported and Australian Timbers?
Australian Timbers are harder wearing and are suited to Australian conditions. The average Australian timber is up to 2 times harder than the average northern hemisphere timber. Australian timbers are generally better able to cope with the temperature and humidity swings in our climate.
How important is hardness when looking at timbers?
Australia uses the Janka scale as a reference when looking at hardness of timbers. All floors are subject to impact and all floors will dent under some conditions. Selecting timbers with a hardness rating that is below 4.5 on this scale will result in a floor that dents easily. However, selecting timbers above 4.5 will give superior results and most Australian timbers are above 6. As you go higher however you should not expect significantly less denting. There are diminishing returns: so a floor rated at 7 appears to wear as well as a floor rated at 10 in real life conditions.
As long as the score is above 4.5 you will have a hard-wearing floor.
Hardness alone is not the key factor when selecting a floor.
In fact having a floor that is too hard can also cause problems with certain timbers. Timbers between 4.5 – 9.1 are optimal in flooring. Beyond 9.1 care is required as cracking and checking are things that can spoil the appearance of some harder timbers. While some timbers are oily and stronger, some become dry and brittle. As always we are delighted to offer assistance.
What is a direct stick floor?
In order to maintain floor heights at a more consistent level with adjoining floors such as tiles or carpet, the industry uses direct stick methods. The concrete is sanded and a primer is applied. Boards are then stuck to the primed surface using an adhesive from the same manufacturer.
The method is called direct stick or full bond because the adhesive is spread by trowel to achieve maximum adhesion. Virtually all flooring adhesives require full bond adhesion for a successful installation.
Do we need a primer or MB?
All floors where direct stick methods are used require a primer. For your warranty to be maintained the primer and adhesive should be from the same manufacturer.
This applies regardless of the age of the concrete. It is an essential feature of timber floors that perform well long term.
How much adhesive should be used under the floor?
The idea is to achieve full bond and therefore 1kilo of adhesive is used [on average] under each metre square of flooring. Some nails [as needed] will also be used to hold the floor in place. The adhesive is spread by trowel for full bond.
What is plank-on-ply?
Some floor installers will install a plywood surface to the concrete prior to installing the timber. This is especially good if the concrete is not level: it will improve the levels. It is also important to use plywood if the timber selected is very thin: 10mm or thinner. These timbers need a very level surface for the best installation. Also if the timber is a NSW wide board that is a wider than standard board care should be taken to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. These almost always recommend plywood.
The system is not better than correctly installed direct-fix: it is simply another way of installing a floor.
However if 10mm timber has been selected it should be installed over plywood.
Plank on ply allows for the use of very fine headed pins. The floor may appear to have no nails.
WA Jarrah
Face Features Determine Grades
Why are timber names and grades confusing?
Timber may be sold with a variety of names in Australia. So a timber sourced from China may be sold as Pacific Blackbutt…. We find it confusing too. To make is simple it is good to ask what name the timber had when it left the mill. This is the actual name of the timber. [VCS Strictly use mill identification.] While the use of a number of different names may help to market certain timbers it is confusing and often times misleading.
Grading has reference to the appearance of the timber and may indicate its approximate costing. There are three grades of timber. While all grades are structurally good, the face of the timber may have gum veins or gum pockets.
The more gum veins, the lesser the grade and the smaller the cost.
You pay for the labor involved in selecting out the timber with the cleanest face.
The Grades are
Select up to 5% gum to the face
Standard and Better up to 20% gum to the face
Feature up to 40% gum to the face
The more gum veins the lower the price.
Most people seem to like to see some gum vein to the face of the timber. It tells the viewer that this is real, not a laminated photo face floor or a vinyl floor. As time has gone on there are more and more feature or standard floors around and they look great.
Click Here For A Discussion of Grading
Be aware that some Australian timbers contain a significant amount of gum vein and it is almost impossible to market a select grade in some of these varieties; for example West Australian Marri which will always have gum vein. These timbers are no less attractive because they have gum vein to the face. They are uniquely Australian.
