Maple hardwood flooring installation

The installation of maple hardwood flooring is accompanied by certain nuances that should be taken into account in the process. Just follow the guide below to get a quality, durable and beautiful flooring.

Features of maple hardwood

Immediately after purchase and installation, maple parquet will have a light shade, over time, the surface will darken slightly, and the color will turn into golden honey. The presence of an inconspicuous structure with fibers allows the surface to imitate expensive wood species. Especially appreciated among designers is maple parquet with «bird’s eyes» — there are small dark dots on the surface that stand out in contrast to the main color.

Installing maple hardwood flooring will be relevant for rooms where dark furniture is used. This covering will appeal to people who value chic and elegance.

Among the main advantages of maple parquet flooring are:

• Plywood must be pre-laid on a clean sub-floor; installation of the floor covering directly on concrete is not allowed;
• Carefully read the instructions from the manufacturer, which is attached to the building material;
• To calculate the required amount of maple parquet for installation, you need to add another 10% to the area of the room in square meters — this way you can cover the additional costs associated with waste in the cutting process and with defective boards.

What tools will be required in the process

Before installing maple parquet flooring, unless you are hiring a contractor, it is important to prepare the tools that will be required in the process.

In the process of installing maple hardwood, you will need:

• doboinik;
• special hammer;
• a scraper with a handle;
• bowl for mastic;
• wooden spatula;
• notched trowel;
• brushes;
• comb;
• hammers with square / round backs;
• cycles.

Hardwood installation stages

If all the tools and building materials are prepared, you can proceed directly to the installation of the flooring.

Preparation

Not only the base is being prepared, but also the maple flooring itself. It is important to allow the material to adapt to a specific room — for this, the boards are laid out on the floor and left for 3-5 days. Review all parquet flooring prior to installation and set aside damaged and deformed parts. It is not worth throwing away defective floorboards — they may come in handy in the future.

Installation of maple parquet is carried out after the completion of all construction work. Wait until the concrete screed is completely dry, then lay the waterproofing material on the surface. If you need to reduce the cost of work, use ordinary plastic wrap — in effect, it will not differ in any way from expensive materials.

Installation of plywood

It is not necessary to use plywood, thin boards are also suitable as a substrate. Hardwood manufacturers recommend using special plywood with a moisture-resistant effect. It is worth purchasing the material only if the budget for laying the floor is not limited. Plywood with such characteristics during operation is no different from the usual one — under standard conditions of use, water will not get to the surface in large quantities. In case of a flood, you will still have to re-grind the entire floor, regardless of the type of base installed.

Sheets or boards are installed over the entire surface, leaving gaps (about 2 cm) to compensate for possible expansion of the floor covering. Installation is carried out using dowels directly to the rough screed.

Working with hardwood boards

On the prepared plywood or thin board substrate, a special parquet adhesive is applied in an even layer. Regardless of what pattern the maple hardwood has, installation is carried out from the middle of the room.

There is one more nuance — from the side of the doorway, all parquet stripes and seams should be strictly in the middle.

In order not to be mistaken in the process and to speed up the installation process, a thorough layout of the room is preliminarily made.

The planks are nailed down, gaps are left near the walls to prevent the floor from swelling in case of expansion.

Finishing works

If the installation of maple flooring has been carried out according to all the rules, at the finishing stage you only need to sand the surface with 120 grit sandpaper. Next, the following work is performed:

1. All dust is carefully removed from the floor. It is advisable to dry clean several times, the remaining small particles can affect the performance of the boards;
2. Varnish is applied over the entire surface. It is important to apply at least three coats with each previous one completely drying;
3. Skirting boards are nailed.

Regardless of the price per sq ft of maple hardwood, the installation must be carried out strictly according to the rules. Even the most expensive parquet board with distinctive performance characteristics will become unusable if certain mistakes are made during installation.