Moisture protection
When there is a wet area (bathroom) or natural soil under the concrete slab, it is necessary to protect the wooden floor from moisture with a 15 m thick polyethylene waterproofing membrane or with an asphalt membrane. The membrane is spread over the concrete slab and before the placement of the squares.
Thermal insulation - Sound insulation - Ventilation
In order to improve the thermal insulation and the soundproofing behavior of the floor, insulating material is laid, e.g. glass wool or other suitable heat insulating material, between the squares. The final surface of this layer should be 15 mm lower than the upper surface of the frames so as not to obstruct the ventilation of the timber. With this construction, the reverberation caused by speaker effects is reduced, but the impact sound, the noise caused by knocks on the floor, is not treated. In order to deal with impact noise, a suitable soundproofing layer must be placed on the slab before framing. This material can be a cork sheet, an expanded polyethylene (ETHAFOAM type) sheet, etc. In order to ventilate the squares, the following are necessary: the end frames parallel to the walls should be at least 10 mm away from the wall. in the event that the panels are in full contact with their substrate, suitable holes must be provided along their entire length for air circulation. the strips of the floor must be placed at a distance of at least 10 mm from the false skirting, and the created joint will be covered with the skirting which will periodically have holes or slits covered from the back side of it with a stainless steel screen. copper pipes covered with mesh will be placed between the frames around the walls, where they will communicate with the outside environment.
False floor The false floor is an intermediate layer of boards, usually 20-22 mm thick and 10-12 cm wide, which are nailed vertically to the boards so that they are not parallel to the strips of the final layer. They are placed leaving small distances of 4-7 mm between them. This gap between the planks of the false floor is necessary for the ventilation of the timber. The distance of the planks of the false floor from the walls must not be less than 10mm, and their connection (joining of planks) must always be done on the studs. For the construction of the false floor, it is possible to use chipboard (novopan), plywood or other suitable wood products with the necessary joint between successive sheets. The installation of the false floor aims to: To increase the life of the floor: the surface timber if it is 22 mm thick can be scraped several times until the nails meet. To reduce the chances of the floor creaking. To increase the flexibility and sound insulation of the floor. Make it easier to place the strips according to different shapes (eg herringbone).
Final floor layer The wooden strips of the final coating are placed either directly on the boards, or on the planks of the false floor, and are usually fixed with nails, in the case that we use a false floor, they can be glued. Their usual width ranges from 45 to 70 mm, but can reach 130 mm. Their usual length is variable and ranges from 30-100 cm, it can reach up to 150 cm. On their sides, the wood is allowed to have notches (rabote) to better fix them together. The large width and length in the wood of the floors increases the risk of chipping (scratching) due to humidity fluctuations and for these reasons it is avoided. Their thickness should not be less than 22 mm for riveted strips and 10-12 mm for glued ones. The wooden strips of the final coating (boards) from the desired wood and in a suitable arrangement are placed on the squares, in order to achieve the intended aesthetic effect. If we want them to be placed in a herringbone shape or some other shape (so that not all the strips between them are parallel) we must definitely have constructed a false floor.
Floor of self-supporting beams (fathers)
The frames must be based on at least three beams. The joints of the panels will be made on the beams, avoiding the coincidence of the joints in two consecutive beams. The mechanical fixings will be done on each beam. On the wooden beams with nails, hoops. On metal with side screws from attached metal corners.