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Flooring is a long-awaited stage in the transition from the state of “when will this construction be completed” to the state of “it seems that it will be completed soon”. The premises take on a more or less normal appearance, it is easier to assess the area and volume. On open tracks, verandas, in utility blocks, the plank floor is laid from edged boards. But there are gaps in it, which, in this case, is acceptable. In residential premises, a special tongue-and-groove board is usually used. Its installation has its own characteristics, which we will talk about in this article. So, laying the floor from a grooved board – details and techniques.
What is a grooved board and why is it better
A board is called grooved, along one side of which a groove is cut, along the other – a spike. When laying, the spike enters the groove, creating a stronger connection, eliminating “blowing”. And this is a plus compared to edged or deck boards.
Another plus is associated with the technological process: the grooved board is “customized” in geometry, cutting off the sidewalls, sanding the front side, and longitudinal grooves are cut on the back side for better ventilation. Then, a spike and a groove are formed on the machined sidewalls with a cutter. After that, the grooved board is ready. With such processing, there is certainly a difference (especially in low-grade goods), but not so big and grinding is needed, but not to the same extent as when using edged lumber.
A little about why it is so much more expensive. There is a lot of work, it is for this reason that this material is much more expensive, but the floor is stronger, more reliable.
How to choose quality material
Laying a tongue and groove floor begins with the choice of material. Let’s talk about sizes first. The width of the floorboard is from 70 mm to 200 mm. To take too narrow – it will take a lot of time to lay, too wide – it is very likely that the edges of the board will rise when it dries, the floor will turn out to be ribbed. The problem is solved by grinding, but this is an additional cost in terms of time and money. Therefore, most often they take a grooved board of medium width – 130-150 cm.
The thickness of the grooved board is from 18 mm to 45 mm. Laying a thin one is unprofitable – so that it does not bend when laying on logs, they (logs) must be set often. Therefore, for the floor, lumber with a thickness of 28 mm, 36 mm, 45 mm is more often used.
The grooved board is sold in different lengths. The standard ones are 3 m and 6 m, but they produce 4 m and 5 m. The choice is simple here: the length of the material should be slightly longer than the length of the room in which it will be laid. Splicing in length is not very beautiful, because they often do it that way.
Choice of wood
The floor board is made from pine and spruce, larch, oak or ash. Pine and spruce are not expensive, but their wood is soft. Traces remain from heels, fallen objects, are squeezed by furniture. In places of active movement, “paths” are formed over time. The situation can be saved by coating with wear-resistant varnish in several layers. If this option suits you, the choice is good.
Larch tongue-and-groove board is a more expensive material, but also more wear-resistant. The wood has a pronounced pattern, a pleasant color. Can be used uncoated or coated with oil-based formulations without creating a hard film on the surface.
Oak and ash are very beautiful hardwoods with dense, durable wood. But their prices are outrageous. As in the previous version, the floor of these types of wood can be used without coating or with more gentle formulations.
Type of grooved board and its characteristics
All lumber is divided into four grades:
- Extra class. Made from the highest quality material. There should be no brown or black knots of heterogeneities, cracks or other defects.
- Grade A. Single spots are acceptable, otherwise no defects.
The difference between different grades of tongue and groove flooring - Class B (or AB). There may be brown knots, inhomogeneities and spots.
- Class C. Permissible heterogeneities, spots, black and brown knots, a certain number of through spots from knots.
Grade C is used when constructing a subfloor. There are too many defects in it for a fine one. The remaining classes are suitable for finishing, but which grade you choose depends on financial capabilities – the difference between the classes is decent.
Humidity
For a comfortable laying of a tongue and groove floor, choose kiln-dried wood. In this case, the raw material after sawing is aged in drying chambers, in which it is brought to a moisture content of 8-14%. Such material is unlikely to dry out after laying – this is almost impossible, but the cost is about 50% higher compared to natural drying material. This is due to the cost of equipment (drying chambers) and fuel for drying.
Humidity is measured with a special device that professionals have, and even then not everyone. You can also try to determine by appearance. Most often, kiln-dried lumber is packed in polyethylene – so that it does not absorb moisture from the air. Naturally, the packaging must be intact and free of moisture (condensation on the inside). If you knock on dry wood, it makes a clear, ringing sound, while wet wood sounds muffled.
What will happen if you lay the floor from the grooved board of high humidity? The first thing you will have to face is the formation of cracks as it shrinks. After six months or a year, the floor will have to be redone, removing the gaps that have formed. Secondly, cracks often appear during drying, the wood is twisted in different directions. Sometimes these distortions can be compensated by pressing the board harder, sometimes not. So you have to keep a couple of boards “in reserve”: to add during the bulkhead from shrinkage and to replace badly crumpled fragments.
Geometry
When choosing, be sure to pay attention not to the geometry. In addition to the fact that the thickness and width of the board should match, there should be no significant curvature, it is necessary to pay attention to the correct formation of the tongue and groove:
- The groove in depth should be slightly larger than the tongue. In this case, laying the floor from the grooved board will be simple and you will not have to manually finish the lumber.
- Track the distance from the top plane to the tongue and groove. It must match, and on all the boards of the party. Then, immediately after laying, you will get an even coating that does not require additional polishing.
Two tongue-and-groove boards should be joined without gaps
In normal production, this is all monitored, but in reality there is a very large spread – 5 mm is not the limit. It is clear that such a floor will have to be sanded. But, the smaller the discrepancy, the less work will be done. Therefore, try to find a manufacturer for which this difference will be minimal.
