Professional Installation Guidelines for Engineered Wood & Hardwood with LocPlate Products Required Tools Utility Knife Chalk Line Measuring Tape Conventional cutting tools for Engineered Wood and Solid Hardwood TacFast Disc Locker TacFast Slip Sheet General Conditions and Preparation Use only TacFast-approved surfaces and tools. General conditions for the installation of Engineered Wood and Solid Hardwood apply. Always use a 6 mil Polyethylene sheeting as a moisture barrier for under the Hook Plates for all wood TacFast installations. Store Hook Plates & Discs for 48 hours in the room to be installed. Keep room temperature between 5 C and 25 C during that time and during the installation. After installation, the temperature of the Hook Plates should not fall below 5 C and should not exceed 5 C. After installation, the temperature of the room/floor should not fall below 65 F (8 C). Floor temperature should not exceed 85 F (29 C). This must be considered when installing over radiant floor heating. Floors must be smooth and level with a tolerance of /4" over 0'. High and low spots should be identified using a straight edge. High spots should be sanded or ground down as necessary and low spots should be filled using a levelling compound. Sweep the floor before starting the installation. Installation of Hook Plates & Discs If the installation will be using fleece as an underlayment, roll out the fleece prior to the installation of the Hook Plates and Discs but over top of the 6 mil polyethylene sheeting. Roll out the 6 mil Polyethylene Sheeting across the floor. Where multiple sheets of the polyethylene are required, ensure that the sheets overlap one another by a minimum of 2'. 2 Trim the overlaps on the first Hook Plate. Starting in the corner of the room, Place the cut edges towards the two edges of the installation starting point (walls or installation edge). Remove all Hook Plate overlaps against the installation edge. The overlaps must always face in the same direction as the first Hook Plate that was installed. Lay the Hook Plates against the installation edge. Note: If the installation edge is a wall, a gap between the wall and the Hook Plates is allowable so long as it does not exceed /4". 4 Once 4 Hook Plates have been laid, a circular void is created. The Hook Plates will be locked together using the Disc.
5 The Disc is inserted, by hand, into the circular void, which is the space created when 4 Hook Plates come together. Insert the Disc into the corresponding holes and twist clockwise into the pre-locking position. 6 The Discs are then locked into position using the TacFast Disc Locker. 7 Trim/cut both Hook Plates and Discs where necessary. To cut: Score the Hook Plate or Disc with the knife, then flex it in the direction of the score to split it. 8 If there is an underlayment attached to the Hook Plate and/or Disc such as foam or fleece, use the knife to cut the through the underlayment after you have cut the Hook Plate. Notes: If the installation of the Hook Plates and Discs is interrupted for a period of time (e.g. the installation is scheduled during the evening hours and has not been completed prior to business opening the following morning), install the Discs along the last completed row of the Hook Plates. Temporarily cover the exposed Hook Plates with a suitable material (e.g. cardboard that is taped to the concrete floor on one side and to the wood surface on the other side). When the installation is resumed, remove both the material covering the exposed Hook Plates and the Discs that were temporarily installed. Continue with the installation. Do not expose Hook Plates and Discs to mechanical abrasion such as but not limited to dragging furniture, cuts and improper protection when using heavy machinery or moving heavy rolling stock as damage or destruction of hooks can occur. Storing the Hook Plates and Discs Storage Requirements It is imperative that TacFast Hook Plates and Discs be stored according to the specifications outlined below in order to avoid damage. General Conditions The Hook Plate boxes must sit on a flat surface that fully supports the under surface of the box. If stacked on a skid or pallet, a plywood board or oriented strand board (OSB) of at least 5/8 thickness and of an appropriate size (ie. protruding on every side of the Hook Plate boxes by at least ), must be placed on the upper surface of the skid and on the top layer of Hook Plate boxes on the skid. Hook Plate boxes must always be stored horizontally (flat). Do not expose to substances which destroy or change the properties and/or form of the LocPlate products such as hydrochloric acid, petrol (gasoline), nitric acid, ethylether, chloroform, carbon disulphide, carbon tetrachloride, methylene (di)chloride, trichloroethylene, etc. Environmental Conditions The maximum storage temperature should not exceed 50 C (20 F) longer than 50 hours and not 5 C (00 F) for periods longer than weeks (500 hrs). The minimum storage temperature should not be lower than 0 C (50 F). Hook Plates and Discs must be acclimatized prior to installation. Do not store outside. Do not expose the packaging to moisture. Do not expose Hook Plates and Discs to direct sunlight for any period longer than necessary, more specifically not longer than 0 minutes. Stacking Height Do not stack higher than 0 boxes stack height. For every 0 boxes, a plywood board or oriented strand board (OSB) of at least 5/8 thickness of appropriate size (fully supporting the boxes on top and protruding on every side of the boxes by ) has to be inserted Disc boxes must be stored so that the Disc boxes are lying down.
Helpful Tips Detailed instructions on how to lock a Disc 4 Hook Plates together create a circular void Place the Disc into the circular void Proper position is defined as the mushrooms on the Disc being partially rotated under the white plastic parts of the Hook Plates. Line up the mushrooms on the Disc into the slots in the Hook Plates. This must be done by hand prior to using the Disc Locker. This procedure is considered to be putting the Disc in the prelocked position. Disc in pre-lock position prior to using the Disc Locker. Note that all 4 mushrooms must be in position and be partially turned. This ensures that when the Disc Locker is used, all 4 of the mushrooms will lock. If they are not all properly placed at this point, they will not lock when the Disc Locker is applied. Disc Locker Pin locations Close-up of the pre-locked Hook Plate and Disc. Once the Disc is in the pre-locked position, the Disc Locker can be placed into the Disc by lining up the pins on the Disc Locker with the slots. Disc Locker is turned to lock the Disc into the Hook Plates. Locked Hook Plates and Disc.
