Why stress is bad for flooring materials
ACCLIMATISE is defined in a dictionary as to make or become accustomed to a new climate or new condition (verb). The noun is acclimatisation. To the best of my knowledge, all manufacturers state that their products should be acclimatised. Why is this?
‘The sauna syndrome’: When you have a hot sauna and then go under a cold shower your body reacts, creating stress until equilibriumis reach and your body adjusts to the changes in temperature. You are now relaxed andmost of the stress is removed. The stress on flooring products should also be reduced or eliminated when in equilibrium with the atmosphere and subfloor.
Consider the product(s) you are going to install. If the product(s) are exposed to significant changes in temperature, you need to give them a chance to reach equilibrium with the new atmosphere. How long will depend on the conditions in which they have been stored and delivered. Most warehouses, store rooms and garages are not heated! Your van is also not heated overnight. If you store the products in good conditions, the acclimatising period will be reduced, conversely if stored in poor conditions different to those of the installation site, the time will be longer.
Remember that some products will take longer to reach the conditions of the installation site, due to their density. Carpet that is unwrapped and taken out of the plastic wrapper, will acclimatise quicker than wood and adhesive. I accept that its normal practice (or should be) to deliver wood in advance, but carpets due to their size and bulk are more difficult to deliver early, particularly on most commercial sites, as security is an issue as well as safety.
Some sites allow the use of a steel container as a storage unit. These containers are not heated and can become quite cold and risk moisture levels rising due to minimal ventilation. Another consideration is taking the products out of this type of container and then installing within a short period of time. This is risky unless the conditions are the same in the area to be installed. This is very often the case as the installation areas are not heated at the time the main contractors wants the products fitted.
I mentioned the sauna syndrome above, but consider the reverse. You have gone under a cold shower and then straight into a sauna. Remember you body has flexibility and should be able to cope with these changes (assuming your health is good).Wood will expand and contract (moisture also affects wood) resulting inmovement at the weakest point(s), followed by a phone call fromthe client.
Carpet will also expand, meaning a phone call asking for a re-stretch, that is assuming no one has fallen over the bubbles. In that case the next phone call could be froma solicitor!
Vinyl will move and if not securely fixed will lift at the joins or create bubbles. If you do not have sufficient time to acclimatise over a few hours, one option is to make sure the room temperature is brought up to the temperature expected when in normal use. Then unpack or unroll the products, leaving them for as long as
possible before installation. So even though they have not been fully acclimatised, the sauna syndrome may be reduced.
Make sure site conditions are acceptable. Do not let themain contractor bully you into a situation that will cause the product to be put under stress. If they insist, ask them to accept in writing responsibility for their demands, on letter headed paper and signed by a responsible person, who will be accountable if or when problems with the flooring arise. This person needs to be at least management level.
If they are not prepared to accept liability, they already know there is a high risk of failure or they do not have sufficient knowledge. Remember they will be under a lot of pressure to hand over the site on time. As described above, stress applied to any product could result in a failure.
Even when you have acclimatised the products correctly, there could be a hidden problem, the site conditions after you have installed the product. For example, if the site conditions alter overnight (becoming colder or warmer) before the adhesive has cured, (normally 48 hours, see manufacturers literature), this could result in a failure causing products such as wood and vinyl moving, reducing the area of contact with the adhesive. Initially you may not see a problem, but when stress is applied to the product, such as an
increase or decrease in the temperature, something has to give. Advise the customer to keep the temperature constant during the adhesives cure time to give maximum surface contact. This does not account for cowboys using worn trowels, leaving minimal adhesive, normally resulting in the product moving under stress.
Do not leave it to chance. Help all parties to understand the problems of temperature related stress on the products being installed. You are the professional and now with a little more knowledge than before you read this article. Good advice reduces stress on the products and the business.
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