General FAQ
1. CAN I INSTALL A PARQUET FLOOR IN THE BATHROOM OR KITCHEN?
Wooden floors can be laid with no problems in both the kitchen and the bathroom. Water does not damage parquet floors as long as it does not stagnate. It is extremely useful to choose species of wood that are more stable in contact with humidity, such as Doussiè, Merbau, Iroko and Teak. Oak, on the other hand, requires certain precautions because it has a tendency to form blackish spots when it is exposed to humidity; the spots are caused by leaks of tannin, which is quite common in this type of wood.
Especially with the bathroom, it is important to consider carefully the type of parquet floor to be installed (size, type of wood and protection), taking into account your expectations and future use. If you expect that your bathroom will be used all the time, as it is the main bathroom in the house where family members wash themselves frequently and children also use it, it is important to guarantee the surface of the parquet floor with intense protection. In any case, for peace of mind and only as far as the shower, bathtub, toilet and bidet areas, it is recommended to choose more practical floor, made of stone or ceramic material.
In any case it is advisable, in order to have a good care of the floors, to always open the windows and aerate the rooms after the use of showers or alike, in order to remove possible humidity deposits in the rooms, and in this way avoiding the floors being altered.
2. WHAT ARE THE MAIN TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND BEST QUALITIES OF PARQUET FLOORS?
Extremely beautiful to look at, long-lasting and resistant to wear, good performances in case of mechanical and vibrational stress, excellent thermal and acoustic insulation: these are the most important qualities of a wooden floor. Other properties include resistance to being walked on, thanks to the intrinsic hardness of wood and the excellent elasticity that makes parquet especially suited for sports facilities. We also need to take into account that parquet floors last in time, along with the possibility to easily restore or renew them, through sanding or polishing.
Last but not least, the wood floor represents a choice that respect the environment, being an absolutely sustainable material, as it is a product entirely recyclable comparing to the laminated, ceramics, marble and similar products.
3. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PARQUET AND LAMPARQUET?
The term “parquet” stands for the product in general, which is then subdivided into different types: “traditional” parquet in solid wood, “pre-finished” parquet, consisting of only one part in hardwood, etc. Lamparquet, on the other hand, is a type of floor with thickness from 8 to 10 mm, length from 250 to 300 mm and width from 45 to 65 mm. These dimensions are determined by Standard UNI 4375.
4. IS IT BETTER TO USE AN OIL-BASED FINISH OR A VARNISH-BASED ONE?
The choice of finish is very subjective: it depends on the final look and the feeling that one wishes to obtain from the wooden floor. The oil finish makes wooden floors look extremely natural, while the varnish finish highlights and enhances the shades and chromatic nuances of wood tissues. Aside from appearance, however, the finish also has to guarantee the functional performances of a parquet floor. Generally speaking, since oil finishes require more care and maintenance, people often opt for varnish finishes.
5. WHAT ARE LAMINATED AND MELAMINE FLOORS?
Laminated floors have nothing to do with wooden parquet floors. Made with wooden dust combined with other materials that make the floor look like a traditional parquet, they have quite different mechanical properties: they are less resistant and shorter-lasting.
A comparison carried out with the most noble and precious parquets is improper, to say the least, as these products are in fact synthetic. Synthetic floors are not parquets but rather facings of the decorative type that take advantage of the melamine resins applied to their exposed surface.
Made with supporting materials derived from wood (chipboard – MDF – HDF) they too are sensitive to significant changes in environmental humidity.
Their resistance to wear is certainly greater compared to wooden surfaces, but it could never be justified for normal use in homes, which also need qualitative requirements that only wood, with its natural and genuine nature, can offer. It helps to remember that a wooden surface is even more resistant than a ceramic one as the latter, in case of impact with a hard body, chips or breaks into two parts, but it will certainly not be dented, thus exposing itself to a minor damage.
6. WHAT IS MDF?
MDF is the laminate structure. MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) is an engineered wood product, a panel in medium density fibre produced by a dry method, normally made using adhesive urea formaldehyde based. MDF, which is very widespread, belongs to the family of the “Fibre Panels”, subdivided in three distinctive categories, depending on the method used and the density: low (LDF), medium (MDF) and high (HDF)
7. WHEN A CHAIR WITH WHEELS LEAVES TRACKS ON THE PARQUET, IS IT BECAUSE THE VARNISH FINISH IS DEFECTIVE?
Absolutely not. It is the mechanical action of the wheels that, by changing the perfect planar surface of the varnish film, makes small indentations visible only against the light. To avoid further damage, simply replace the wheels with special rubber-coated wheels, more elastic than the varnish and consequently less damaging. This is nevertheless a feature specific to wooden floors and its physical characteristics to change in time; this is why it must be used and “lived” without any exaggerated or conditioning functional prejudices.
