CA1047728A - Restricted growth adhesive applied wood flooring system and method of making the same - Google Patents
Restricted growth adhesive applied wood flooring system and method of making the sameInfo
- Publication number
- CA1047728A CA1047728A CA256,345A CA256345A CA1047728A CA 1047728 A CA1047728 A CA 1047728A CA 256345 A CA256345 A CA 256345A CA 1047728 A CA1047728 A CA 1047728A
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- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- adhesive
- members
- wooden
- wood flooring
- base
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
- E04F15/00—Flooring
- E04F15/22—Resiliently-mounted floors, e.g. sprung floors
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
- E04F15/00—Flooring
- E04F15/02—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements
- E04F15/04—Flooring or floor layers composed of a number of similar elements only of wood or with a top layer of wood, e.g. with wooden or metal connecting members
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
- E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
- E04F2201/01—Joining sheets, plates or panels with edges in abutting relationship
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04F—FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS
- E04F2201/00—Joining sheets or plates or panels
- E04F2201/07—Joining sheets or plates or panels with connections using a special adhesive material
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
- Floor Finish (AREA)
- Laminated Bodies (AREA)
Abstract
RESTRICTED-GROWTH ADHESIVE-APPLIED WOOD
FLOORING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied antibuckling wood flooring system is provided. The wood-en floor members are held in place by a predetermined thickness of elastomeric cushioning adhesive material substantially filling the space between the wood flooring members and the supporting base. The elastomeric cushioning adhesive material has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome very substantial hori-zontal and vertical expansive buckling forces which can be gener-ated by an increased moisture content within the wood flooring members during periods of adverse moisture conditions. The elas-tomeric cushioning adhesive material also provides uniformly re-silient cushioned support under the wood flooring members.
FLOORING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied antibuckling wood flooring system is provided. The wood-en floor members are held in place by a predetermined thickness of elastomeric cushioning adhesive material substantially filling the space between the wood flooring members and the supporting base. The elastomeric cushioning adhesive material has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome very substantial hori-zontal and vertical expansive buckling forces which can be gener-ated by an increased moisture content within the wood flooring members during periods of adverse moisture conditions. The elas-tomeric cushioning adhesive material also provides uniformly re-silient cushioned support under the wood flooring members.
Description
" 10477Z8 DISCLOSURE
1 This invention pertains to the field of wood flooring systems of the type wherein a supporting base is covered with an adhesive-applied wooden floor. Such systems are in common use in gymnasiums, field houses, shopping centers, airports, office buildings, and the like.
Such wood floors require a flat upper surface with es-sentially no openings between boards to achieve a desired appear-ance and to minimize maintenance. Such floors must also with-stand heavy use without buckling, warping, or forming other sur-face irregularities. In addition, the floor should ideally beprovided with a uniform cushioned support to help prevent fatigue from prolonged walking such as in shopping centers, as well as to reduce athletic injuries such as the shin splints experienced by -basketball players. The stability, planarity, and resilient cushioning of the floor are essential for providing an economicaL
and uniformly comfortable wood flooring system which has an excel-lent appearance.
Wooden floor members are normally installed at a con-trolled moisture content of approximately 7% to 8%. After instal-lation, and during dry cold winter seasons when room temperatureis maintained at approximately 70~F., the moisture content of the wooden floor members may drop to approximately 5% to 6%, and this can cause minor shrinkage of the wooden floor members. However, a drop in moisture content of less than 3% normally causes only minor shrinkage within wooden floor members. Since open cracks of 1/32" or more between wooden floor members are visually objec-tionable and provide dirt traps which substantially increase maintenance, an upper installation moisture content of 8% is nor-mally adhered to in geographical areas requiring artifical heat during winter months.
1 During spring, summer, and fall months, humidity and condensation conditions are much more aggravated than they are in winter months and normally increase the moisture content of the wooden floor members above the level at which they were installed.
