Installation Guide

NOTE:ITMAYNOTBETHEFLOORCOVERINGINSTALLER’SRESPONSIBILITYTOCONDUCTTHESETESTS.ITIS,HOWEVER,THEFLOORCOVERING
INSTALLER’SRESPONSIBILITYTOMAKESURETHESETESTSHAVEBEENCONDUCTED,ANDTHATTHERESULTSAREACCEPTABLEPRIORTO
INSTALLINGTHEFLOORCOVERING.WHENMOISTURETESTSARECONDUCTED,ITINDICATESTHECONDITIONS
ONLYATTHETIMEOFTHETEST.
2.MATERIALSTORAGEANDHANDLING:
a. Flooringmaterialandadhesivemustbeacclimatedtotheinstallationareaforaminimumof48hours priortoinstallation.
b. Storecartonsoftileorplankproductsflatandsquarelyontopofoneanother.Tile
orplankproductsshouldbestackednomorethan6
highandallowforairflowaroundstackswhenun‐palletized.Preferably,locatematerialinthe“center”oftheinstallationarea(i.e.away
fromvents,directsunlight,etc.)Storingcartonsindirectsunlightmayaffectproperacclimationbyinducingthermal
expansion/contraction.
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c. Whenpalletizingonajobsitevinylplankortilesneedtobestacked2rowshighsidebysidewithnoairspacebetween.Thenquarter
turnedfor2rowssidebyside,nottoexceed12boxeshigh.A5/8”orthickerplywoodmustalsobeplacedonthe
palletfirst.
d. Donotstackpallet’s2highunlessutilizinga1”thickplywoodinbetweenpallets.
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3.SUBSTRATES:
Note:Allsubstratestoreceiveresilientflooringshallbedry,clean,smoothandstructurallysound.Theyshallbefreeofdust,solvent,paint,
wax,oil,grease,residualadhesive,adhesiveremovers,curing,sealing,hardening/partingcompounds,alkalinesalts,excessive
carbonation/laitance,mold,mildew,andotherforeignmaterialsthatmightpreventtheadhesive
frombonding.
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WOODSUBSTRATES:
Woodsubfloorsmustbestructurallysoundandincompliancewithlocalbuildingcodes.
a. Double‐LayeredAPAratedplywoodsubfloorsshouldbeaminimum1"totalthickness,withatleast18"wellventilatedairspacebeneath.
b. Insulateandprotectcrawlspaceswithavaporbarriercoveringtheground.
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c. DONOTinstalloversleeperconstructionsubfloorsorwoodsubfloorsapplieddirectlyoverconcrete.
d. Underlaymentpanelscanonlycorrectminordeficienciesinthesub‐floorwhileprovidingasmooth,soundsurfaceonwhichtoadherethe
resilientflooring.
e. Anyfailuresintheperformanceoftheunderlaymentpanel
restwiththepanelmanufacturerandnotwithShawIndustries,Inc.
f. ItisrecommendedthatyourchosenAPAunderlaymentgradepanelsbedesignedforinstallationunderresilientflooring,andcarrya
writtenwarrantycoveringreplacementoftheentireflooringsystem.
g. SHAWresilientflooringisnotrecommendeddirectlyoverfire
‐retardanttreatedplywoodorpreservativetreatedplywood.
h. Thematerialsusedtotreattheplywoodmaycauseproblemswithadhesivebonding.AnadditionallayerofAPArated1/4"thick
underlaymentshouldbeinstalled.
i. Alwaysfollowtheunderlaymentmanufacturer’sinstallationinstructions.
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STRIP–PLANKWOODFLOORING:
Duetoexpansion/contractionofindividualboardsduringseasonalchanges,SHAWrecommends1/4"orthickerAPAratedunderlaymentpanelsbe
installedoverthesetypesofsubfloors.
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CONCRETE:
NeworexistingconcretesubfloorsmustmeettheguidelinesofthelatesteditionofACI302andASTMF710,“StandardPracticeforPreparing
ConcreteFloorstoReceiveResilientFlooring”.
a. Onorbelow‐gradeslabsmusthaveaneffectivevaporretarderdirectlyundertheslab.
b. Wetcuring7
daysisthepreferredmethodforcuringnewconcrete.
c. Curingcompounds(DONOTUSE).Ifpresenttheycaninterferewiththebondoftheadhesivetotheconcrete.Seekassistancefroma
substratemanufacturerifcuringagentsaredetected.
d. Removecuringcompounds28daysafterplacement,soconcrete
canbegindrying.
e. Concretefloorsshallbeflatandsmoothwithin1/8"in6feetor3/16”in10feet.
f. F‐NumberSystem:OverallvaluesofFF36/FL20maybeappropriateforresilientfloorcoverings.
g. AdhesiveMoisturevaporemissionmaynotexceed87%RH(Shaw4100)
or90%(ShawS150).
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Note:PerformBondtestingtodeterminecompatibilityofadhesivetothesubstrate.Shaw9050primercanbeutilizedtopromoteadhesion.
Expansionjointsinconcretearedesignedtoallowfortheexpansionandcontractionoftheconcrete.Resilientflooringproductsshouldneverbe
installedoverexpansion
joints.Expansionjointcoversdesignedforusewithresilientflooringsshouldbeused.Controljoints(sawcuts)maybe
patchedandcoveredwithresilientoncetheconcreteisthoroughlycured,dryandacclimated.
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