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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 � 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 � not stained � 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.

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Installing the White Oak Flooring

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Clip Transcript For:

Installing the White Oak Flooring

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Tim -- is here from Cairns group flooring. And Tim you're putting the final touch on this floor -- yes well now this is just a special products that use and a special mop or what yes we use we have a cleaner especially made for -- Or more but this is -- real oak floor yes. Right that's why don't more. Called oak openings greeting OK it's beautiful now I know that earlier this week the carpenters were putting down. The underlayment over the old boards that go back 100 years and basically they just put down. Oriented strand board. With construction adhesive right over the old boards before you guys started the installation and then the first thing that you work with is this. Patty right. Yes this padding is made especially for us. It's Aaron foam beads in between two layers of plastic this gives you sound resistance and moisture resistance. So is the idea also to pad the floor so that it's a more comfortable. Kind of feel a little more counter comfort and also for sound like. OK now tell us a little bit about the installations I think that there are no nails and there is no glue involved right. Absolutely not and they get started they started in the left hand corner. Work let -- right here and started all. The end seams are put together first there's a wedge put into the previously installed import and export. -- seam is put in first. Board is laid into the previously installed row and then it's happening heavy plastic block now no hammer needed. No hammer is needed now it seems like the secret city. Tightness of the installation has to do with -- this interlocking joint right yes it's it's completely mechanical tight joint there is some built in play him. Because it is wood products business and gives you a installation. It's not susceptible to. Environmental changes. And no proof that they don't nails. Now if you look at the backside of the flooring products it's just an unfinished is it for our spruce spruce. And then in between what's that there this is a -- finger jointed inner core with. Quarter sawn vertical raining. So the all the expansion all the moisture allows for the expansion to be vertical so it doesn't effect the wear layer of world war virtually cannot separate OK now what about. Durability floor like this can you refinish it. Actually we guarantee two full sands of the product professionally to full standings of the product legacy. And what about scratching I mean this looks like it's a totally natural finish right. That's an acrylic urethane finishes non yellowing and it's actually harder than polyurethane. Most of our product is natural colors 80% of our line is natural. Over which means that no stain is applied in one of the problems with wear is that if you've got. A light wood with a dark stain on it you can scratch through the dark stain and see the scratches very easily. You can the total amounts scratch off on an actual product. How do you deal with issues like you know your -- edges of the room your thresholds over here is -- that anything goes here. The other floors including ports -- you happen. Expansion everywhere and this is a team molding that'll join two like that I think that's -- It's put down construction used well in place it would go right in here with a little adhesive holding it in place and you that nice finished look. Thanks -- beautiful thank you Bob."

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