Trimming Discs to provide a /2 Disc or a /4 Disc Some of the Discs will have raised guidelines on the underside of the Disc. These guidelines have taken into account the slight turn that will take place when the Discs have been locked. Align a straight edge to the raised lines. Score and snap as necessary. If the Discs do not have the raised lines on the underside, follow the guidelines below to cut into required size: For half a Disc: Place 2 Hook Plates together (as if to install the Hook Plates) Install a Disc between the 2 Hook Plates and lock it into position. Once Disc is locked, score the Disc using the underlap edge of the 2 Hook Plates as a guide. A straight edge aligned along the underlap edge of the Hook Plates can also be used as a guide. Unlock and remove the scored Disc Bend and snap Disc into 2 pieces. Note: Once a single Disc has been cut, one of the pieces can be used as a template for cutting additional Discs (if required). For a quarter Disc: Place 4 Hook Plates together (as if to install the Hook Plates) Install a Disc and lock it into position. Once Disc is locked, score the Disc, in both directions, using the underlap edges of the Hook Plates as a guide. A straight edge aligned along the underlap edges of the Hook Plates can also be used as a guide. Unlock and remove the scored Disc Bend and snap Disc along the score lines so as to break the Discs into 4 pieces. Note: Once a single Disc has been cut, one of the pieces can be used as a template for cutting additional Discs (if required). Notes: It is important that the Discs be aligned to the underlap edges not the overlap edges. If aligned to the overlap edges, the Discs will be too large. It is necessary to twist and lock the Discs into the Hook Plates to ensure that the trims are made in the right place (taking into account the slight turn when locking the Disc occurs).
Installation of Engineered Wood and Solid Hardwood Important Information: Only TacFast-approved surfaces may be installed. Use conventional methods for determining starting point of wood installation. Use conventional tools and methods for cutting boards. Follow manufacturers guidelines for perimeter spacing. Determine starting point and install first row of boards. To install first plank, place the plank on the LocPlate substrate engaging the hooks and loops to create the mechanical bond which will hold the plank in place. 2 To install the second plank, position the slip sheet at the end of the previously installed plank. Place the slip sheet over the hook plates and then position the plank into place by inserting the tongue and groove (T&G) feature. Once the plank is in place, remove the slip sheet by sliding it out from underneath the plank ensuring that you are pressing firmly on top of the plank. 4 Continue to install boards along the length of the row. 5 After completing the first row, continue to install the next rows of boards using the slip sheet and inserting the T&G's where applicable. 6 Cut and trim boards as necessary using conventional cutting tools.
Notes:. There is always more hook and loop movement in the first two rows. This should stabilize after additional rows have been installed. If at the end of the installation there is still looseness between the first two rows of boards, use traditional methods to wedge the rows of boards together. 2. Use conventional transition strips ensuring that they are screwed down in the traditional manner.. Any wood product installed on TacFast LocPlate Products will increase the height of the installation by 0.4" (0.4 cm). This figure includes the loop, hook plate subfloor and vapour barrier sheet. Removal of Engineered Wood & Solid Hardwood Important Information: As hook and loop engagement is releasable, Engineered Wood and Solid Hardwood can be removed at any time after the initial installation. A single board, multiple boards or the entire installation can be removed depending on whether the replacement is for the entire installation or just to replace a single damaged piece. Boards must be removed using the slip sheet to disengage the mechanical bond. Without disengagement, the boards can not be removed. Any method of removal that does not use the slip sheet may damage the hooks. Removal of Board at Interior of Installation 2 To remove a damaged piece(s) at the interior of an installation, use conventional repair methods for boards. That is, set depth on a saw and cut through the middle of the board along the length. Make multiple cuts so as to remove enough of the wood so that a slip sheet can be eased under one side of the board. Once the board has been sufficiently cut, slide a slip sheet under one side of the board. This will disengage the mechanical bond and allow the board piece to be removed. Slide the slip sheet under the second half of the board to disengage the mechanical bond and remove the balance of the board. To remove any additional boards, cut where necessary and always use the slip sheet to break the mechanical bond so that the board can be removed 4 Once removal of all the boards has been completed, vacuum area to remove excess saw dust and wood remnants. 5 6 To re-install boards, use a bead of glue along the edge of the already installed piece to which you will be butting up the new piece to be installed. Position the slip sheet to allow for positioning of the board and install board. Where necessary, cut/trim boards to fit and remove any tongues that may impede the ability to install the new piece. Removal of Boards Beginning at Edge of Installation To remove boards beginning at the edge of an installation, remove quarter round and slide slip sheet under the board to disengage the mechanical bond. 2 Once the mechanical bond has been broken, lift the first piece out. Continue to slide the slip sheet under every board that needs to be removed until removal of boards has been completed. Note: If removing the entire installation, an installer will find it easer to slide the slip sheet under the installed boards if he/she is working in the same direction as the overlaps on the hook plates. This will ensure that the slip sheet slides under the boards rather than sliding under the hook plates (between the overlap and underlap edges).