Why Training Benefits Both Fitters and Suppliers of Real Wood Flooring

As in any industry, the appropriate training is essential to guarantee the job gets done properly and that everyone benefits from the process. There are many fitters of real wood floors - builders, carpenters and trained wood flooring specialists.

Each fitter has a different skill-base, experience and technique using a wide range of products, therefore there can be a lot of variation in the workmanship of the end product. Why problems arise for fitters Installing a real wood floor is not an easy task. Laminate and engineered real wood floors can be installed on top of an underlay, but the sub floor needs to be in a good condition to start with.

Solid wood floors need to be fixed to a subfloor. On a concrete subfloor they need to be fixed with an adhesive. On a wooden subfloor they need to be fixed with a porter nailer - the existing boards need to be checked to make sure they aren't loose and secured first. Engineered and solid floors need to acclimatise to the environment to be fitted. Packs need to remain closed in the room for at least 48 hours before installation. Room temperature should ideally be around 18 degrees C with a relative humidity between 45-55%.

The moisture content of the fitting environment is one of the most important factors. Changes in humidity cause expansion and contraction of real wood floors. Other moisture considerations are wet-trades work - concrete floors being completely dry, all plasterwork complete and dry, painting and wallpapering has been given time to dry out, wall or floor tiles installed for at least 3 weeks and radiators have been bleed to name a few. There are so many possible variants and therefore room for problems with fitting that it's important that trade workers have the relevant experience.

Fitting Floors

Why problems arise for suppliers Because of the wide variety of issues that can arise from the actual fitting of a real wood floor, when a job does go wrong sometimes the fitter blames the supplier or manufacturers product and not their skill in fitting. This obviously causes many problems the supplier. Once their product has been delivered to a fitter, they have little or no control over what happens to it next.

Experienced fitters should check the wood supply before fitting and raise any concerns with the supplier. Also a detailed fitting process should be listed to the supplier so that they can carry out their own inspection on the fitting to determine whether the issue is their product or the installation. If the dispute is still not settled, an independent inspection can be brought in for a fee of up to £500 - a cost shared by both parties.

The solution is training Even an established fitter can benefit from additional training. Use of moisture meters and understanding how to fully use them can help eliminate problems further down the line. The British Wood Flooring Association (BWFA) runs 2 day courses in skills such as installation, and sanding and finishing. They also offer an NVQ qualification in wood floor installation. Even if you know what you're doing, anyone can improve their skills by learning more advanced techniques such as inlay work.