This gives rise to expansion forces within the wooden floor mem-bers. These forces are directly related to the increased mois-ture content of the wooden floor members. A moisture content of 9% to 12% in the wooden floor members is not unusual during sum-mer months, and the moisture content can go as high as 27-30% if the wooden floor members are flooded inadvertently, a not-too-uncommon occurrence caused by breaks in hot water heating systems, sewer back-ups below grade, etc.
As the moisture content of wooden floor members in-creases above the moisture content at time of installation, the wooden floor members expand if permitted to do so. If unrestrict-ed lateral expansion is permitted, large undesirable shrinkage cracks may appear between the wooden floor members during the following dry season. If lateral expansion is limited, such as by perimeter walls, or by the gripping and tensile strength of the adhesive, the lateral expansion force translates itself into a vertical lifting force. Buckling is defined as the condition which exists when a wooden floor system separates itself vertic-ally from the supporting base. Depending on the type of adhesive-applied wood flooring system being considered, such buckles can raise as much as 18" above the normal floor surface.
In a restricted-growth, adhesive-applied wooden floor system, it is, therefore, necessary for the adhesive to not only restrict the lateral g owth of wooden floor members during per-iods of increased moisture content, but it is necessary to re-strict potential vertical displacement of the wooden floor mem-bers with a force in excess of the vertical buckling forces developing within the wooden floor system.
1 This invention pertains to the field of wood flooring systems of the type wherein a supporting base is covered with an adhesive-applied wooden floor. Such systems are in common use in gymnasiums, field houses, shopping centers, airports, office buildings, and the like.
Such wood floors require a flat upper surface with es-sentially no openings between boards to achieve a desired appear-ance and to minimize maintenance. Such floors must also with-stand heavy use without buckling, warping, or forming other sur-face irregularities. In addition, the floor should ideally beprovided with a uniform cushioned support to help prevent fatigue from prolonged walking such as in shopping centers, as well as to reduce athletic injuries such as the shin splints experienced by -basketball players. The stability, planarity, and resilient cushioning of the floor are essential for providing an economicaL
and uniformly comfortable wood flooring system which has an excel-lent appearance.
Wooden floor members are normally installed at a con-trolled moisture content of approximately 7% to 8%. After instal-lation, and during dry cold winter seasons when room temperatureis maintained at approximately 70~F., the moisture content of the wooden floor members may drop to approximately 5% to 6%, and this can cause minor shrinkage of the wooden floor members. However, a drop in moisture content of less than 3% normally causes only minor shrinkage within wooden floor members. Since open cracks of 1/32" or more between wooden floor members are visually objec-tionable and provide dirt traps which substantially increase maintenance, an upper installation moisture content of 8% is nor-mally adhered to in geographical areas requiring artifical heat during winter months.
1 During spring, summer, and fall months, humidity and condensation conditions are much more aggravated than they are in winter months and normally increase the moisture content of the wooden floor members above the level at which they were installed.
This gives rise to expansion forces within the wooden floor mem-bers. These forces are directly related to the increased mois-ture content of the wooden floor members. A moisture content of 9% to 12% in the wooden floor members is not unusual during sum-mer months, and the moisture content can go as high as 27-30% if the wooden floor members are flooded inadvertently, a not-too-uncommon occurrence caused by breaks in hot water heating systems, sewer back-ups below grade, etc.
As the moisture content of wooden floor members in-creases above the moisture content at time of installation, the wooden floor members expand if permitted to do so. If unrestrict-ed lateral expansion is permitted, large undesirable shrinkage cracks may appear between the wooden floor members during the following dry season. If lateral expansion is limited, such as by perimeter walls, or by the gripping and tensile strength of the adhesive, the lateral expansion force translates itself into a vertical lifting force. Buckling is defined as the condition which exists when a wooden floor system separates itself vertic-ally from the supporting base. Depending on the type of adhesive-applied wood flooring system being considered, such buckles can raise as much as 18" above the normal floor surface.
