INSTALLATION SERVICES

 

Our professional in-house installation team has been installing timber flooring 6 days per week for practically the past 20+ years! We have worked with all different timber flooring products, on all kinds of projects, and have encountered and solved every imaginable nuance. Our team holds all qualifications and licenses necessary for all types of installations, including work on building sites. We warranty ALL of our installations with the maximum allowed warranty length.

Zealsea Timber Flooring offers installation services in all types of dwellings:

• Houses
• Apartments
• Commerical premises

We offer a wide range of services listed below. All services are done to a renowned high quality standard, and covered by a full installation warranty.

ENGINEERED TIMBER INSTALLATION

• Installation of engineered timber direct stick (glue down)
• Installation of engineered flooring floating

BAMBOO FLOORING INSTALLATION

• Installation of bamboo flooring floating
• Installation of bamboo flooring direct stick (glue down)
• Installation of bamboo stairs onto existing treads and risers

 

PARQUETRY INSTALLATION

• Installation of solid block parquetry in any pattern
• Installation of border for solid block parquetry
• Installation of engineered parquetry

SOLID TIMBER INSTALLATION

• Installation of solid flooring glue down with secret nails
• Installation of plywood with metal anchors

STAIRS INSTALLATION

• Installation of timber stairs
• Manufacture stairnose from engineered timber

SANDING

SKIRTING WORK

• Take off and install back existing skirting
• Remove existing skirting, supply and install new skirting
• Supply and install new skirting
• Supply and install MDF scotia around existing skirting

FLOOR PREPARATION

• Removal of existing carpets
• Removal of existing floating flooring
• Removal of existing direct stick (glue down) flooring
• Installation of moisture barrier
• Installation of acoustic underlay

 

EXTRA WORK

• Cutting of doors

 

With the above in mind, please do not hesitate to contact us with for a free, itemised, obligation-free quote. 

UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL PROCEDURE

To help you better understand our installation processes, we have

 

SOLID PLANKS

We offer “secret nail” installation of solid timber flooring only, meaning that nails are shot into the “tongue” of the board with a nail gun at a 45 degree angle. This means that the flooring must be laid over a substrate that the secret nails can penetrate. We will generally lay 12-15mm thick plywood sheets over your concrete. If your subfloor is ground floor concrete, we must also lay a layer of builders plastic, a thin sheet of black plastic that acts as a moisture barrier between the concrete and plywood. (If you already have a plywood or existing timber subfloor, we can skip straight to the installation).

After the plywood is secured to the concrete with metal anchors, we will first glue the boards to the plywood, and then shoot a secret nail into the “tongue” of the board with a nail gun. Once this is complete, a sander will come to site and lightly sand the floors, apply a coat of sealer and finish, and then apply another coat of finish afterwards.

Thus, the full solid timber installation procedure is generally as follows:

1) Lay builders plastic over ground floor concrete
2) Lay 12-15mm plywood over builders plastic, secure to subfloor with metal anchors
3) Glue solid boards to plywood, shoot secret nail into boards for maximum security
4) Sanding and polishing of flooring with 3 coats of finish

 

 

ENGINEERED FLOORING

The most common installation we offer is a direct stick (glue down) installation of timber flooring. We recommend this method over floating, as gluing it down removes all vertical movement and feels practically indistinguishable from a solid floor (the Janka hardness rating of an engineered floor with a 3mm veneer is exactly the same as a solid 19mm thick floorboard). Because timber flooring adhesive dries extremely quickly, and as engineered boards are factory prefinished, you can walk on the floor as soon as it is installed.

The engineered installation process can differ slightly based on dwelling type and subfloor.

If installing on ground floor concrete:

1) Lay moisture barrier over ground floor concrete
2) Glue engineered timber flooring on top of moisture barrier

If installing on non-ground floor concrete, chipboard, tiles, or existing timber flooring:

1) Glue engineered timber flooring directly to chipboard, tiles, or existing timber flooring

If installing in an apartment:

1) Lay acoustic underlay
2)

 

PARQUETRY (SOLID OR ENGINEERED)

Due to the size, shape and structure of parquetry, it is always installed using a direct stick method. Some parquetry (usually European Oak) comes with a tongue and groove profile, while block parquetry (usually Australian species) comes in rectangular blocks.

Each piece of parquetry is individually glued down to the subfloor.

If installing onto a ground floor concrete subfloor, a moisture barrier is essential.

 

 

BAMBOO FLOORING

Since bamboo flooring has a very high expansion capacity due to being a fully solid, natural product, it is best installed as a floating floor. Due to its heaviness however, it feels very solid (unlike fairly light engineered floors creating a noticeable “springy” effect).

 

WHAT IS A MOISTURE BARRIER?

We use a two-part epoxy moisture barrier, generally the Sika MB kit. Two canisters of liquid are mixed together in a bucket, and the resulting compound is rolled onto the concrete with a paint roller like paint. The moisture barrier then dries to become a hard plastic covering over the concrete, preventing any moisture from reaching the timber flooring. Moisture barrier is usually done on the afternoon before the installation begins, and cannot be walked on while is dries overnight.

 

WHAT IS AN EXPANSION GAP?

Since every product offered by Zealsea (with the exception of SPC) is a natural product, it will expand and contract with increased moisture. This means that we must leave appropriate expansion allowances, including a ~10mm expansion gap around ALL sides of the flooring.

This is generally covered either with skirting, scotia, or metal trims where the former cannot be installed. If you have existing skirting, it is usually possible for us to remove and reinstall it (as we are not painters, we do not paint or fill the skirting after we reinstall it), or for you or us to supply and install a brand new skirting board.