8. CAN PARQUET FLOORS BE LAID ON TOP OF PRE-EXISTING FLOORS?
Yes, if we are talking about floors which are solidly fixed, such as tiles, ceramic, marble or its by-products, and stone. The parquet floor can be laid after verifying the existence of all requirements for perfect foundations. Carpeting, PVC and linoleum, on the other hand, are incompatible with parquet, consequently they should be removed together with any trace of the old adhesive.
9. CAN PARQUET FLOORS BE LAID ON TOP OF CERAMIC TILES?
Yes, you can install parquet floors directly on top of a ceramic one. However, you need to first remove all residues of wax, dirt or grease that may have deposited in time. Even minimum amounts of wax, dirt or grease may prevent the effective gluing of the parquet. Furthermore, it is recommended to smooth out the ceramic tiles, so that the fixing and securing properties of the glue may be further enhanced.
10. CAN SPECIFIC MEASURES BE APPLIED IN ORDER TO REDUCE NOISE?
The answer depends on the type of location taken into consideration.
In the case of a new house, and therefore still under construction, it is the responsibility of the industrial designer and the builder to follow the legislation in force for breaking-down the acoustic pollution.
In the hypothesis in which, there is the need to improve the acoustic insulation of a house already inhabited, the solution to adopt is to verify on a case by case basis (in the scenario of a floating lay it is provided with a layer of thermo-acoustic insulation).
11. HOW MANY TIMES CAN PRE-FINISHED PARQUET BE SANDED?
A pre-finished parquet can tolerate 2/3 sanding jobs, also called freshening up. In case you proceed with a sanding before the floor is already worn or damaged, and consequently before there are any deep carvings or indentations, you can sand the floor three or four times. However, the hardwood surface layer of the pre-finished cannot be less than 2.5 mm thick.
12. HOW MANY TIMES CAN TRADITIONAL PARQUET BE SANDED?
A traditional parquet floor can be sanded 2/3 times in exactly the same way as pre-finished parquet, since the total thickness of a 14 mm MF board of traditional parquet is generally the same thickness as the hardwood surface layer of a pre-finished material.
However, you need to consider that the varnish on the pre-finished has a higher hardness and resistance compared to the varnish applied during the laying of traditional parquet and therefore take even greater care over the procedure; remember that it is an extraordinary maintenance operation which should be carried out by skilled staff.
13. IS THE PARQUET SUITABLE FOR THE UNDERFLOOR HEATING SYSTEM?
When we talk about underfloor heating, the choice of using the wood is the best one considering that the parquet, being a natural insulation material, does not allow the direct contact with the heat coming from the radiant panels, hence allowing a constant and “silent” heat transfer.
All the pre-finished floors are suitable for laying onto a floor that has an underfloor heating, because it is provided with a multilayer support carved in more parts, supplying an even temperature throughout.
14. THE PRE-FINISHED ENGINEERED WOODEN FLOOR, BESIDES BEING SUITABLE FOR THE HEATING FLOOR SYSTEM, IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR THE COOLING FLOOR SYSTEM TOO?
Yes. The prefinished parquet can be lay without problems on the cooling screed, given that the wood inhibits the humidity and redress changes.
Generally the heating and cooling floor systems have the same plant and are regulated by the same reference Standard. An important remark is that these plants are ever-evolving. For this reason it’s very important to pay attention to the planning of the heat engineering of the subfloor and wood flooring system, that will have to meet the following requirements:
- to guarantee an appropriate thermal exchange with the area to heat, allowing energy savings foreseen by the system;
- to keep a suitable environmental temperature in case of climatic variations and when the plant in working.
It’s important to assure that the plant is fuctioning, in order to avoid any problem in the heating or refrigeranting coils, starting with the heating or refrigerating complete cycle, following the relative instructions, before the installation.
15. AN INSTALLER HAS INCORRECTLY USED THE ALCOHOL CAUSING SPOTS ON THE FLOOR SURFACE: WHAT IS NECESSARY TO DO IN ORDER TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE?
An important preliminary remark is the following: as soon as the wooden floor is installed, it’s absolutely recommended to remove immediately the glue spots, without waiting the end of the installation works and without rubbing the floor surface.
In fact when the glue, after its catalysation, is removed by rubbing the floor surface, it releases always shiny spots, caused by a chemical reaction.
