Page 23 - Parquet International luglio 2014

to pull it up, it would have come up easily and in its entirety. There was simply no grip, much less any opposition to the dimensional shifting of the wood following its inevitable phase of hygroscopic dynamic balancing with the environment.
Conclusion
The quantity of adhesive is important, but also and above all, the way the glue is spread, and in particular, the height of the top of the “groove” of adhesive in regard to the dimensions of the parquet's planking and the characteristics of the laying surface. Not by chance, in fact, among the various checks that a parquet installer must always perform pre- viously - in addition to the fundamental lay- ing surface moisture content weight test - the planarity check assumes great importance. The latest standards regarding checks on on- site wood floor laying procedures test the pla- narity of the laying surfaces with focused and specific verification procedures. Another important detail to bear in mind is the for- mat of the planks. A solid wood product with noteworthy dimensions that was once ex-
clusively laid by nailing onto slats inserted in the laying surface concrete will invariably be vulnerable to numerous risks if it is laid by gluing alone. Wood - an often forgotten detail - tends to reach its own equilibrium wherever it is laid, and therefore boards of large size can develop fairly high tensions that should be "absorbed" into the laying sur- face. These tensions pass through the glue. Therefore, in addition to the quality of the products used, the work procedures adopt- ed must also be given all due consideration. Flooring installers usually work with habits they have consolidated over time and dozens of installations. It is very important for them to keep up to date, however, to read product technical data sheets, and to take part in professional seminars in which cer- tain procedures are explained together with the problems that may arise when work is not scrupulously performed up to stan- dard. My word of advice to flooring installers is this: keep up to date; don't be afraid to ask questions, and ask why things happen (or as in this case, fail to happen) because as the saying goes: "no one is born learned"! I