Installation Guide

HARDWOOD FLOORING
INSTALLATION
FINISHING TOUCHES
FLOATING INSTALLATION
STAPLE DOWN INSTALLATION
Heavy furniture and appliances should not be rolled over the oor.
Use plywood or appliance lifts if needed. Thick felt pads should be
used on legs of furniture to prevent damage to the ooring.
• Doorways or archways 48” or less are required to have T-Molding.
• Rooms larger than 26’x33’ are required to use a T-molding break.
NOTE: Glue will still be required for oating installation. A compatible
engineered wood tongue and groove glue must be placed on every
plank along the topside of the groove and bottom side of the tongue
for the full length of the sides and ends. Only apply approximately
3/32” bead of glue, don’t ll the groove with glue or it will be dicult
to close the seam and will result in a loose t.
rst starter row along the wall. Nails should be 1 to 2” form the ends
and every 4 to 6” along the side.
Note: The nails should be below the surface of the oor (not sticking
up). You can ll the holes with wood ller that blends with the ooring
that is being installed. It is also best to place the nails in a dark grain
in the board. The baseboard or quarter round will cover the nails
around the perimeter after the install is complete.
3. For the next two rows blind nail at a 45° angle through the tongues
of the engineered wood oor. You can pre-drill holes for the nails
to make this easier, or use a brad nailer with 1” to 1-3/8” brads to
avoid the need to pre-drill. Nail 1 to 2” from the ends and every 4 to
6” along the sides.
4. Continue the installation using an engineered wood ooring
stapler with recommended staples. Stapling should be done 1 to 2”
from the ends and every 4 to 6” along the edge tongues.
TIPS:
• It is recommended to initially set the compressor between 80 and
85 PSI and adjust the pressure as needed to properly set the
fastener. The pressure should not be too high such that the nails go
through or break the tongues, and not too low such that the nails
stick out from the surface.
• Improper stapling/nailing can cause squeaks and/or surface
dimpling of the oor.
• Since adjustments may be necessary to provide the right penetration
of the nail or staple in the nail/staple pocket it is recommended to
use scrap ooring to nd the right tooling calibration.
• Always use ooring installation tools with the factory designed
oor plate attached to ensure proper fastener penetration angle.
Re-install / install any transition pieces, reducer strips, T-molding,
thresholds, base boards and/or quarter rounds needed to achieve
transition and cover the edges of any gaps along the wall.
NOTE: Trims and moldings should be nailed into the wall or suboor,
NOT THE FLOORING.
Space preparation:
• Undercut door casings 1/16” higher than the thickness of the
ooring being installed + underlayment thickness.
• Install AbatecTM underlayment per guidelines on www.
msisurfaces.com. Underlayment other than AbatecTM is not
recommended as excessive pad compression/compaction is a
common cause of seam failure.
• Expansion gap needs to be left along all walls and xed objects.
The expansion gap should be equal to the thickness of the ooring
being installed.
This engineered wood oor can be installed over wood suboors
with exception of Parquet or Masonite. If stapling the oor down,
it is necessary to use the proper type of ooring stapler that is
compatible for the thickness of the engineered wood ooring that is
being installed.
TIP: In order to reduce squeaking and other noises created by the
opposing oors, in addition to the ground cover that is mandatory in
the crawlspace, a 15 lb. felt or rosin paper can be installed over the
suboor prior to the installation of the engineered wood ooring.
When installing the ooring apply a bead of tongue and groove
wood ooring adhesive to the bottom side of the groove, to help
lock the tongue and groove prole in place. This helps to reduce
the likelihood of movement of the tongue and groove, which can
contribute to squeaking and other noises underfoot.
Steps for staple down install:
1. From the ends of your starting wall, measure out the width of the
plank plus plank thickness* and mark both ends. Where possible,
lay the ooring at 90° angles to the oor joists. Make a chalk line
along the starting wall using the marks you made.
*Expansion gap must be left along walls and xed objects for this
ooring. The expansion gap space should be equal to the thickness
of the product. E.g. if you are installing a 1/2” thick engineered wood
ooring, the expansion gap should be 1/2”, if the ooring being
installed is 5/8” thick the expansion gap should be 5/8”, etc.
2. With the groove side of the planks facing the wall, place the planks
along your chalk line. Use brad or small nishing nails to secure the
Thickness Fastener Guage Side Spacing End Spacing
1∕2” and 5/8” 18 gauge staple not less than 1-1/2” in length 4”-6” 1”