Hardwood Floors February/March 2019

AT THE SITE Sports Flooring Subfloor Designs (Continued)

being overlapped with adjacent pieces and fastened into the subfloor with cleats, staples, or steel clips, depending on the subfloor chosen for the project. Most subfloor configurations are compatible with random-length strip flooring. FINGER-JOINTED STRIP This consists of a number of random-length strip segments joined together at the manufacturing plant to form a consistent length board, typically 2 1/4" wide. The most common thickness specified is 25/32", but 33/32" and 1/2" thick finger-jointed strip flooring is also available. This surface material also is installed like a horizontal brick wall, with each consistent-length board being overlapped with adjacent boards and fastened into the subfloor with cleats, staples, or steel clips, depending on the subfloor chosen for the project. Most subfloor configurations are compatible with finger-jointed strip flooring. PARQUET Hard maple parquet flooring is manufactured in square and rectangular panels in a variety of dimensions. Individual picket widths range from 7/8" to 1 1/8", and picket lengths range from 5 1/2" to 12". Minimum thickness is 5/16". Individual pickets, assembled into panels, are joined together by either wire, mesh, or tape on the back of the panel or paperface on the front (or surface) of the panel. Parquet flooring typically is installed directly to the concrete substrate using adhesive/mastic or over subfloor systems that contain continuous subfloors.

equivalent) Rated Sheathing, Exposure 1, or per flooring manufacturer design. The subfloor generally is installed at 45- and 90-degree angles to the direction of the finished maple surface. Resilient pads are mechanically fastened to the underside of the bottom layer of plywood and generally are spaced at 1' intervals (32 per plywood sheet). The surface maple, plywood, and pads are installed over a seam-sealed 6 mil polyethylene vapor retarder. SELECTING THE RIGHT TYPE OF MAPLE FLOORING Now you have an idea of the types of subfloor systems available and probably already have a couple of options in mind for your project. The next important step is matching your chosen subfloor systemwith an appropriate maple flooring material. There are several types of maple surfacing products fromwhich to choose. Within each type, a number of different grades of flooring are commonly available. Your decision should be based on a number of factors, including cost, appearance, and suitability over your subfloor. RANDOM-LENGTH STRIP This consists of individual pieces of flooring, typically 1 1/2", 2 1/4", 2 1/2", or 3 1/4" wide, with lengths between 9" and 8'. The most common thickness specified is 25/32", but 33/32" and 1/2" thick random-length strip flooring is also available. This surface material is installed like a horizontal brick wall, with each piece

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