The installation of natural flooring.

Subfloor

Natural carpet can in principle be laid on any subfloor. It is important that the floor is flat, permanently dry and pressure-resistant. Installation of natural carpet in damp rooms is not recommended.

Requirements

Flooring

When ordering, always take the final installation into account. Therefore, add a reserve of 2-3% to the effective dimensions (with a minimum of 5 cm). This is to correct any deviations; the carpet may also shrink slightly. For coarse textures, the design of the flooring, referring to the texture, and/or the direction of the pile may be important for the appearance. Finally, when choosing the carpet, always consider the thickness (in connection with the available free height, e.g. at doors).

Adhesive

Based on the properties of the natural fibers of the carpet, which are highly sensitive to stretching and shrinkage, we recommend that the flooring be fully glued down. The final choice of adhesive also depends on the subfloor (type), final application (use), the possible presence of underfloor heating, etc. As every situation is different, we recommend proper preliminary information to determine the correct choice of adhesive.

Notched trowel

When gluing down the flooring, provided with a relatively flat or lightly textured backing, we recommend a B1 notched trowel. When gluing down coarser qualities, provided with a heavily textured backing, we recommend using a B3 notched trowel, or a B2 that is used upright.

Other items

In addition to the flooring, the adhesive and the notched trowel, a carpet roller (roller approx. 50 kg) should not be missing and we also recommend a knee brace. Of course, things such as a sharp knife/scissors, measuring tape and a clean, slightly damp cotton cloth are part of the standard equipment.

Installation/processing

Preferably let the flooring acclimatize in the room where it is to be laid for 48 hours, but at least 24 hours, fully unrolled. The temperature in the room in question should be at least 14°C, while fluctuations in temperature and humidity should be avoided during acclimatization. It is advised NOT to place the flooring on a floor temperature below 14°C and above 70% relative humidity.

When processing the supplied carpet roll, the roll should already have been checked for weaving and/or other defects before cutting. As this is unfortunately not always a given, it is recommended to check the carpet again before final processing. After all, this is a woven natural product and no matter how much attention and care is paid to the final product during production, an imperfection cannot always be avoided.

For any weaving and/or other defects that should have been reasonably visible at the start of the installation, the supplier will bear no or only very limited liability!

Before starting the installation of the flooring, an inspection of the subfloor is necessary. This subfloor must be sufficiently dry, flat and solid; otherwise, measures must be taken to dry and/or level the floor.

In addition, it is advisable to check in advance whether doors etc. in the room in question can still be opened normally after the carpet has been laid (with or without an underlay).

Roll the carpet strips loose next to each other in the room, maintaining an excess of 1-2% in length and width due to possible stretching and shrinkage. Also take into account an overlap in width of approx. 5 cm in connection with shrinkage/seam fitting. Always cut the strips as much as possible on/along a warp thread (length); end seams are not possible with most qualities.

At the start, take into account the waiting time of the adhesive, which is usually 10–20 minutes depending on the type of adhesive and ambient temperature. There is often also a maximum time before it must be laid, usually approx. 30–40 minutes. Therefore, do not glue down more surface area than can be laid in approx. 30 minutes.

Start by laying the first strip at the side of the room. Roll the strip halfway and apply the adhesive. Carefully lay the flooring back and then do the same with the other half of the strip. Then roll the strip out with a carpet roller (approx. 50 kg roller). Leave a strip of approx. 20 cm unrolled on the 'free' side, the side where the next carpet strip will join. This is necessary to be able to process the seam neatly later.

The next strip can be laid in the same way, paying attention to any patterns/textures that continue.

For the seam finishing, pick up the unrolled part of the first strip and lay it over the second strip. Cut both strips at the same time (to size), then lay the first strip back and remove the remaining piece of the second strip. Then press both strips into the adhesive and roll out the entire strip again with the carpet roller.

For a slightly neater seam finish, you can also choose to measure out both overlaps and cut/trim both to size between two warp threads; especially with designs/patterns, we recommend this seam finishing.

In this case too, pick up the unrolled part of the first strip and cut/trim the selvage approx. 4 cm from the selvage of the carpet along the warp thread. Then carefully press this strip into the adhesive.

Then take the second strip and cut/trim the carpet along the warp thread in the same way, so that the desired design/pattern can be continued.

Press both strips into the adhesive here too and roll out the entire strip with the carpet roller.

During gluing, the possible design flow can be corrected with a knee brace, and the seams can also be laid tightly against each other.

Always make sure that the edges are properly embedded in the floor adhesive to avoid the chance of unraveling as much as possible. Spraying the cut edges of the carpet with a suitable cut-resistant spray can also reduce the chance of unraveling. The best effect is achieved when skirting boards are (re)placed over the carpet after laying. For seam finishing at doors/passages, we recommend finishing with a (door) skirting board or finishing profile.

Aftercare

Wait approx. 24 hours after installation before walking frequently on the carpet; this allows the adhesive to dry and prevents any adhesive bleed-through. During aftercare, it is also important that the drying of the adhesive is not forced, so that the temperature and humidity remain constant.

Any fluctuations in temperature and/or humidity will cause shrinkage in the carpet. Shrinkage that will become apparent at the seams and edges.