Waste percentages are applied to flooring installations to ensure there is enough flooring for the installation after cutting the flooring to fit.

Some rooms with a lot of shape require more waste added than rooms that have little shape.

Curves and angles are the biggest creator of waste.

A waste factor of 15% is common for most solid timber flooring with waste factors of 20% for the less stable timbers.

During acclimatization solid timber planks twist, cup and crack so this wood has to be discarded which accounts for the higher waste percentages required than enginnered timber planks

Our timber flooring uses waste levels half that of traditional tung & grove timber floor

A pinch point is caused by inadequate expansion gaps. Timber or bamboo based flooring will expand in summer due to the warmer air carrying moisture vapour into the home.

This will cause the flooring to expand and press against any fixed perimeter where expansion gaps are not installed. The absence of correct expansion gaps will causing cupping in glued floors and peaking in floating floors.

Can I install Uniclic flooring?

Presented below is a YouTube video demonstrating the installation process for our flooring products.

All our flooring variants, including Timber, Bamboo, Cork, Laminate, and Hybrid, utilize the same advanced 3rd generation Uniclic Multifit joint. As a result, the installation procedure remains consistent across all these options.

In cases where the moisture content falls within the standard range (8-10%) upon delivery, the flooring only needs to acclimate for 48 hours on-site.

To ensure the flooring hasn’t absorbed moisture during transport, it’s crucial to assess its moisture content upon arrival at the site.

Furthermore, it’s recommended to assess the room’s moisture level (relative humidity or RH). If the RH exceeds 50% or goes below 40%, it can impact the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) that the installed floor will eventually adjust to. An RH exceeding 50% may lead to floor expansion, while an RH below 40% can cause contraction. This underscores the importance of maintaining proper expansion gaps.

For HDF core flooring, the expansion gap should not be narrower than 8mm, while for Spruce or Hevea core flooring, the minimum is 10mm. As for LVT, an expansion gap of 2-3mm is recommended.

Our provided underlay functions as a damp-proof membrane (DPM) and offers acoustic control. Consequently, there is no need to apply any additional DPM coating to the subfloor, a requirement seen with some other flooring brands.

Installing Quick Step Laminate

Installing Incizo Nosing

Incizo installation all options

The resident humidity of a room (RH) will affect the timber floorings moisture content (MC) causing it to expand or contract.

In modern low moisture homes (RH<45% = MC <10%) high moisture flooring will be under stress and eventually fail due to shrinkage caused by moisture loss drying it out

Moisture loss in solid wood flooring causes cell collapse (cracking and checking) this is why Unilin developed dimensionally stable timber flooring which can handle RH down to 30% = MC 6-7%

Flooring that gaps is no longer allowed in Kitchens, Toilets, Laudries, Bathrooms ann Ensuites under the new weat area compliance codes 2022

Unilin flooring is unattached to the subfloor which prevents subfloor expansion, contraction or cracking effecting the surface of the flooring.

Unilin flooring (QuickStep or Pergo) are the only timber floors where you get a no gapping warranty on the joint connection between boards . This is due to the flooring being manufactured to be dimensionaly stable during seasonal changes

Glued tung & grove flooring will always reflect subfloor issues in the surface of the flooring and have a tendency to gap between boards over time.

Natural seasonal moisture variations cause a certain amount of movement (expansion and contraction) in natural floors and buildings.

The required expansion gaps specified by all manufactures and BRANZ for timber, laminate and bamboo flooring are below.
Note: If the sub floor is timber, then the expansion gap is also accounting for its seasonal movement as well

Our Laminate Flooring = 5mm – 8mm

Our Timber Flooring = 8mm-10mm

Our Bamboo = 8mm-10mm

Solid 19-21mm Tung & Grove flooring = 12-15mm

The expansion gaps are hidden by either your skirting boards or specialized floor trims.

10 or 12mm skirting boards do not provide adequate cover for the perimeter gap.

Expansion gaps manage expansion they do not manage shrinkage in timber floors.

Our timber floor can be used in wet areas and comply with the new wet area standard 2022

Yes our timber & laminate floors are maufactured to work efficiently with heated subfloors and have a no gapping warranty when installed over heated subfloors.

1. System must be capped to a maximum temp of 27 degree C at contact underside of timber flooring

2. System when turned on for first time must be gradually increased to full temperature of 27deg C

3. Concrete sub floor must be coated or covered with an impervious water proof membrane (DPM)

4. The heating of the sub floor will draw trapped moisture to the surface of the concrete so DPM membrane is not optional (our underlay is a 200 micron DPM)

Yes; We offer competitive installation rates, covered by our master installer warranty. We import a large range of finishing profiles from Europe that go with the flooring we are installing

When you place an order with us and you are doing stairs we supply all the documents covering compliance on stairs for our flooring as required under the NZ building code

Semi-gloss = P1

Low sheen = P2

Matt = P3

Oiled = P2

The NZ building code specifies .40+ for stairs which equals the P3 rating for stairs they may become wet.

It pays to check with your architect or builder as to which rating you need