1、 Basic condition acceptance before installation
Ground flatness: Use a 2-meter ruler to measure, and the height difference between any two points should be controlled within 3mm. If it exceeds this range, self leveling cement or fine aggregate concrete should be used for leveling. Attention: Suspended flooring cannot compensate for significant unevenness in the foundation through its own deformation.
Ground slope: Outdoor areas should have a drainage slope of 0.3% -0.5% (decreasing by 3-5 centimeters every 10 meters), pointing towards drainage ditches or low-lying areas. Indoor venues allow for a gentler 0.1% slope.
Drying and Cleaning: The basic moisture content should not exceed 5% (using a concrete moisture content tester). Thoroughly remove oil stains, floating dust, and paint residues. A simple verification method: Cover the ground with 1 meter x 1 meter cling film, seal with tape around, and after 24 hours, there is no condensation inside the film.
Temperature and humidity restrictions: The installation environment temperature should be between 5 ℃ -40 ℃. When the temperature drops below 5 ℃, the lock buckle becomes brittle and is prone to breakage when forcefully struck; When the temperature exceeds 40 ℃, the material becomes too soft and experiences uneven thermal expansion and contraction stress after installation. The relative humidity should not exceed 80%, and outdoor installation is prohibited on rainy days.
2、 Tool preparation
Main tools: rubber hammer (weighing about 1.5kg, avoiding direct impact with an iron hammer), hook (used to tighten the floors in the back rows), tape measure (one 5m and one 10m each), art knife (cutting corners), powder line box, goggles.
Auxiliary supplies: cushion pad (for slightly uneven areas), level gauge, suction cup (for lifting installed floor blocks).
3、 Pre laying planning and layout
Baseline ejection: Find the longest edge of the field as the baseline, and use a pink line to eject a parallel line 30cm-50cm away from the wall. Simultaneously pop up the centerline perpendicular to it, forming a cross reference. Avoid paving directly from the corner of the wall - the corner of the wall is often uneven.
Layout calculation: Measure the length and width of the site, and use a tape measure to calculate the required number of floor tiles. Key point: The cutting width of the next row of floors should not be less than one-third of the width of the entire board (for example, for a 30cm wide board, the remaining cutting should not be less than 10cm). If the remaining width is too narrow, the starting position should be adjusted to evenly distribute the narrow strip on both sides.
Pattern and Direction: Determine the installation direction of the floor. It is usually recommended that the long side be perpendicular to the main direction of motion (i.e. the long side of the basketball court is parallel to the baseline, and the short side is parallel to the sideline). If it is a two-color mosaic (such as red and green alternating), it is necessary to draw a pattern partition on the ground with pink lines in advance.
4、 Splicing installation steps
Positioning of best-selling flooring: Align one corner of the best-selling flooring with the intersection of the cross reference line, and confirm that both the long and short sides coincide with the pink line. This location determines the squareness of the entire site, and the error should be controlled within 2mm.
Row extension: Splicing blocks one by one along the reference line direction. Each floor needs to maintain a tilt angle of 30 ° -45 ° with adjacent panels. Insert the male buckle into the female buckle groove and press it down until it is flat. Hearing a 'click' sound indicates that the lock is in place. Attention: Do not use brute force to push, instead insert the lock buckle naturally by tilting it.
Rubber Hammer Adjustment: During installation, use a rubber hammer to lightly tap the locking edge of the spliced floor (rather than the hollow area in the middle) to ensure that the panels are tightly fitted. The tapping force should be based on "just enough to cancel the gap", excessive tapping may damage the lock buckle.
Inter row connection: After laying out the best-selling rows, the excellent rows start from the same side. Connect the new board to the short side locking buckle of the previous board, and then press the long side locking buckle into the male buckle of the previous row as a whole. At this point, it may be necessary to use foot stomping or a rubber hammer to assist in downward pressure.
Hook usage: When laid in the later rows, the space becomes narrower and cannot be tilted for insertion. At this point, hook the hook onto the edge of the already laid floor, gently pull to create a gap, and then insert the next board into the lock buckle.
5、 Edge cutting and closing
Edge measurement: Place the uncut whole board on the edge of the already laid area, and place a narrow board above it as a "support". Use a craft knife to cut 3-4 times along the edge of the support, and then break it up and down. Alternatively, use a pair of cutting pliers.
Edge fixation: The cut edge plate usually only has a single-sided locking buckle. One to one edge closure strips or L-shaped aluminum alloy edge strips should be used, and fixed to the ground with expansion bolts (spaced 40cm apart) to press down on the edge of the floor to prevent warping.
Expansion joint reservation: 10 mm-15 mm expansion joint shall be reserved between the site and the wall (temporarily filled with wooden battens). This joint is used for thermal expansion and contraction, and cannot be filled with cement mortar. Afterwards, cover with elastic sealant or PVC skirting board.
6、 Special Area Handling
Circular or curved boundaries (such as badminton court corners): First, make a 1:1 template with cardboard, place the template on the floor to draw lines, and then cut it with a curved saw. It is not recommended to use a manual knife as it may produce jagged edges.
Embedded parts crossing (such as basketball hoop columns): Accurately draw the outline of the embedded parts on the floor and use a curved saw with fine teeth to cut the opening. Leave a 5mm gap between the edge of the opening and the embedded part, and fill it with a sealing gasket.
Drainage ditch cover area: If there is a drainage ditch in the outdoor area, the floor should be laid to the edge of the ditch and pressed down with edge strips. The trench cover plate should be installed separately and kept flush or slightly 2mm lower than the floor.
7、 Inspection and acceptance after installation
Lock bite inspection: Randomly select 10 adjacent panels in the middle of the site and measure the gaps between the panels with a feeler gauge. Qualification criteria: Gap ≤ 0.5mm, and the foundation ground cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Flatness retest: Use a 2-meter ruler to measure along a "zigzag" path within the site, with a local height difference of no more than 3mm at any position. Pay special attention to the cutting edge without any warping.
Elasticity test: Take off from a height of 30cm with both feet in place and drop down to feel if the floor sinks and rebounds evenly. If there is a local improvement (such as stepping on cement) or excessive softness (obvious sinking), it is necessary to check whether the foundation at that location is hollow or uneven.
Drainage verification (outdoor): Use a hose to flush a corner of the site with water and observe if the water flow is completely drained within 3 minutes without any standing water. The flooded area needs to be marked and checked for any sinking or deformation of the floor.
8、 Common problems and on-site handling
Floor cannot be locked: Clean the debris or sand particles in the locking groove. If the lock buckle is deformed, use a hot air gun (at a temperature of about 80 ℃) to heat it locally and then re press it.
Halfway through laying, deviation from baseline is found: if the deviation is within 10mm, it can be gradually corrected by adjusting 1-2mm for each row in the future; If the deviation is too large, it needs to be dismantled back to the starting point and re paved. Do not force a correction at once, as it may cause the floor to arch.
The sudden drop in temperature causes the gap to enlarge: it is a normal phenomenon of thermal expansion and contraction. As long as the gap does not exceed 2mm and the lock buckle does not detach, no treatment is required. After the temperature rises, the gap will decrease on its own.
Excessive jagged edges during cutting: Use fine sandpaper (240 grit) to gently polish along the cutting edge to remove burrs.
