First timer to parquet

Rella · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:26 pm Post Subject: First timer to parquet

Hi there
We recently bought a load of reclaimed mahogany parquet 9inchs by 2.5 inches by 1inch. The guy we got them off said it was OK to lay them straight onto our floorboards using a flexible acrylic glue> Is this right, or do I need a 6 mm subfloor?

2nd question - sorry - I do want a border around the edge and have read several differing methods. Do I do this first or last?
Someone said to mark out where the border would be, adding on for the expansion strip then lay herribone pattern, right over the edge where the border would go. Once this was done, use one of those circular saws to cut a straight line and save messing about with cutting all the messy bits out one at a time.

Would this be a viable way of doing it? Many thanks

mattysupra · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:19 pm Post Subject:

dont lay straight on top off floorboards. I would like to see a minimum of 6mm ply laid first. Thicker if boards uneven. In fact i like to sand floorboards flat first and then use 6mm ply and even 4mm if i get them really flat but as a diyer i dought you would have the tools or the skills to do this ( sanding takes years to master). But saying that if you brought reclaimed timber you will have to sand after fitting and this could be good practise for you.

As for the glue- well if your using wood flooring adhesive it should be flexible. I stick with urethane and rubber adhesives and try to steer clear of water based. Wood and water dont mix! The parquet, fit the middle first! The hardest bit about fitting a parquet floor is setting it out. If done correct you will end up with equal cuts every where so you can set saw up and do all your cuts. If you want to use circular saw to cut in i use a circular saw made by a company called festool. There saw runs on a track system which you cant go wrong with. I use it on all my boarder work. In fact when i used to do training for bruce hardwood / floorboards etc every one i showed this tool to ended up buying one the next day. brilliant tool. I wouldn't suggest using a cheap circular free hand tho. Hope this helps.