A pre-finished timber floor is when the floor board has already been sanded, sealed and is ready to be laid. This is very advantageous for getting new floors laid quickly without having to coat inside your home.Pre-finished floor installations can be done in just days and walked on instantly.

Cupping is a serious structural defect which can occur in all wooden and bamboo floors which is caused by excess moisture content or in the case of compressed bamboo it manifests as a result of the release of stored compression energy in the board.  This is an industry wide problem and may be solved by sanding and polishing the surface of the boards after which the problem may not re-occur.All Lifewood floors manufactured with Stabilised Solid cross engineered technology which eliminates this problem and we back it up with a lifetime warranty.This is an example of a cupping floor.

Engineered timber floor is when a floorboard is manufactured in 3 layers to make it more stable and less susceptible to damage. The top layer is typically made from solid hardwood timber, and the sub-layers are typically made from inferior wood such as plywood.Lifewood floors are made from solid timber throughout the whole board (all 3 layers) and completely sealed to avoid any form of moisture damage.

A cross laminated floorboard is a manufacturing method where the grain direction of the centre lamination is at right angles to the grain direction of the top and bottom lamination. It is used to strengthen the boards resistance to cupping and movement by reinforcing the centre lamination and opposing the natural forces that cause timber and bamboo products to move under stress or environmental changes.

If you are getting a pre-finished timber floor you will be able to walk on your floor immediately after the installation is complete.If you are installing raw timber flooring, you will need to leave the house while the floor is being polished and the curing process is taking place. This can take up to 5 days.

Direct stick is a method of installation where the floor boards are glued directly to the sub floor using timber floor adhesives.The advantages of this way of installation are that you can sand and polish the floor more times giving your floor a much longer lifetime, plus it eliminates hollow echo from under the boards.

A floating floor is referring to a type of timber floorboard which doesn’t need to be nailed or glued down to the surface layer.Floating floors typically have a tongue and groove which click into one another, making the installation process quick and easy.The problem is a floating floor is seen as more of a temporary solution as you can’t sand and polish the surface layer.

Yes, timber floor does scratch, but the most important thing to consider to avoid scratching is the finish.We incorporate a metal oxide in each of the 7 layers of polyurethane finish making it one of the toughest and most durable floors available. However, it is fair to say that the floor can still get scratched but the finishes we use ensures minimal scratching.We also supply you with a special care kit to help minimize the appearance of any scratches.

Bamboo and timber floors can be sanded back and recoated numerous times, depending on how they are manufactured.The denser the floor the more sanding you will be able to get out of them. Our experience indicates that you should expect to get a minimum of 2 – 3 sanding out of a well manufactured floorboard.

That’s a good question. We have done this in a number of installations. However, there are a number of things that need to be considered. Our experience with underfloor heating is that the installer of the heating needs to pay attention to the level of the finished floor. On a number of jobs we have found that the sceed that they put on the underfloor heating is very uneven making it very difficult to install over.

Yes, it is not uncommon to install timber floors over tiles. although there are a few potential negatives that you need to be aware of:
1. If the tiles come loose from the sub floor it could potentially cause damage down the track as you can’t guarantee how well it’s sealed from moisture.
2. Tile floors are rarely perfectly flat so when your timber floor is installed it will have some hollow sounding areas.
3. The other thing we must check is that the glue used bonds well to the surface of the tile.In most cases we recommend that the floor be wiped over with methylated spirits and given a light sanding to ensure the glue bonds sufficiently.