Grooved floor installation
Due to the possible shrinkage of the wood, the laying of the floor from the grooved board is carried out in two stages. For the first time, only every 4-5 plank is fixed, after 6-18 months the coating is sorted out, eliminating the gaps that have formed. The second time they are already attaching each board, to each log.
If the premises are residential, the wood, while it dries, is overwritten and loses its attractive appearance. To prevent this from happening, for the first time the grooved board is fixed with the back side up. When re-laying, turn it face up. We have clean coverage.
When purchasing material, do not forget to leave a few strips so that you can add after tightening. Depending on the initial moisture and the width of the boards, one or two (or even more) additional boards may be required. They are also left to dry. Preferably in the same room, but possible in the attic. On the street, this is already a problem, since the appearance will be “not the same”.
Mounting method and fasteners
Laying the floor from the grooved board can be carried out using nails or self-tapping screws. Nails are made of flexible steel and endure significant loads. When “twisting” the boards, they bend, but do not break. Only there is another problem: it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove them without damaging the wood. And it is necessary to remove the fasteners when replacing too curved boards or when reassembling the floor after the wood has dried. Therefore, self-tapping screws are more often used, and not black, but yellow. Black ones are made of brittle hardened steel. With lateral loads that occur during the “torsion” of the boards, the hats simply fly off. So, for laying a grooved floor, it is better to use yellow self-tapping screws.
There are three ways to fix the floorboard, two of which are hidden:
- In the face. The most reliable way, but it does not suit you from an aesthetic point of view – fasteners are hammered into the front part.
When fastening to the face, fasteners are installed in the front of the board – two by two, stepping back from the edge of 5-7 mm - Into the groove When fastening a grooved board into a groove, the self-tapping screw is screwed into the bottom of the groove at an angle of 45-50 °. At the same time, the hat should go well into the material so as not to interfere with the installation of the next one. This method is simple, but the board is attached only to the bottom, which is something on the order of 1/3 of the total thickness of the board. If during drying they are “twisted”, there is a high probability of splitting.
Fastening in a groove – a self-tapping screw or a nail is hammered into a groove recess - Into the tongue. With this method, fasteners are installed at the base of the tongue (tongue). It goes through about 2/3 of the thickness of the board, which is clearly more. But with this method, there are some inconveniences when laying – when fitting the boards, care must be taken not to damage the spike.
Installing a self-tapping screw in a spike – a large thickness is captured
With a hidden fastening, the self-tapping screw must be installed so that it does not interfere with the installation of the next board. To do this, a hole is pre-drilled (the drill is equal in diameter to the diameter of the cap), and then self-tapping screws are installed. The dimensions of the fastener depend on the thickness of the board, but most often they are used with a length of 70-75 mm and a diameter of 4-4,5 mm. Such a large length is needed due to the fact that with a secret fastening, the screw enters at an angle, it turns out – to a not very great depth.
If you still decide to make a reliable fastening in the face, it can be made less noticeable. This is achieved by deepening the head into the wood (you can pre-drill a hole). The resulting recess is sealed with wood putty and sanded. The second option is to cut out the chopik, install it in the recess and sand it too. But all this requires a significant amount of time and skills, therefore, when installing a grooved board, they prefer to use hidden mounting methods.
General rules for flooring
The first row is laid with a gap of 5-7 mm from the wall and fastened, stepping back from the edge of about 1 cm, into the front surface – into the face. This place will be covered with a plinth, so you can do that. If the mounting method “into the spike” is selected, the groove is turned to the wall, and vice versa.
The last board is also laid so that there is some gap to the wall. It can be provided with the help of linings and wedges that are hammered between the wall and the last board. It is also fastened “into the face”, stepping back about 1 cm from the edge.
How to pull floor boards
If you take a grooved board of class AB or B, there will be a lot of curved board. The longer the board, the more pronounced the curvature will be. The first few pieces from the wall try to choose the most even ones. They are laid, fixed. This will be the basis on which you can navigate. Next, they try to select the boards so that the curved places alternate. They are pressed or they are said to be “pulled together”, trying to make sure that there are no gaps.
For screeding the floorboard, different devices are used. For example, a support bar nailed at some distance and several wedges. This method is good for everyone, except that you have to screw the support every time. With rough laying, when only 4-5 boards are attached, this is still normal – you can pull together several pieces at a time. But if you need to fasten each, it takes a lot of time. Therefore, clamps, special staples, and other devices are used. The clamps are simply fixed to the joists, the staples are hammered into them, after which ordinary wooden wedges are used, which unite the coating, eliminating the gaps. Both options take less time.
There are also factory options (pictured below). The main thing here is a cunning mechanism for attaching to the lags on the clamp. The mechanism for holding the boards in the desired position is also interesting.
When working, make sure that the laying of the floor from the grooved board does not “leave”. This can be seen if you look at the laid floor from the side: the flooring can be bent along the edges to one side. To prevent this, periodically measure the distance from the board to be laid to the walls in several places, adjust its position to acceptable values.
The video shows in more detail how to work with such devices. The first is the traditional way with a thrust board and wedges.
The second is unusual homemade clamps from a hairpin and a corner for ceiling mounting of beams. An interesting option – you can adjust the length of the clamp, that is, you can rearrange it every other time.
A very interesting way to quickly install. But in this case, the laying of the floor from the grooved board is done by two: one presses, the second installs the fasteners. You just have to pre-drill holes for the desired width of the lumber.
Can a tongue and groove floor installation be done without this step? Maybe if you buy material of the “extra” class or lay meter-long (or so) pieces. If there are gaps on a meter-long segment, they are small and easily corrected without devices.