When improving your home spaces, you often target the visible aspects such as the wall colors, furniture styles, and fixture types. Most of the time, flooring is often ignored. It should be known that flooring is also an essential factor that can largely impact your space’s quality, aesthetics, and durability.
You also need to ensure the installation of proper materials aside from deciding which is suitable for various areas. And true to life, the features between a house that strikes as a home and one that is just average are distinguished by a nicely made floor.
This post will tackle the necessary tests before and during the installation of your floor area. These tests are of utmost importance to guarantee that your investment in flooring will not be futile due to early wear or damage.
Pre-Installation Tests
Before even planning to start assembling your new flooring materials in place, pre-installation tests need to be done. Conducting this series of tests will let you know that your floor is done well from the very start:
Moisture Testing
Mold growth, warped boards, and loosened tiles result from extreme moisture found in your underfloor area. Conducting a moisture test to avoid such issues in the future is necessary.
Using a moisture meter or having a calcium chloride test will give accurate indications of moisture levels present in your underfloor area. It’s necessary to take action to lessen the high moisture content found before proceeding with the installation.
Moreover, using the right flooring materials also matters. You should decide depending on the climate of the area you’re living in.
Let’s take the US, for example. Due to its humid climate, engineered hardwood or laminate flooring is more suitable for the area. For Australia, solid hardwood and vinyl floorings are ideal due to its dry climate. So, if you’re in Newcastle or anywhere nearby, the best services for flooring newcastle has to offer are easily within reach.
Flatness Testing
The floor’s balanced area impacts your finished area’s overall feel and ambiance. An unbalanced floor can create an unsmooth surface, discomfort, and potential tripping hazards.
Utilizing a straight edge or laser level can help you obtain the flatness of your subfloor. Sanding down high spots and filling low spots using a leveling compound gives you a leveled foundation for your new floor, lessening the risk of accidents.
Expansion Gap Test
The temperature and humidity changes can often result in some flooring materials contracting or expanding. It’s crucial to have an expansion gap between your room’s flooring materials and walls to compensate for this event.
Utilizing a ruler and tape measure, you can verify the necessary expansion gap needed around the walls. This step will guarantee sufficient space for your flooring to expand and contract without splitting or swelling.
Image by Freepik
Post-Installation Tests
When your floor installation is complete, conducting some post-installation tests is vital to the flooring process. These tests will determine the installation’s quality and guarantee that your pristine floor is prepared to take on everyday usage and challenges:
Seam Integrity Test
Certain types of flooring, like carpets or vinyl, need to be checked with a seam integrity test. Conducting this test helps ensure that the seams between the flooring materials and pieces are adequately fixed. This test will also prevent future challenges, such as splitting or peeling, and be able to manage them better.
In conducting a seam integrity test, you only need to run your hand over the seams’ surfaces to inspect if there are any damaged or loose spots and visible cracks. To ensure and support the grade and durability of your floor area, all issues, no matter how minute, should be accounted for instantly for cost-effectiveness.
Sound Test
A sound test is conducted by walking inside the room and listening for any cracked, hollow, or jerky sounds you hear when pacing on the floor. The presence of these sounds reveals that there is an issue with the adhesive material used during the installation process. These issues may arise in the future.
It’s preferable to seek advice from a flooring expert if you hear any unusual sounds during the sound test. They will be able to locate the issue within the flooring spaces and recommend the appropriate action to take in order to correct it.
Final Inspection
You must complete a final inspection before you declare the project complete. Why? Because this will be your final attempt at detecting any possible concerns within the flooring space. Conducting the final inspection will involve a thorough visual and physical floor check. You will inspect for obvious flaws like scratches, dents, or uneven seams.
In conducting the final inspection, make sure to handle any defects that you locate immediately. Doing this step will allow you to enjoy the floor’s feel and quality for a long time. You will be able to preserve the look and durability of your flooring area. Furthermore, it’s essential to have appropriate maintenance instructions to protect the floor’s good condition.
Conclusion
Having the time and patience to complete these crucial flooring installation tests can widely impact and determine the quality and strength of your finished floor. Like a chef who evaluates their dish during cooking, having tests during the installation process allows you to seize arising concerns within your materials before they evolve into considerable problems. Therefore, always be keen to take time and ensure that your flooring is finished in style and quality.
