Guarantee

Floorcoat NZ Ltd guarantees to provide a quality floor finished to a high standard of workmanship which will perform appropriately for 5 years for timber laying

Our Guarantee... 

Floorcoat NZ Ltd guarantees to provide a quality floor finished to a high standard of workmanship which will perform appropriately for 5 years, so long as the floor is appropriately treated, maintained and the conditions stated below are met.

Floorcoat guarantees the floor will respond to changes in moisture content in the manner set out in the following paragraphs. This explains what you should expect of our floors. If the floor behaves in anyway significantly different to what is set out below i.e. gaps or bulges appearing or timber lifting , then we will take all practical steps to determine why it is doing this and should the problem relate in any way to a fault on our part, in preparation of the timber, laying, sanding and coating then we will take all steps possible to repair or replace the floor to your satisfaction. Set out below are the details of what you should expect from your floor and suggestions on how to avoid problems.

Additional Information..     

Each floor is part of a building system and the performance of the floor is dependent on the other elements of the building. The key element in performance of solid timber is moisture. Wood is hydroscopic which means it absorbs and releases moisture to and from the air depending on the temperature and relative humidity of the air. As timber loses moisture it shrinks and as it gains moisture it swells.  Timber only moves if it's losing or gaining moisture or if moisture is redistributing itself within the board.

The moisture content of timber in a building moves towards the Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) of that building, which is a function of the average temperature and relative humidity of the building. The average EMC for NZ dwellings is around 11% however the average will vary between buildings and it will vary seasonally. Also within the same building the EMC will cary from one part to another depending on factors which AFFECT temperature and relative humidity. This variation can be from 8% to 14%. Unless otherwise specified your floor has been prepared and installed for an expected average EMC of 11%.

In some older houses the timber strip floor is exposed to the outside environment on the bottom of the timber. In these situations the moisture content varies dramatically between seasons and is often as high as 18-20% in winter. Floorcoat floors are never knowingly installed in this fashion. The sub floor cavity must be stabilized by lining an insulation system to bring the EMC down into the acceptable range of 9-13%. This subfloor lining must not be removed or damaged (E.g by plumbers or electricians during alterations) as this will damage the EMC of the floor and hence affect the performance of the floor.

Your Floorcoat floor is designed to perform to its optimum at the average EMC of 11%. It should perform well within the range of 9% to 13% however at 9% some small gaps may begin to appear and at 13% it will be quite tight and may begin to show some minor peaking at the edges between boards. At 8% the gaps will start to get slightly wider and at 14% it may being to show the strain more.

An average floor has around 6-7 sands before there is no timber left to sand. A incorrectly installed floor will have less than this due to cupping or drowning of the wood. This is less than ideal.

Bathrooms and laundries can often have higher EMC's. We do not recommend bathrooms and laundries have solid timber floors., however if is necessary to use solid timber in these areas then all steps should be taken to keep the EMC within an acceptable range

Steps which will assist with lowering the EMC are:

- Use venting kits to vent clothes dryers to outside

- Prevent water leaking from washing machines, shower doors and other plumbing fixtures

- Do not leave puddles of water, damp towels, bathmats or clothes on the floors

- Use extraction fans and heaters as well as heated towel rails

- Install floor drains in case of flooding

if the house is being maintained at a comfortable level of temperature and relative humidity then the EMC should not go above 13%. Moisture contents above this usually indicate a problem such as inadequate ventilation, moisture egress from the subfloor, plumbing or drainage problems. We design our flooring installation systems to be as strong as possible and we ideally want the timber to not fail under 17% moisture content, however sometimes other elements of the system such as the concrete substrate fail earlier then the glue or the timber.

We try to prepare concrete substrates as well as possible however if the concrete is of poor quality or is uneven and requires the addition of leveling compounds, then this introduces a potential weakness which can reduce the range of moisture contents the floor can cope with. It is very important that when concrete subfloors are poured and the concrete placer produces a good level surface. 3mm max variation over 3m. This will minimize the cost of flooring installation and improve its strength by removing the need for leveling compounds. The use of moisture barriers over concrete substrates to prevent moisture migration is an important aspect of installing a solid timber floor. If an approved moisture barrier is not used our guarantee will exclude problems resulting from moisture gain.

Where the building design creates a sudden change in EMC over a small area, some small gaps may appear in the low EMC area. Examples of this are, under sky lights where the sky light focus bright sunlight on one spot in the floor, in front of large glass walls without roof overhang where direct light focuses on the floor for much of the day, in front of heaters or fireplaces without a suitable size hearth, below some types of self defrosting fridges or anywhere else where spot heating causes a drop in relative humidity bringing the moisture content below 9%.

Where subfloor heating systems are installed the moisture content of the floor should still remain within the acceptable range as long as the system is well set up and maintained and the unit is controlled by the temperature of the floor, NOT the temperature of the water in the heating system where this type of system is used. Ideally the timber temperature should be around 22C with an absolute maximum of 25C. If the timber temperature is raised higher than this the relative humidity of the surface of the wood will drop, drying the timber out below the 9% and leading to gap between the boards. Certain strict criteria must be met before the Floorcoat flooring guarantee covers timber flooring installed over underfloor heating.

Areas of potential problems where the floor may get too light are by the base of external doors that do not have adequate door seals, especially along the bottom. Also external traffic, at doors to garages which may be left open into unheated  hallways, rooms on the south side of houses which are seldom used and are unheated during winter. Underneath dishwashers which drip, in toilets, bathrooms and laundries as previously discussed.

It is not recommended a house be left unoccupied and unheated for long periods especially during winter as the EMC will rise without the drying effect of the heating and venting associated with normal occupation. After a period of being unoccupied do not suddenly dramatically heat the house as this may dry out the surface of the flooring faster than the middle and bottom of the timber, leading to differential shrinkage, which can cause cracking of the polyurethane along the joints and cupping of the boards.

If the timber floor is inadvertently flooded, damage can be minimized by removing the surplus water as fast as possible and adding extra heating and air circulation to try and remove the moisture that may have got between the boards or underneath the boards as fast as possible before the timber has time to absorb too much moisture.

The polyurethane coating should not delaminate or separate from the timber under normal reasonable use. Loss of gloss and loss of polyurethane material is directly related top the level of use. Wear is dramatically increased with the presence of dirt and other contaminates which create an abrasive action beneath shoes and furniture in contact with the floor. In a domestic application if care is take to exclude dirt and other abrasive materials and felts are placed on the feet of furniture, the polyurethane should not resurfacing for 7-10 years. In commercial application it is impossible to predict the life of the coating because the use and abuse levels vary dramatically between applications.