Installation Guide

floor. The floor should be thoroughly cleaned before covering to remove grit and debris that would damage the finish. The floor must be completely covered to
eliminate uneven ambering from exposure to UV light.
Permanent HVAC should be on and operational for a minimum of 5 days and maintained between 65° and 75°F with a relative humidity of 35% to 55% prior to
delivery, during and after installation of the flooring for the life of the product. If HVAC is not possible at time of installation, the environmental conditions must
be at or near normal living conditions between 60° and 80°F and at the average yearly relative humidity for the area.
Building interiors are affected by two distinct humidity seasons—heating and non-heating. Care should be taken to maintain humidity levels between 35% and
55% year-round.
Heating season, low humidity, dry. All heating methods create dry, low humidity conditions. Humidifiers are recommended to prevent excessive shrinkage or
permanent gapping in wood floors due to seasonal periods of low humidity.
Non-heating season and coastal or waterfront areas, high humidity, wet. During the non-heating season or in areas with high humidity year-round, proper
humidity levels should be maintained through the use of an air conditioner or dehumidifier.
Manufacturer warranties do not cover natural expansion and contraction that results in separation between planks, or damage caused by excessively
low or high humidity. Seasonal gapping is not considered a manufacturing defect.
Purchase an additional 5% of flooring to allow for cuts and additional 10% if installing diagonally. Any excess material should be left with the homeowner.
WARRANTY NOTE: Installer should provide owner with one carton end label from installed product along with the pre-installation moisture content readings for
warranty purposes. Owner should retain carton end label and copy of invoice with product style name and style number for their records. Owner should retain
excess flooring and store in a climate-controlled area for future repairs in the event of damaged flooring.
The use of stain, filler or putty for correction is considered a normal practice and a routine part of installation and for touch ups over the life of the product.
Basic Tools Needed
• Safety glasses
• Wood pin moisture meter
• Concrete in-situ
moisture meter
• Chalk line
• Uniclic tapping block
• Tape measure
• Jamb saw
• Table saw
• Appropriate
adhesive trowel
• Coordinating stain,
filler, or putty
• Mineral spirits (odorless)
• Thick felt protectors
• Putty knife
• Broom or vacuum
• Starting row wedges
• Pry bar or trim puller
• Pencil
• Miter saw
• Utility knife
• Low adhesion
painter’s tape
• Plastic scraper
• Clean white
cloths or Towels
• Pull bar
• Carpenters square
• NIOSH
approved dust mask
• 75 lb. smooth roller
Accessories Needed
• 15 lb. felt or rosin paper
• Flooring adhesive
.
• Mohawk Floorcare
Essentials Hardwood and
Laminate Floor Cleaner
• Performance
Accessories Underlayment
• Coordinating transition
strips or molding
Pre-installation and Job Site Conditions
Do not install wood flooring until appropriate temperature and humidity conditions have been achieved. Flooring should be delivered and stored inside the
HVAC controlled portion of the jobsite. Flooring should be stacked with at least a 4” airspace under the cartons. Remove any and all plastic wrap that may have
been used to ship the material. Make certain that the room temperature is set to normal living conditions as described above.
All Mohawk Wood Floors must be acclimated a minimum of at least 72 hours before installation of the flooring and after the HVAC, windows, and building
envelope has been completed and in operation. The purpose of acclimation is to allow the moisture content of the wood to adjust to “normal living conditions”
at the site; these are the temperature and humidity conditions that will typically be experienced once the structure is occupied.
To reduce the risk of moisture related failures, the subfloor and wood flooring must be of similar moisture content. Test the subfloor by taking a minimum of 20
moisture content readings per 1,000 square feet of subfloor using a pin type moisture meter. Average these readings and include on the data sheet on page 10
of these instructions. Likewise check the wood flooring moisture content and record on the same sheet. These moisture readings are to be left as a permanent
record of testing with the homeowner. When both the subfloor and flooring are below 12% moisture content and the flooring is within 4% of the subfloor
moisture, the product can be installed. Do not install the floor until these moisture conditions are met.
Mohawk does not recommend installing flooring under cabinets or other permanent fixtures. If islands, cabinets, or other permanent fixtures are installed on
top of the flooring, it could cause gapping in the floor planks.
Subfloor Requirements on Above or Below Grade
These recommendations are not intended to supersede federal, state or local building codes, but as with many other interior finish products, may require
modifying existing structural components for a successful installation. Hardwood flooring is not a structural component. The product warranty does not protect
against loss caused by inadequate subfloors, flooring substructures or improper installation of said substructures.