In a restricted-growth, adhesive-applied wooden floor system, it is, therefore, necessary for the adhesive to not only restrict the lateral g owth of wooden floor members during per-iods of increased moisture content, but it is necessary to re-strict potential vertical displacement of the wooden floor mem-bers with a force in excess of the vertical buckling forces developing within the wooden floor system.
-2-L If a wooden floor system is to maintain an essentially monolithic appearance during normal moisture change cycles, there-fore, it is desirable that it be installed at a moisture content approximately 3 moisture content percentage points higher than the lowest average level which is anticipated during dry winter months;
and it is further necessary that the adhesive securing the wooden floor members to the supporting base have sufficient gripping and tensile strength to control the expansion and buckling forces which exist during damper periods of the year.
Prior flooring systems wherein wood members were ad-hesively secured to the supporting base do not combine, by use of adhesive alone, elastomeric resilient cushioned response with a high resistance to movement and buckling caused by stresses in-duced by moisture in the wooden flooring members. Most frequently, problems arose as a result of adhesives that could not bridge an uneven supporting base, the use of adhesives which did not hold well, and adhesives which did not provide cushioned resiliency to the floor system. The prior art adhesives, often asphalt emul-sions, asphalt cutbacks, epoxies, polyvinyl acetates, or solvent 20 based rubbers, lacked the combination of high holding power to both wood and concrete in combination with cusioned resiliency.
Additionally, some were difficult to apply and had short working times before they set. None provided a resilient cushioning ef-fect.
Several attempts have been made to solve these prob-lems. Elmendorf in U.S. patent 2,018,711 uses a non-cushioned adhesive and provides for appreciable expansion between the floor-ing members. Accordingly, Elmendorf fails to achievea restricted-growth and resiliently cushioned wood floor system.
Other adhesive-applied flooring systems use rigid ad-hesives which may limit the movement of the wood flooring members, but they fail to provide resilient cushioning in the adhesive.
`- 1047728 l Other adhesive-applied wood flooring systems are able to achieve resilient cushioning by use of a cushioning non-adhesive layer spaced between the base and the flooring boards, but these systems failed to tightly grip and retain the floor boards in their desired disposition so that moisture-induced forces on floor boards which have little or no provision for ex-pansion between adjacent boards can be overcome without permit-ting the floor system to buckle or expand.
As a result of the foregoing, consumers wishing an ad-hesive applied wood flooring system applied directly to a supportbase have been required to select either a rigidly restrained non-cushioned adhesive-applied system, or an adhesive-applied cushioned system without positive restraint.
Other U.S. patents teach various composite flooring systems including Marino, U.S. patent 3,365,850; Bartolini, U.S.
patent 3,521,418; and Munro, U.S. patent 1,250,623. In each of ;~these patents, the floor boards are separated by spaces, the spaces being filled with some type of relatively easily compres- -~
sible material. The flooring systems of each do not combine, by -20 use of adhesive alone, resilient cushioning and positiverestraint of individual board members.
The novel flooring system described below overcomes these deficiencies and provides a flooring system having uniform planarity, an essentially monolithic surface, cushioned resili-ence, great stability, and the ability to accommodate a relative-ly uneven support base.
As contrasted with prior art low-pressure-between-board systems which are designed to permit board growth and move-ment, the present invention provides for lateral and vertical re--30 straint of wood floor members even during periods of high mois-ture content with resultant expansion forces within the floor system. It does this while simultaneously providing resilient cushioning.
" 10477Z8 1 An elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive, such as a two-component polyurethane, is provided between the floorboards : and the supporting base such as concrete, plywood, or the like.
When the wooden flooring members are placed on the un-cured adhesive and pressed into the adhesive, the adhesive achieves substantially intimate contact with the bottom of the wood floor-ing members. Being waterproof in nature, the adhesive thus seals the bottoms of the wood flooring members. This greatly aids in controlling the warpage phenomena known as "cupping" which occurs ~ 10 when bottoms of boards have a higher moisture content than tops - of boards. Additionally, the adhesive, after it is cured, pro-vides a bond of high strength between the flooring members and the supporting base. The flooring system, as thus described, is termed a restricted growth flooring system because essentially no - lateral or upward buckling movement of the floor boards is per-mitted, even during periods of moisture-induced high stress.
