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Prefinished Wood Floors in the Modular Home

Bob Vila takes an early interior tour of the modular home. Bob is in a 15-foot-wide-by-48-foot long section. The flooring and walls are almost complete and much of the molding and cabinetry is laid out and ready to be installed. Bob points out an archway between the kitchen and breakfast nook�one of the pleasant design surprises that can be added to a custom modular home. The floors are Bellawood�s Northern Red Oak with a gunstock finish. The darker finish gives a more sophisticated and formal look to the room. The hardwood floors are installed in the modular home just as they wood be in a site built home. Mike Snyder from Mike�s Flooring, a flooring sub contractor in the Simplex plant, points out the quality of the Bellawood noting it has very few flaws and a durable finish. The flooring is left incomplete where two pieces of the modular home are to be attached. On site, quick work will be made of the few details left when the large modular sections are joined.

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Clip Transcript For:

Prefinished Wood Floors in the Modular Home

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Where in the tail end of a box that's approximately what dimension. This particular boxes is about sixteen feet wide by 48 feet long 48 yes and so in that space we've got our kitchens and -- breakfast. This is the breakfast breakfast nook all right one thing that is very nice feature is this archway sure is this something you often do. Yes it is but it's by order only now the flooring is bellawood. It's red -- American red oak with I think got stuck -- fish and affix a piece before we get into. Hammering it down and the finish is what's great about this this it's been. Tested to be one of the hardest finishes available let's talk about how it gets installed. Bob we use sub contractor here mark Snyder does a lot of work idle hand hardwood flooring installation work and so we're not hand nailing it was using a target yes that's correct. So mark you probably work with a big variety of wood wood floor for Saudi like working with -- bellawood. Not -- didn't call its priests. It's city. Actually I guess. Very few flaws very good -- It's. Very square. And surface seems to be pretty much nick proof. That's important yet left and worse than damaging a finished floor during the installation. Definitely. Now. This park box Dave is again obviously sixteen feet wide. When when we were out in the field setting of the boxes this is a -- walked right where did where do you finish the flooring since the we're actually going to hold it back at this marriage wall more than two connecting pieces that'll take place once the boxes. And on site together what she joined on site. -- going to be beautiful."

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Moisture Content and Vapor Barrier for Wood Floors

For proper installation, wood flooring should be allowed to acclimate to its surrounding environment before it is installed. Too much or two little moisture in the flooring can cause it to bow, buckle, split, or crack after it is installed. In the dining room, Brickman shows Bob two ways to measure the moisture content of wood. The first is a traditional moisture meter that is stuck into the floor. The second is the FloorWatch system, which can be monitored remotely. The FloorWatch system monitors moisture levels, temperature, and relative humidity. It can be accessed over the phone or via a Web site. Before putting the floor down, Brickman applies a vapor barrier that is similar to an ice shield used in roofing. A different floor fastening system is being used in this room; rather than the nailing technique used elsewhere in the house, Brickman uses screws and wood plugs.

White Oak Hardwood Flooring Installation

Now that the WarmZone radiant-floor heat has been installed, it's time to put the finish flooring on. The homeowners selected a Bellawood white oak, tongue-and-groove floor with an oxidized finish for a 50-year guarantee. Since the flooring will be nailed over the hyrdronic heat tubing, it is critical to avoid puncturing the tubes. General contractor Tim Berky is installing the flooring perpendicular to the tubing, which allows him to see the Pex at all times and avoid nailing into it. Berky shows Bob how he began the installation with the second course cut to receive the supply and return pipes and sited half way over the first loop, which initially runs parallel to the wall and is hidden from view. By starting his courses this way, he can set the power-assist nailer to drive the two-inch galvanized staples at an angle just above the tongue without fear of puncturing the tubing. While Berky shoots the staples, Bob points out how the entire floor and substrate is effectively a green application since it is all wood, which is a renewable resource. The advantage, he says, is that trees are planted every time the resource is used, resulting in increased planting and forest protection. The wood floor will cover the entire space, even under the cabinetry and appliances, to create an even floor and provide full finish flooring should the homeowners wish to remodel in the future.

Discussing the Bellawood Maple Hardwood Floor

Tom Sullivan of Bellawood is in one of the four Mashpee affordable homes where they have donated hardwood flooring for the living room, dining room, and kitchen of each house. This 3 1/4 inch natural Maple flooring has color variations, tight knots, and more visual wood character than a select grade. Like the select and rustic grades, this Maple flooring is 12 percent harder than a Red Oak floor and will last a lifetime. Sullivan shows Bob a prefinished, micro-beveled plank that comes ready to install with a variety of lengths ranging from one to six feet. Bellawood provides a 50-year finish warranty on its flooring, which has eight coats of an aluminum-oxide based semigloss finish. Bob notes how the crew has positioned the pieces in advance to avoid lining up seams and to ensure an aesthetically pleasing layout. Sullivan points out that they have put rosin paper over the plywood subfloor and under the hardwood installation to combat squeaking.

How to Install a Hardwood Floor

With patience and attention to detail, installing a new wooden floor can be an easy home improvement project.