Why do timbers look different in different showrooms?
Depending on the coating that is applied to the face of the timber, sometimes timber may appear much darker in one showroom and much lighter in another. It is an effect of the coatings. As coatings have become more environmentally sound they have a tendency to maintain the light colour of the timber. So for example you may see a very dark example of Blackbutt in one showroom that has a solvent-based coating on its face whereas exactly the same timber may appear very light in another showroom because it has an environmentally sound waterborne polyurethane or waterborne acrylic coating. It is a result of the coating. You can have your floor coated to appear light or dark depending on your choice of floor coating.
Sometimes however it is simply a different timber altogether that is being marketed with a different name. Find out the name that the timber had when it left the mill and you will know what timber it is. {Sometimes you can determine the species name.}
Why all the widths in timber?
Wider boards look great. However when you go wider with several timbers then you have to go thicker. The mills try to achieve the widest boards possible while keeping an eye on stability. Depending on species you will have widths including 80mm, 85mm, 105mm and 125mm.
Note though that as you go wide the boards may need to be 19mm thick in order to be installed using the direct fix method.
What is the best finish?
This is always a difficult question as there are a lot of great finishes. The most durable finish available is Bona Traffic HD which is a waterborne two pack finish. Waterborne and solvent based are two key families of finishes. Then there are oil finishes. These are very durable in the OSMO family of finishes.
So to answer this question for your home you need to answer three key questions:
· Do you want the floor to be dark and rich colored or light and natural?
· Do you want the surface to be durable?
Do you want the surface to be repairable? If so choose OSMO.
Face Features Determine Grades
What is the difference between water based and solvent based finishes?
These are two different approaches to finishes. Solvent based have a plastic look whereas water-based are clearer and lighter looking.
What about gloss levels?
Finishes are available in gloss, semi gloss, satin and matte. Gloss shows up every speck of dust and in well lit conditions it can require a lot of maintenance, whereas the remaining gloss levels are more forgiving.
What about decking coatings?
Decks need to be protected by highly water resistant coatings. Oils that are fortified with iron oxide pigments work best in Australia’s harsh outdoor conditions. Without oil the deck will fade quickly.
Decking…. Reeded Side up or down?
Down. The maintenance the other way up is impossible.
What are floating floors?
These are pre-finished floors that are installed by clicking the panels together over a plastic and foam underlay. The floor is not fixed down and therefore said to ‘float’ over the concrete sub-floor. These are short term solutions to timber floors.
What about noise? Are some floors noisy?
Yes some floors are very noisy. In reflected noise testing the floors are rated for noise in the room. Direct Stuck timber floors give the better results being very quiet. Floating floors are the noisiest by 10 decibels.
What about Acoustic Floors?
In multi level dwellings it is vital to not have a noisy floor. Neighbors below don’t want to hear all the noise above. Acoustic rubber matting is installed in these situations. It goes over the concrete and under the timber floor.
It will significantly reduce the noise transfer as well as assisting in creating a quiet environment in the room where it is installed.
What about acclimatization?
All mills require that their timber is acclimatized prior to installation. The process varies according to three factors.
· Location of the house
· Age of the house
· The choice of timber
Only a timber professional will know how to address this issue. Beware if someone tells you that acclimatization is addressed after installation. It will void your warranty on the timber.
At VCS we know how to acclimatize timber and will guide you when we supply your floor.
Face Features Determine Grades
How many flooring products do VCS supply?
We supply over 1000 flooring products from the timber through to all of the installations systems, sanding materials and finishes. We even supply the tools and hire out sanding and finishing equipment.
We are a mill direct company so our timber is always new and ready for purpose. We will talk you though all the stages. We even run DIY workshops for those who want to install and finish their own floors.
Our full supply and install system is widely used on quality floor projects.
For more information please contact us on 08 9347 0222
Or sales@vcssolidtimberfloors.com
No warranties are given or implied in this publication. All information is provided in good faith and is accurate at the time of writing.