Further, when the adhesive provides an adequently thick continuous layer of material over the base, earth water vapor which could otherwise come through the base, when the base is on or below grade or over a swimming pool, and introduce moisture into the wood flooring members. Naturally, the thicker the continuous layer of adhesive, the more effective it will be in preventing water vapor from reaching the floor boards.
While the use of a free-flowing liquid urethane elas-tomer is possible, such a free-flowing liquid elastomer makes it difficult to control the installation of the floor boards which tend to initially skid in the material, and it is expensive to use, specifically over an uneven base. Accordingly, in the pre-ferred embodiment I use an elastomer of urethane which is suffi-ciently thickened so that it can be troweled onto the supportingbase in the desired adhesive ridge configuration. The trowel-ability of the elastomer is achieved by the addition of approxi-``-` 1047728 1 mately two parts by volume of powdered filler such as fumed col-loidal silicon dioxide to one part of elastomer. Additionally, the final average cushioning thickness of the adhesive can be pre-determined and achieved by controlling various factors including the configuration or amount of the elastomer applied to the base and the amount and duration of the weight applied to the floor boards.
A suitable two-component urethane is sold by Powerlock Systems, Inc. under the trademark "Versaturf 360".
By troweling the material, the usage of the material is maintained at a minimum, thereby controlling the adhesive cost of the flooring system. Further, the troweled material exerts an initial grabbing force on the wooden floor members set into the trowelable material. In contrast to using a flowable liquid '~
which spreads and initially fills the lowest areas in the base, ~ -the trowelable material maintains a substantially uniform thick- -ness over the base, even if the base is uneven. In addition, less labor is required to effect troweling, and troweling permits completion of isolated sections of the floor at a rate which can be set by the worker.
The troweling tool is preferably provided with an edge ~-serration pattern which provides a ridged pattern for the adhes-ive material on the supporting base. The ridges are spaced from each other and are wider at the base than at the top thereof.
In the preferred embodiment, the ridges are approximately three-sixteenths inch wide at the base, are approximately one-quarter inch high, and are spaced from one another by approximately three-sixteenths inch. However, the troweling tool will apply a very thin layer of the adhesive between adjacent ridges. As theboards are pressed into the ridges, the elastomer is sompressed and sub-stantially fills the space between the boards and the base to a substantially uniform predetermined thickness of approximately `~ -6-one-sixteenth inch. Naturally, the foregoing dimensions can be modified depending upon the degree of resilient cushioning re-quired for the floor. Depending upon the pressure applied to the top of the floor boards, slight gaps may exist between adjacent flattened ridges of adhesive. However, when the base is at or below ground level it is preferred that no slight gaps exist.
Additionally, the durometer of the resilient cushion-ing adhesive can be varied between 30-80 using a Shore A-2 hard-ness scale as a guide to secure the desired degree of cushioning, depending on the specific usage intended. The lower range of the scale is more desirable for walking and athletic activities, and the upper range of the scale is more suitable for heavy commer-cial usage such as in bakeries and newspaper plants.
The foregoing disclosed embodiments are preferredsince the floor obtained thereby has excellent properties and involves a minimum of cost from a labor and material standpoint.
Various powdered fillers such as silicon dioxide, sold under the trademark "CAB-0-SIL" by Cabot Laboratories can be used for thickening the liquid urethane elastomer. Alternatively, a chemical thickener such a diethylene triamine may be utilized.
As the thickened urethane elastomer cures, there is essentially no loss of volume. Thus, important cushioned bridging support is provided between floor boards and any uneven depressed portions of the supporting base.
The final floor may be rolled to force the floor boards into uniform intimate contact with the adhesive prior to the cur-ing of the adhesive. Additionally, a concrete primer, such as silane may be used to improve the grip between the urethane elas-tomer and concrete supporting base.
