Floating strip flooring: minimum laying requirements .

Evry, June 2006

.The laying of floating timber strip flooring in bedrooms, or in any other public areas, requires a compliance with
minimum rules to ensure that the strip flooring is really floating .
.non-compliance with these laying requirements could lead to serious consequences in respect of the acoustic
comfort of the bedrooms : any impact noise on the strip flooring (heel, rolling suitcase, etc.) , any friction
(dragging of a chair, etc.) would be clearly audible in the adjacent bedrooms .
.this note defines the minimum rules to be applied in the typical case of strip flooring laid on a floor slab (without
a floating screed) .
.2 alternatives are described : laying the strip flooring on a resilient underlay or laying on the existing carpet .

A – Definition of the usual case of floor slab + floating strip

flooring.
A1 – acoustic requirements.
. to meet ACCOR specifications, the floor slab between bedrooms, one immediately over the other, shall meet
the two following acoustic requirements :
- minimum insulation from air-borne noise: DnTw + C of 52dB.
- noise level from impact noise not to exceed: L’nTw of 52dB.

A2 – usual section of floor slab between bedrooms.

.for example, the usual section of a floor slab with a floating timber strip floor meeting ACCOR's acoustic
specifications comprises (apart from any particular structural details for which allowance must be made) as
follows:
- RC slab 180 mm thick,
- (resilient) acoustic insulation underlay with a minimum level of Delta Lw performance of 21dB, which
must be at least 3 mm thick.
.in the particular case of strip flooring laid over existing carpet , keeping the carpet will enable the same level of
performance in respect of impact noise to be achieved as the resilient layer described above.

B – Minimum rules for laying floating strip flooring.

B1 – introduction.
.the following rules shall be followed ; for example , a "floating" strip floor in rigid contact with the skirting , the
floor or the walls can lose about 80% of its effectiveness.

B2 – flatness and cleanliness of the surface on which the resilient layer is laid.
.the surface on which the resilient layer is to be laid shall be at least as good as a fair-faced concrete finish ;
it shall be swept and rubbed down if necessary .
.a dirty sub-base with an uneven finish will form noise bridges , thus losing part of the effectiveness of the
resilient underlay .

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 B3 – laying of the resilient underlay.
.the manufacturer's instructions as to which side of the underlay is to be laid in contact with the screed shall be
followed ; sheets shall be butt-jointed and joints covered with adhesive tape.

.when laying the resilient underlay on the floor

slab , an up stand shall be formed at the edges of
the strip flooring and a minimum gap of 8 mm
provided around the full perimeter between the
flooring and adjacent elements (wall , door
threshold , etc.) – see section on right .

B4 – fixing the skirting.

.there shall be no rigid contact between the skirting
and the strip flooring .
.the resilient underlay shall be continued between
the strip flooring and the skirting and cut flush
with the skirting as shown in the following
sections.

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 B5 – fixing a sealing strip to the perimeter of the strip flooring.
.the gaps between the perimeter of the strip flooring and skirting and door thresholds shall be "sealed" in order to
prevent insects gaining access under the floor.

.a silicone joint shall be formed to the full

perimeter of the strip flooring, as indicated in the
sections shown and in §B5.

.for the particular case of bedroom parts without

skirting a silicone joint shall be formed between
flooring and partition .

B6 – joint between strip flooring and bedroom entrance door threshold.

B6.0 – bedrooms other than disabled bedrooms (except UK) .
.this section shows the joint between the strip flooring and the threshold ; unless there are particular regulations
(e.g. in UK) that limit the height of the threshold , a splayed and rebated threshold (to comply with French
regulations) shall be specified .

.a minimum gap of 8 mm shall

be left between the boards of
the flooring and the threshold ;
this gap shall be filled with a
sealing gasket and a flat cover
strip fixed to the top of the
threshold to cover this joint .

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 B6.1 – disabled bedrooms (out of UK) and all kind of bedrooms in UK .
.this section shows the joint between the strip flooring and a flat threshold (UK type) to be provided in disabled
bedrooms.
for information purposes, this
type of threshold is only used
because of the shallow step it
forms, but the acoustic qualities
of the door set are lower than if
the same door set had a splayed
and rebated threshold.

B7 – particular case of strip flooring laid on existing carpet.

.in the particular case where the existing carpet is
retained, the requirements shown in this section
shall be met.

I would be pleased to provide you with any additional information,

Sincerely,

Didier Scohier.
+33 (0)6 17 78 84 39
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