Installation Guide

c. Pergo must be installed as a floating floor and must
not be fixed to the subfloor. A
3
⁄8" expansion space
must be provided around the perimeter of the room
and any fixed objects such as pipes or columns. Door
jambs and casings must be undercut. The Pergo
flooring must be placed at least a
3
⁄8" beneath the
undercut jambs and casings. A
3
⁄8" expansion space
must also be included beneath the undercut jambs
and casings. Areas greater than 40 feet in length
or width require a
1
⁄2" expansion space around the
perimeter of the room and all fixed objects.
Areas greater than 40 feet in length or width,
i.e. (one room; two or more rooms with adjoining
archways greater than 4 feet; large room with an
extended hallway) must have a T-molding installed
across the width of the room, archway or at the
beginning of the hallway to provide additional
expansion space. Doorways of less than 4 feet must
always have a T-molding or other transition molding
regardless of floor length or width.
d. Pergo can be installed above, on or below grade,
however, below grade must not have a sump pump.
e. Pergo planks are installed over Pergo SilentStep
™
or
Soundbloc
™
foam or equivalent foam underlayment
when the Pergo product that you are installing does
not have an attached underlayment foam. When
installing over concrete, an additional underlayment,
Pergo Moisturbloc
™
, a 6-mil. (.15mm) non-recycled
(100% virgin) resin polyethylene vapor barrier or an
equivalent non-recycled 6-mil. polyethylene vapor
barrier, is required for all Pergo products.
f. Use approved safety equipment to provide proper
protection based on each given task. Always be
careful when handling the planks as the cut edge
of the laminate can be sharp.
g. Important— Always inspect each plank to make sure
it is not damaged prior to installation.
6. JOB SITE EVALUATION —Exterior conditions and how
they can influence the interior of a home.
a. Building codes are established to provide a safe living
space. There are nationally recognized building
codes, such as BOCA — Building Officials and Code
Administrators International, Inc., and ICBO —
International Conference of Building Code Officials
as well as others. There are state and local building
codes that also provide the same service and interest
assuring a safe and consistently built living or working
space. There are specific building codes that are
designed to prevent excessive moisture from damaging
the building materials. There are also maintenance
practices that are required to prevent excessive
moisture from damaging the building materials.
b. Water drainage from adjoining properties, changes
to your home site or incorrect building procedures
or damage can allow excessive water or moisture
to penetrate basement walls, flow beneath concrete
slabs and basement floors and into crawl spaces. High
water tables can necessitate the use of sump pumps
to pump water that is flowing beneath a concrete
floor. Pergo flooring should not be installed over any
floor with a sump pump or in a room with a floor drain.
MOISTURE TEST:
A moisture test is recommended on all concrete
subfloors and wood subfloors constructed over a
crawl space or basement. Maximum acceptable
moisture reading for wood subfloors is 14%. Maximum
acceptable moisture reading for concrete subfloors
is 4.5% or a moisture vapor emission rate of
5lbs/1000sq. ft/24 hrs. If your moisture readings
exceed those listed above, we do not recommend
installing Pergo.
IMPORTANT NOTE: During a dry season, you may find that
you get an acceptable moisture reading even if other job
site conditions are not acceptable. Before installing Pergo
floors, you must be sure that your job site conditions as well
as your moisture readings are acceptable year round.
c. For concrete subfloors, vapor barriers, such as the
recommended Pergo 6-mil. polyethylene film installed
correctly, 8-inch overlap at seams, installed up to the
edge of the wall base or wall, will protect the finished
floor from normal water vapor that is emitted through
the concrete from a correctly constructed, maintained
and undamaged building and correctly graded site
that prevents excessive water exposure.
d. For wood subfloors, a vapor barrier is not placed on
the surface of the wood subfloor under any circum-
stance. When there is a basement, the basement
floor and walls must be dry. When there is a crawl
space the soil in the crawl space must be covered
by a 6 mil (.15mm) non-recycled (100% virgin) resin
polyethylene film with seams overlapping at least
8 inches or more. Cover the surface of concrete
in crawl spaces with a vapor barrier. Vents should
be located throughout the foundation. They must
provide good cross ventilation and no dead air
space. There must be minimum vent openings equal
JOB SITE CONDITIONS
Gutters, downspouts
and spill-caps must
be clean and in good
repair.
Basement
w
alls and floors
must be dry.
CRAWL SPACE
1
1
/2 sq. ft. of vent opening for every 100 sq. ft. of floor space with good cross ventilation.
Ground in the crawl space must be dry and covered with a 6-mil non-recycled
(100% virgin) resin polyethylene film; seams overlapped at least 8 inches.
Soil should slope away
f
rom foundation at
least
1
/2 inch per foot
for at least 10 feet.
Lawn sprinklers must
not direct water
t
oward the foundation.
E
xamples of Building Code Requirements and Maintenance
Practices that protect homes from excessive moisture exposure