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Berti Consiglia: the laying of parquet flooring

Once you have chosen the essence and format of your parquet comes the time for laying. This is a decision to be made before ordering parquet, since the type of laying also affects the amount of parquet to be ordered.

La laying parquet flooring is a delicate and demanding phase: it is always recommended to contact specialized personnel. Otherwise there is a risk that the carefully chosen material, among the most valuable and advanced under the level of technique, will be compromised by unprofessional installation.

That said, laying can be understood in two aspects: laying geometry and laying type. While the former is a more aesthetic factor, the type of laying depends on the existing substrate and technical constraints.

THE LAYING GEOMETRY

The laying geometry is the pattern that is created by the combination of the individual elements that go to make up your wood flooring. The types of laying are really different, and in theory we could say that the only limit is your imagination. In fact, the final appearance that will characterize your wood flooring depends on multiple factors, the size of the wood modules, the choice of geometric or non-geometric mosaics, and the inventiveness used in the juxtaposition phase. In general, for laying patterns that follow the course of the walls, less waste should be taken into account (about 4/5%), for diagonal laying it is better to order about 10% more waste.

When ordering your parquet flooring, it is important not to forget the skirting board: these special pieces not only have an aesthetic function but serve mainly to hide the gap that will be left during installation that is used to compensate for the expansion of the parquet and any expansion joints.

Laying geometries depend on the conformation of the wooden elements: planks and generally planks that are characterized by a more elongated structure lend themselves to fairly uniform arrangements, such as regular formwork laying, where we find the planks arranged to form horizontal or diagonal stripes, or ship’s deck laying, characterized instead by a more irregular pattern. Among the most linear geometries there is undoubtedly the herringbone: the elements have smaller dimensions and therefore it is possible to create more complex shapes, also playing on the combination of woods of different species, shades, colors.

THE TYPES OF LAYING.

The choice of laying type depends on the type of room in which the new wood floor is going to be laid. In the case where there are no thickness constraints, the choice is wider and first of all you can choose between floating or glued laying. There are two main techniques for laying prefinished parquet flooring: floating laying and glued laying.

For all Berti prefinished parquet planks, you can request an oil finish: you can choose between a product that is supplied unfinished and will then be finished with natural oil at the time of work, or Berti produces prefinished parquet that is oiled in-line using UV urethane oil.

Usually the most popular choice is laying by gluing, which provides greater stability since the parquet planks are fixed and glued to the underlying floor or screed. This is the most advisable choice in terms of laying type when an underfloor heating system is planned, because in this way no air space is left between the screed and the parquet planks so that any heat loss is avoided.

Finally, one can choose floating or floatinginstallation, which allows the underlying floor to remain unaffected. With this type of laying, the parquet planks are simply laid on the subfloor, the planks are firmly fixed with a thin layer of glue that is applied at the joints. In this case, provision should be made for the insertion, between the floor and the parquet, of a mat that can have various functions, such as soundproofing or thermal insulation to act as a moisture barrier.

Whatever type of installation you are going to choose an element of fundamental importance is the subfloor: it must be in excellent condition and therefore be compact, free of cracks, seasoned and dry, smooth and clean. The temperature of the room should not be below 18°/22° and the humidity should be between 45% and 65%.

We gave a brief overview regarding laying options, and touched on vast and complex technical topics. We refer you to Berti’s FAQ for all the most frequently asked questions about parquet flooring. And, of course, to the next installments of Berti recommends, where we will have a chance to go into detail on some of the aspects presented.

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