The Importance Of Wear Layers

What makes timber different?
Timber comes with a variety of sizes and claims. At VCS we focus on 14-19mm timbers whereas some suppliers take their ranges from 10mm-19mm. Why the difference?

At VCS we are aware of inspectors going to look at a lot of floors. Almost never is a floor timber supplied by VCS involved in a dispute. The reason is that VCS focus on stability. Stable timbers perform well.Some sizes just perform better in service.

All timber floors seem to do well until stressed. Things that can stress timbers include a change in climate, the introduction of moisture, extremes in heat and cold. Introduce these factors and a floor that has performed OK now has to perform well. It has to handle the expansion and contraction without too excessive a degree of movement.Timber moves and depending on species the timber may expand or contract markedly. However the floor should be sound. This is where the different approaches to timber flooring show their real worth.

Basics.
This is where some basic facts about timber become important. It has been shown that timber can be dried too quickly. Timber needs to air dry then kiln dry. This is a gentler process. The timber is stable. In fact it becomes as stable as each given species can achieve. Each timber species has greater or lesser degrees of stability due to internal structure and areas of growth. Some are more prone to movement so the more that you can make it relatively stable the better. Treat it correctly to begin with and you will achieve a much better floor.

A second basic fact is that timber shouldn't be cut too thin. It is hard to store or install timber that is too thin. It needs to be cut to a reasonable thickness. Many floor failures that we see are based around timber that is 10mm thick. We are not aware of any timber that performs well at this thickness unless the floor is installed on plywood and appropriate precautions are taken to allow for movement. Trying to avoid really thin timber is one of our key principles. The same timber cut 12mm thick will sit very well but at 10mm there are issues that can come into play. Issues that need to be avoided at all costs. Timber can move in 6 different ways: cupping, reverse cupping, shrinkage, expansion, twisting and splitting.  Why introduce an ideal situation for these problems to arise in the first place? Use thicker timber that has been air dried and kiln dried and you will achieve a better result.

A third factor to review is the wear layer. The wear layer is a key factor in the quality of the floor. It accounts for the thickness of the timber above the tongue and grove less 1-1.5mm. This is the amount of timber that can safely be sanded without compromising the floor to the point of floor failure. With some timbers this wear layer on initial installation is just 4mm. As this surface has to be sanded it usually loses up to 2mm given the unevenness of the sub-floor. This leaves just 2mm above the tongue and groove which means that it cannot be re-sanded. If you don't look after the floor it can never be re-sanded which means that the floor will be ruined. If however you insist on a 6mm wear layer this will leave 4mm of timber above the tongue and groove. Subsequent sanding work removes just 1mm on average which means that there is plenty of potential to save the floor should it require a full re-sand. At VCS we use a 6mm wear layer above the tongue and groove. It means that you are getting much better value for money with your flooring.



Consider these two scenarios.
Customer A. purchases 10mm thick timber. It has a wear layer of 4mm. It is $6.00m2 cheaper than the 12mm alternative. It is installed directly to concrete, sanded and lived on. There is 100m2 and the cost of the floor is $14,300.00. After six years the floor coating is worn through in places.The customer didn't see the problem of wear and so calls a sander to fix the floor. The sanded advises that a full re-sand is required. [4800.00] The sander starts but the surface is so thin that the top of the groove start to strip out of the floor. The sander stops and advises the client that the floor cannot be sanded. The customer now has the option to either install a floor over the top or to rip the floor out and start again. The client decides to rip the floor up now bitterly disappointed with the flooring. The floor is ripped out $5500.00. Now the client has a clean concrete floor and has spent a total of $24,600.00 or a cost of $4100.00 per year. Plus they now don't have a floor so need something new. Depending on what they get to replace it the overall spend could well bring their overall spend to over $40,000.00 and that floor may last 10-20 years.


Customer B. purchases 12 mm thick timber. It has a wear layer of 6mm. It is $6.00 more expensive than the 10mm flooring so the client has the same 100m2 floor installed for $14,900.00. It is installed directly to concrete, sanded and lived on. After a six year period the floor coating is worn through in places. The customer didn't see the problem of wear and so calls a sander to fix the floor. The sander advises that a full re-sand is required. [4800.00] The floor is re-sanded and this time the client looks after the floor so that in future it simply requires a re-coat to keep the floor going. The floor is maintained correctly and 30 years later the new owners get the floor re-sanded. No problems. The floor lasts for another 30 years with regular re-coats. Overall cost for installing and maintaining the floor for approx 70 years at 2013 rates is $38,700 or $540.00 per year.

Client A tried to save $600.00 and ended up spending around 40,000.00 to cover 25 Years.

Client B. paid the extra $600.00 and with an overall cost of $38,800 covered 70 Years.

Obviously there are a lot of variables that can affect these figures but please don't be caught out. A 6mm wear layer is essential to saving money long term.