Tim Lynch
05-28-2007, 10:38 PM
Got this flooring finished this weekend in our master bedroom. It's a 1/2" thick engineered hardwood by L&M Flooring, prefinished brazilian cherry. The wear layer is about 1/8". L&M also makes these nice border pieces (oak and merbau).
I have radiant heat tubing under the floor, so nailing would be a concern. I followed L&M's instructions for installing it as a "floating" floor, so it can move if it wants to. They have you put a bead of glue in each groove and tap the tongue and groove together, including the ends. I used Titebond II with a Glue-Bot (which works great!). It goes down over a thin underlayment/vapor barrier.
The room is L shaped w/ 2 closets. I put a border pattern in front of each closet.
Instead of cutting the border in afterward, which would have required face nailing, I pieced it in as I went. That mean cutting grooves and splining. The tongue/groove is 3/16", and I found I could use the "f" size slot cutter from my PC biscuit joiner in my shaper. It worked great, and I could gang-cut ends by knocking 4 or 5 boards together and sending them though all at once using my stock feeder. Lots of running down to the shop though!
And lots of glue -- nearly a gallon! Most I ever used on a project, that's for sure! :)
I have radiant heat tubing under the floor, so nailing would be a concern. I followed L&M's instructions for installing it as a "floating" floor, so it can move if it wants to. They have you put a bead of glue in each groove and tap the tongue and groove together, including the ends. I used Titebond II with a Glue-Bot (which works great!). It goes down over a thin underlayment/vapor barrier.
The room is L shaped w/ 2 closets. I put a border pattern in front of each closet.
Instead of cutting the border in afterward, which would have required face nailing, I pieced it in as I went. That mean cutting grooves and splining. The tongue/groove is 3/16", and I found I could use the "f" size slot cutter from my PC biscuit joiner in my shaper. It worked great, and I could gang-cut ends by knocking 4 or 5 boards together and sending them though all at once using my stock feeder. Lots of running down to the shop though!
And lots of glue -- nearly a gallon! Most I ever used on a project, that's for sure! :)