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Installing the White Oak Flooring

Bob meets up with Tim Colgan to look at the Kahrs white oak flooring being installed in the bedroom. Earlier in the week the carpenters put the oriented strand board (OSB) underlayment down with construction adhesive over the old boards. The flooring installers first put down is their proprietary padding made of Airolin foam beads in between two layers of plastic. The padding provides sound and moisture resistance and additional comfort. There are no nails or glue involved in the installation. The end seams are put together first. Once the board is laid into the previously installed row it's topped with a heavy plastic block. There is no need to use a hammer. The secret to the tightness of the installation is in the interlocking joint Ð it's completely mechanical. However, some play is built in to accommodate environmental changes. The backside of the product is spruce and the inner core is finger-jointed pine with quarter sawn vertical graining. Because of this all the expansion will be vertical and won't affect the wear layer of the floor. As for durability, Kahrs guarantees two full professional sands of the product. The finish is an acrylic urethane, which is actually harder than polyurethane and is non-yellowing. Eighty percent of the Kahrs line is natural colors Ð not stained Ð which eliminates the problem of the lighter natural color of a dark stained wood showing through with scratches and wear. The installed starting price point is about $8.00 a square foot. Because this is a floating floor expansion is left around the perimeter. A special "T" molding is used to join two like heightness floors and give it a finished look. More information