In case the wooden floor surface presents these shiny spots, the best procedure is to sand slightly the lacquered surface and to re-lacquer it.
16. È CAN PARQUET BE CLEANED WITH ALCOHOL?
The use of alcohol for cleaning parquet is a rather delicate matter. It is very important to take special care over the concentration of the alcohol, since rubbing the wooden floor with alcohol may attack the varnish of the parquet, damaging it beyond repair. We recommend use of only the minimal amount of alcohol needed to remove the grease from the surface of the floor, to avoid causing damage.
17. UNSIGHTLY WHITE POWDER RESIDUALS HAVE SETTLED IN THE VAINS OF THE BRUSHING. WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED IT? HOW CAN THIS PROBLEM BE SOLVED?
Very probably, the problem is due to the powder from the construction site.
Although some jobs are carried out in other areas, the powders of paintings, plasterboards and similar materials are volatile, and they can spread around far more easily than we think.
The chalk powders solidify once in contact with water: and while trying to clean it, the problem just turns out to be worse than before.
The correct way to behave when there are jobs to do in the house, where there is an brushed finish floor, is to cover the entire area throughout the duration of the jobs, so to avoid powders settling on the surface and on the distinctive lines featuring this type of floor.
If the problem above mentioned occurs frequently, the solution is to use a specific natural oily additive (B074); this must be used by skilled personnel. The additive B074 can be ordered at all our sales points.
18. HOW LONG CAN A PARQUET FLOOR LAST?
In a regular home, with 4 or 5 dwellers, parquet floors can last more than a hundred years. To this end and as proof of this, we remind you that in certain historical buildings there are ancient floors, wax-treated and with no varnish, that are still acceptable.
19. ARE PARQUET FLOORS EASILY DAMAGED?
A parquet floor can be very tough, bearing in mind that it is protected by a strong varnish, provided it is used and treated with due care. What should I do to avoid damaging the parquet? Any action which may damage the surface of the wood floor should be avoided. Examples include rubbing the surface of the parquet, dropping pointed objects onto it, allowing water to stand on it and walking over it in high-heeled shoes. Pets’ claws may also cause damage.
In the case of parquet, the part most subject to wear over the years is the finishing layer, which should therefore be conserved through thorough, regular cleaning and routine maintenance over time.
20. WHICH IS BETTER, FLOATING INSTALLATION OR INSTALLATION BY GLUING?
The laying method you choose for your parquet depends on the specific conditions of the location where the new wood floor is to be installed.
Often, the floating-floor type is better when you want to keep the existing floor or, in any case, you do not want to damage it.
Installation by gluing, on the other hand, is certainly better for guaranteeing stability in time, as the wooden boards are secured and glued. In the case of floating installations, the wooden boards simply rest on the floor underneath and are not secured or constrained in any way; this means that, as the temperature changes, but especially as the environmental humidity changes, they are more prone to deformation or cracking.
When it comes to care procedures over and above routine cleaning, we urge extreme caution when choosing and using products, to avoid damaging the parquet and avoid the risk of impairing the wood’s natural appearance.
21. THERE IS A DENT IN THE PARQUET: WHAT CAN I DO TO FIX IT?
In case of pre-finished parquet, you can simply replace the damaged board. On the other hand, if the parquet is the traditional type you have to proceed with sanding the entire floor surface, not only the dented part. The localized repair on a single board through sanding is possible only if the parquet floor has an oil finish. In case of varnish finish, you need to treat and re-varnish the entire floor.
22. WHAT PRECAUTIONS CAN I TAKE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF PARQUET FLOORS? CAN I USE STORE-BOUGHT PRODUCTS?
For best floor maintenance, it is recommended to clean it constantly. In order to properly revive the varnish, it is important to use suitable waxing products, recommended and sold directly by the manufacturer.
When it comes to care procedures over and above routine cleaning, we urge extreme caution when choosing and using products, to avoid damaging the parquet and avoid the risk of impairing the wood’s natural appearance.
23. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO VERIFY THE COMPLIANCE OF THE MATERIAL DELIVERED AGAINST THE MATERIAL ORDERED?
In order to protect both of the image of the Company and the interests of the Client, Berti is always available for a verification of all the material sent at time of delivery. In this way avoiding at start any problem that could possibly arise, verifying in person together with our shippers, the exact compliance of the material ordered against the material actually delivered.
Our service is not limited to the sale of the parquet. We wish to be sure that the customer has received the material requested and can go ahead with laying the wood floor without any difficulty.