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.

Is DIY for you?

While we provide a full install service as well as a supply only service some clients would like to install the floor themselves. Or perhaps they would like to install as well as sand and finish the floor themselves. At VCS we are able to assist you to do this.

How we support DIY.

1 We supply all of the products required to install a timber floor as well as the coatings to finish the floor.
2 We run 3 hour workshops that provide you with invaluable tips to help you achieve a great floor.
3 We run a sanding workshop using professional quality sanding machines. These machines are then   available for hire.

To assist you to consider this option we have published a brief  video and we have put the link below for you to consider.

Best Value Jarrah In Perth

130 x 19mm Jarrah in Feature Grade. Good lengths in this feature grade material. 

$40.60m2 Includes GST




Jarrah has more brown tones than Karri which favours reds.
Jarrah wood is very similar to that of Karri, Eucalyptus diversicolor. Both trees are found in the southwest of Australia, and the two woods are frequently confused. They can be distinguished by cutting an un-weathered splinter and burning it: Karri burns completely to a white ash, whereas Jarrah forms charcoal.

Get in quickly if you want to share in this mill offering. Feature grade is high in gum veins and is highly sought after timber.

How to maintain your timber floor. Laminates

How to maintain your timber floor. Laminates

Be very careful not to flood a laminate floor with water. Despite a lot of claims about moisture stability most are affected by water. Joins can swell so use moisture sparingly.


Weekly
Keep dust and grit to a minimum using a soft broom or brush. Sand has remarkable cutting ability underfoot so the less sand the better.

As needed
Lightly mist the area with a fully diluted solution of VCS Timber Floor Cleaner. Use a soft mop to dry the area streak free.

Entries
Make sure that mats are placed at entries to remove sand from people's feet as they enter the home or location.

How to maintain your timber floor. Real Timber.

How to maintain your timber floor. Real Timber.

Real Timber is a superb floor. It can have either a commercial grade finish, [Toby, Bona, Polycure or Osmo] or else a light home finish. If your floor coating is heavy duty it will still require maintenance though not as heavily as the commercial finishes listed earlier. With lighter weight finishes you should have a very strict maintenance routine. In general though a routine should be as follows.

Never flood a timber floor with water. Coatings are very good but timber may still be affected by water.


Weekly
Keep dust and grit to a minimum using a soft broom or brush. Sand has remarkable cutting ability underfoot so the less sand the better.

As needed
Lightly mist the area with a fully diluted solution of VCS Timber Floor Cleaner. Use a soft mop to dry the area streak free.

Entries
Make sure that mats are placed at entries to remove sand from people's feet as they enter the home - location.

Basics common to all floors.

1 Grit, dust & sand should be kept to an absolute minimum. It will be necessary to sweep the floor regularly to maintain a grit free environment. Grit or sand that is crushed under a leather soled shoe for example will abrade the surface of the floor. Keep it to a minimum.

2 It is a good idea to use a vacuum cleaner however you should note that some of the bristles on the heads of commercial and domestic vacuum cleaners can be quite stiff and can even scratch a polyurethane surface. You must ensure that the bristles used on the brush head are appropriate for use with a timber floor. Very often this information is not available in the place where vacuum cleaners are purchased and you may need to seek additional information from the distributor or manufacturer.

3 Additional maintenance steps include the use of a damp mop. You should never flood a timber floor with water assuming that the sealer used on the surface is waterproof. In the majority of cases polyurethane sealers are not waterproof. Therefore a well wrung out mop is essential, keeping the water used to an absolute minimum.
With oiled floors the surface is waterproof but the same rules apply. Excessive water can result in a blotchy surface. Water should always be kept to a minimum.

4 When it comes to the question of what to use in the water to maintain the timber floor the simple guideline is that this should be a "non-residual cleanser" or a product that will not leave a residue behind on the floor. For example, some cleaning products contain soap and it is quite easy to leave a slightly sticky surface behind on the floor. If this occurs then grit will be trapped on the surface making it difficult to maintain the area using a sweeping brush or vacuum cleaner. Some cleaning contractors have reported that when using some materials the floor seems to get dirty more quickly and the common cause is the use of something residual in the water. Purpose made non-residual timber floor cleaning fluids are very effective and are usually an economical choice. Some are supplied in concentrated form which means that there are also suitable for use in removing scuff marks which are generally harder to remove than the usual small markings.

Buying a Bamboo Floor Perth

Bamboo Flooring - Vital Information

Bamboo can be a great floor. However a brief online search will quickly discover a lot of negatives and positives. Why do some floors fail? How do you make sense of all the urban myths around Bamboo? This article attempts to answer key questions.

At VCS we have never had a floor fail using Bamboo. Then again we are very choosy in supply and we use a proven installation method. This is different to the norm.

First Tip

You cannot be price driven with Bamboo.
You cannot be price driven with Bamboo.
You cannot be price driven with Bamboo.

Got It?



With Bamboo you genuinely get what you pay for. They look the same but time and experience will tell you that there are serious concerns with some sizes, thicknesses, finishes and grades. It is really worth paying the extra for a proven product.

Second Tip

The number one reason for floors lifting, twisting etc is insufficient adhesive under the floor. Concrete must be prepared well. Moisture primer must be applied at the correct rate. There must be an adhesive bed under the floor: Sika T55 TROWEL APPLIED as a bed of adhesive that completely covers the primer. Unless there are other problems, this installation is amazingly strong.






Third Tip

Bamboo should be treated like timber with correct expansion allowances. Extreme claims are made about Bamboo's strength and stability. However it does expand and contract. So install it as you would timber. Some suppliers have had a lot of problems with floors installed minus the correct amounts of adhesive and with incorrect expansion gaps. Some even claim that you should float install all bamboo without adhesive at all. This demonstrates what happens when floor issues are not correctly investigated. Treat it like timber and you can direct fix good quality bamboo without issues.

Fourth Tip

You need to know what the surface is. Some surfaces are very difficult to work with. Re-Coating can be very difficult with some surfaces. In fact with some surfaces it may require a full re-sand.

Ask for Bamboo finished in Bona coatings. This is Australia's universal coating system for re-coats using a products called Mega with Link additive. Make sure of this point: it will save you a lot of money down the track.

What are the grades? Select, Standard and Better or Feature?

Timber is graded to a face grade. Otherwise the quality is consistent in machining. The face is examined to determine if there are signs of gum vein. The more gum marks the more the timber is featured. Some people find gum marks attractive. Others don't.

Face vein: This is the amount of gum vein allowed in the face of the timber.

Australian timber is gum rich and therefore it naturally has a lot of features. The percentage of gum vein in the face of the timber determines the grade.

SELECT GRADE


Select - up to 5% gum vein to face
Standard & Better - up to 15/20% gum vein to face
Feature - up to 30/40% gum vein to face.


All grading is visual and therefore has a degree of variation because it is based in the perception of the persons involved in the process. It has a limited degree of accuracy.

NOTE: Mills adopt their own procedures for grading and so grades will vary from mill to mill. There is tolerance between batches though this is small.

Pricing is decided according to the amount of feature in the face of the timber. The less feature the greater the price.



FEATURE GRADE