B4 becoming a tiler, wood flooring is my trade and boy have I seen some horrendous installations!!! Expansion gaps are the most important aspect of any floor. A minimum of 8 mm gap is required around everything ie. walls, rad pipes, bottom steps etc. If you are installing in a large area take the total m2 and x by 1.5 ie 80m2 x 1.5 and remove the zero (80x1.5=120-zero = 12mm) this gap is to be applied everywhere NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you are gluing solid boards directly to the floor a 3mm gap is needed every 50cm across (use stanley blades as a guide) as in a few weeks time this gap will almost disappear. Dont forget the perimeter gap too!
All cement based sub-floors must have a DPM either a plastic sheet taped together for floating floors or a liquid DPM for stick down.
Most clients ask for the floor to be continuous through all rooms but you must resist and inform them that each room has its own temp and humidity when the door is closed and this WILL affect the floor. Install matching wood threshold profiles.
The product needs to be left in the room to be installed for a min 3 days prior to installation to acclimatize.
As I stated above I have seen and had to repair some disgraceful installations and met some very upset customers over the years so take your time and remember if you are unsure always ask for advice.
My preference is oiled floors opposed to laquered.
When I lived in the UK my company was the registered installer of Junkers flooring in and around Berks and unfortunately for the clients but fortunate for us we were also recommended to rectify junkers installations.
