I have a large quantity (1000 blocks) of reclaimed parquet flooring. I would like to lay this in my hallway. I have tried (unsucessfully so far) to find information on how to lay this type of flooring. Could anyone suggest where I might find any useful information?
The blocks are approximately 9 inches long, 3 inches wide and about 1.5 inches thick. Each block has a small dove-tail on the bottom. The wood is a deep red colour, maybe some sort of teak ?
So far I have cleaned the old bitumen from around 500 of these blocks by putting the blocks in the freezer then scraping the bitumen off. All surfaces and the dovetails are reasonably clean with only a very thin film of bitumen left (under the surface of the wood i think).
I have a level floor surface prepared consisting of 22mm plywood.
So I suppose the main questions are:-
1. Which adhesive should I use and will this be ok with the reclaimed blocks that have the old bitumen residue on them.
2. Do I need to sand the bottom of the blocks to provide a key for the adhesive?
3. How much glue should I put down?
4. I notice my blocks have this little dove tail on the bottom. I assume this allows glue to seep around from under the block to provide a more firm hold for the block. If this is the case then is there some way the block should be manipulated to ensure the glue goes into this area?
5. I thought I would lay the blocks like brickwork (straight as opposed to in a herringbone pattern). I thought the best way to do the job would be to find the centre of my hallway, fix a baton down the centre line then use the batton to fit a single course of the blocks as a guide for the rest of the floor. Is this ok ?
6. Should I force each block as tight as possible to its neighbours ? This would hopefully minimise any gaps between blocks but then what about allowance for natural movement of the wood.... hopefully if I get the right glue this will flex a bit ?
7. The thickness of the blocks I have tends to vary quite a bit (up to 7mm). Should I put more adhesive under the thinner ones (to avoid more sanding) or should I lay them all on the same thickness of glue (and do a lot more sanding) ?
Clearly I don't know much about this so any help would be much appreciated.
The blocks are approximately 9 inches long, 3 inches wide and about 1.5 inches thick. Each block has a small dove-tail on the bottom. The wood is a deep red colour, maybe some sort of teak ?
So far I have cleaned the old bitumen from around 500 of these blocks by putting the blocks in the freezer then scraping the bitumen off. All surfaces and the dovetails are reasonably clean with only a very thin film of bitumen left (under the surface of the wood i think).
I have a level floor surface prepared consisting of 22mm plywood.
So I suppose the main questions are:-
1. Which adhesive should I use and will this be ok with the reclaimed blocks that have the old bitumen residue on them.
2. Do I need to sand the bottom of the blocks to provide a key for the adhesive?
3. How much glue should I put down?
4. I notice my blocks have this little dove tail on the bottom. I assume this allows glue to seep around from under the block to provide a more firm hold for the block. If this is the case then is there some way the block should be manipulated to ensure the glue goes into this area?
5. I thought I would lay the blocks like brickwork (straight as opposed to in a herringbone pattern). I thought the best way to do the job would be to find the centre of my hallway, fix a baton down the centre line then use the batton to fit a single course of the blocks as a guide for the rest of the floor. Is this ok ?
6. Should I force each block as tight as possible to its neighbours ? This would hopefully minimise any gaps between blocks but then what about allowance for natural movement of the wood.... hopefully if I get the right glue this will flex a bit ?
7. The thickness of the blocks I have tends to vary quite a bit (up to 7mm). Should I put more adhesive under the thinner ones (to avoid more sanding) or should I lay them all on the same thickness of glue (and do a lot more sanding) ?
Clearly I don't know much about this so any help would be much appreciated.
