Why are Interior Environmental and Flooring Industry Installation Standards and Practices Necessary?

One of the more common problems I observe when inspecting flooring problems is the failure of the general contractor, flooring contractor, and even the project architect or design team to follow the basic project plans, specifications, industry standard and practice, and the manufacturers written product installation criteria and warranty mandates. The flooring industry standard and practice and the manufacturers of all applied concrete coatings, adhesives, and flooring materials have basic requirements that must be adhered to in order for their products to be properly installed and warranted. 

The personnel involved with the project always express a wide multitude of reasons why the instructions and standards were not met. The reasons most often presented for not following the required specifications and guidelines are increased project job expenses, the potential loss of a construction bonus and/or penalties for not completing the project on schedule. Other frequently used excuses include pressures from an insufficient construction schedule, the needs of the end user, product delivery problems, and the conflicting work schedules of other subcontractors involved on the project. The end result of the failure to follow the project plans and other requirements is a problematic flooring installation that becomes an expensive repair issue and possibly leads to costly, time-consuming litigation. 

Acclimation

A primary and most critical aspect of any flooring installation, especially a flooring installation involving large scale, or new construction work, is dealing with the environmental requirements of having a fully enclosed and properly acclimated building. Proper building acclimation is mandatory for the successful acclimation and installation of any flooring material. Proper interior climate control is absolutely necessary to accomplish the accurate testing of substrate moisture, pH, and concrete slab porosity conditions prior to the installation of any floorcovering material. No substrate moisture evaluation or flooring installation can be accomplished in a proper manner without the existence of a fully enclosed building that has a functional and properly operational HVAC system that is able produce a finitely controlled interior environment in the installation area.  

Acclimation of Installation Area: One of the most often overlooked factors is the allowance of the proper time frame required for the acclimation of the installation area prior to the delivery of the flooring material. Most manufacturers of flooring materials stipulate the amount of time required and the proper temperature and relative humidity conditions that should be in effect within the installation area prior to the delivery of the flooring materials. The proper installation area environmental conditions should be maintained at a consistent temperature and relative humidity prior to the delivery of the flooring material, during the material acclimation period, the actual entire installation period, and on a similar and continual basis during the operation of the facility.  

Acclimation of Flooring Materials: The proper acclimation of all flooring materials is critical. The proper acclimation of any flooring installation component is absolutely necessary. The proper acclimation of a laminate or multi-layer/component product is even more critical because each component material contained within the flooring product will have a slightly different tolerance for changes in temperature and relative humidity. Each individual component in a multi-layered product, depending on the physical or chemical structure of that component will react differently to changes in the interior environment of the installation area.  

All flooring materials, no matter the characteristics of their physical makeup, are subject to dimensional changes (expansion and contraction) in their physical dimensions when exposed to significant changes in the temperature and relative humidity conditions in their environment. For example, a dimensional change of 1/100^th of an inch per foot that accrues across a 100-foot expanse creates an additional 1.0” in the finished width of the material.  

That additional one-inch of expansion does not seem like much but may eliminate the necessary perimeter expansion space required to prevent a “locked-in condition” from developing. The “locked–in” condition will result in excessive lateral pressure conditions developing across the installation. The one inch of expansion could result in product cupping or buckling and a loss of bond of the flooring material to the substrate. Inconsistent temperature and relative humidity in the installation area can also affect the curing of the adhesives or coatings utilized in the installation process. 

Acclimation of All Materials: To ensure the best flooring installation possible, all of the flooring materials, adhesives, vapor retardant products, and cementitous substrate preparation materials should be thoroughly acclimated, at the same time, and in the same properly conditioned space within the installation area. All flooring, applied coatings, substrate preparation, and leveling agent manufacturers provide written directions pertaining to their required temperature and relative humidity conditions for the proper acclimation and installation process in their installation guidelines. Most times, this information is also printed on the product container or enclosed within the product packaging. Most manufacturers have websites, and 800 phone numbers directly linked to their installation and technical service departments that are standing by to assist you with any questions you may have. 

But ranges are ranges. If a temperature range is listed as 50°F to 80°F and the temperatures vary from day to night on a consistent basis. For example, the temperature can go from 52°F at night to 78°F during the day (26°F variance). The temperature is not considered stable. For the best results, a temperature range of 65°F to 70°F + or – 5°F (a maximum variance of 15°F) would be considered a stable environment for the installation area, flooring material acclimation, and flooring installation time frame.  

A relative humidity range of 30% to 60% may be recommended by the manufacturer of the flooring material as an acceptable relative humidity range. If the relative humidity level varies for example, from 33% to 58% (variance of 25%) with a consistent fluctuation from night-time to daytime, the installation area does not have a consistently acclimated environment. The best relative humidity condition for a successful flooring installation would be 40% to 45% plus or minus 5% would be the most suitable relative humidity conditions for a successful flooring installation.  

The failure to properly acclimate and consistently maintain the facilities interior environment prior to material acclimation, the installation process, and during the buildings in service time can lead to costly and time-consuming dimensional stability problems with the flooring materials utilized on your project.  

Be aware that the written approval of the architect, general contractor, and/or the owner’s representative should be obtained before any changes in the specified acclimation or installation procedures are instigated.

Lighting

Another necessary factor often overlooked in new construction is the presence of adequate interior lighting. The installation of adequate and balanced lighting prior to the commencement of the flooring installation is critical. The installation of most floorcovering and especially resilient flooring is not unlike putting together many pieces of a giant puzzle. The substrate must be acceptably flat in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation criteria (that is another story for another day). The edges have to be finely fit, and because the flooring installation is bonded to the substrate by an adhesive, once the flooring material is placed into the adhesive and the adhesive has properly cured, it is very difficult to realign any misaligned flooring material. 

Depending on the intensity and direction of the lighting sources, insufficient lighting can create edge appearance and color appearance issues throughout areas where insufficient or unbalanced lighting conditions will cause flooring and other vertical surfaces to reflect light differently. The simple difference in the level of light refraction off the flooring surfaces or adjacent vertical surface material can cause a singular color to appear as several shades of the same color within the same room. 

Insufficient lighting conditions will create a multitude of problems during the installation process. Fitting the sections of flooring material together is difficult under the best of conditions. Insufficient or unbalanced lighting conditions can cause edge shadowing to appear at random locations throughout the installation. If balanced and sufficient lighting is available in the installation area, the installer has the best opportunity to accurately fit the sections of flooring in a proper and timely fashion. 

Do the Job Correctly

While these problematic conditions may occur on almost any project, the conditions should not change the primary function of the project. The primary project requirement is to always install all flooring products in a proper, timely manner, and in accordance with the project plans, specifications, and the product manufacturers installation criteria and warranty conditions. The “perceived problems” should never supercede the initial project mandate and contractual obligations of doing the job correctly, and in accordance with the project plans, specifications and the flooring manufacturers installation guidelines.