Engineered hardwood is one of the most common flooring products used in homes and light commercial businesses around the country. Like other materials, it has its own requirements when it comes to installation.
Fishman Flooring Solutions, the distributor of premium Landmark Interiors flooring products, is familiar with common engineered hardwood flooring installation issues and how to prevent them. Contact us to partner with our experienced team today!
1. Not Leaving Enough Room for Expansion
As the name would imply, engineered hardwood is made of wood. Wood often expands and contracts throughout the year due to temperature and moisture levels. In the winter, the air is usually dry, and dry air causes the engineered hardwood to shrink. Alternately, hardwood expands in the summer when the atmosphere is often warm and wet. If you don’t leave enough room for this expansion, the humidity can damage the flooring.
When you’re planning to lay down flooring, take a moment to measure the ambient air temperature and moisture. With this information, you can leave room for expansion with the changing seasons.
While installing engineered hardwood, be careful not to trap flooring in a doorway, where it will have nowhere to expand. Contact us to learn about our moisture remediation products and sub-floor prep products that may help to mitigate some expansion.
2. Using Coordinating Trim Rather Than Matching Trim
When finishing off an engineered hardwood flooring project, many contractors use coordinating trims rather than matching ones. If a contractor tries to match the floor by staining the trims, the varnish or gloss may dry to a different color. This can create a potential clash and take attention away from furnishings or décor.
Landmark Interiors has a line of engineered hardwood and matching trim, so you can provide flooring that looks complete and put together for your next project. Ask the team at Fishman Flooring Solutions about our trim options as well as stair treads and transitions.
3. Installing Flooring Before Cabinets
As you complete a kitchen renovation, you may be faced with the question of when to install flooring—before or after cabinets. Installing engineered hardwood first can cause several issues, including:
Pinched or buckled flooring
Heavy cabinets or kitchen islands can put additional pressure on engineered hardwood floors. This pressure can cause damage to the flooring, including buckling. Buckling happens when the floor gets separated from the sub-floor. This may cause the edges of the plank to curl up or for the middle section to swell.
Uneven cabinet heights
Cabinet heights are not always standard. If you install flooring before a cabinet, it may throw the heights off around the kitchen.
If you install the cabinets and kitchen island first, you can adjust for height differences. Installing the cabinets first also makes it easier to modify the sub-floor by adding shims or other materials, to create even heights where needed.
Complete Your Next Project With Landmark Interiors Flooring Products
Fishman Flooring Solutions can provide contractors with the engineered hardwood flooring, trims, experience, and other installation tools they need to get the job done on-time, on-trend, and on-budget. Additionally, we work closely with our partners to provide our installation expertise and help them avoid these common installation issues.
Contact us to learn more about Landmark Interiors and our products today.