Further expense of the flooring system is minimized by the ability of the system to utilize short lengths of wood, normally less than six inches. Also, relatively thin floor boards may be used, normally not in excess of five-sixteenths inch in thickness. The boards may be set in any desired pattern, including a parquet configuration. The width of the wood boards may be as desired, and the least expensive widths can be used in the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment, the floor boards are approximately five and one-half inches long, five sixteenths inch thick, and approximately fifteen-sixteenths inches wide. As an alternative other wood flooring members such as plywood or 10 Masonite sheets, wood chipboard, nine by nine inch by one-half inch thick plywood flooring tiles, or the like, could be used.
The urethane elastomer, after it cures, is approximately 1/16"
thick and the floor system provides both impact and air-borne 1~
sound deadening as well as resilient cushioning. i-According to one broad aspect, the invention relates to a restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied -wood flooring system comprising a supporting base, a plurality of wooden flooring members each of which is substantially smaller than the base, elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive spread upon at least one of said base and said wooden flooring members, said wooden flooring members being spaced from said base by said adhesive, each of said wooden flooring members having a plurality of side edges, a top surface and a bottom surface, said wooden members being embedded into said adhesive such that said adhesive substantially contacts and substantially water-proofs the base and the bottom surface of said wooden members, at least the majority of said wooden members having each of their edges substantially in expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent ~embers, said adhesive in its cured state havlng a specific height when not under load, and being deformable with desired cushioning to a lesser height . ~ .
I
~04~28 when under load and returning substantially to said original height when said load is released and providing a cushioned resiliency to said system but having sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wood flooring system as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of installing a restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied wood flooring system over a supporting base comprising the steps of: coating at least one of the base and a plurality of relatively small wooden flooring members with a curable elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive which in its cured state has a specific height when not under load, and is deformable with desired cushioning to a lesser height when under load and returns substantially to said original height when said load is released; embedding-the wooden members having top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of side edges into the adhesive such that each of the side edges of at least the 20 majority of said wooden members is in substantially expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent members;
pressing said wooden members into the adhesive such that said adhesive contacts substantially the entire base and the entire bottom surface of the wooden members to substantially moistureproof the bottom surface of the wooden members and bonds the wooden members to the base; and permitting the adhesive to cure to a condition wherein it has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wooden members as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shawn in the drawing~ a form which is presently preferred;
` ` ~0477Z8 it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a flooring - system constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a section view taken along lines 2-2 of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a partial perspective view showing the preferred configuration of adhesive applied to the base or subfloor.
Referring now to the arawings in detail there is shown in Figures 1-3 a floor system generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. The system is applied over a subfloor or supporting base 12 which may be concrete, wood, or the like.
A troweled layer of a urethane elastomer 14 is applied to the subfloor 12. When applied to the subfloor, the troweled layer preferably has spaced ridges with the width of the ridges ~` .
~,. ..
1~)47728 l at the base being approximately three-sixteenths inch. The height of ridge 16 is approximately one-quarter inch. There are gaps of three-sixteenth inch between adjacent ridges 16 and 18 and be-tween each of the adjacent ridges.
The urethane elastomer, after mixing of the two compon-ents, is brought to a trowelable consistency by the addition of approximately two parts by volume of powdered silicon dioxide thereto, so that the elastomer is changed from a flowable liquid to a trowelable mastic consistency. The polyurethane elastomer has an approximate tensile strength of 200 p.s.i., a 10% compres-sion modulus of less than approximately 90 p.s.i., and a duro-meter Shore A-2 gauge hardness of approximately 35 to 55.
After the ridges of material 14 are applied, the floor boards 20 are pressed into the material 14. The ridges are crushed by pressure applied to the upper face of the boards to in-sure maximum contact with the bottom face of the boards and to ` force the adhesive material into a substantially uniform prede-termined thickness between the floor boards and the supporting base. As the adhesive material 14 cures, it provides an adhesive and cohesive resilient cushioning elastomeric layer between the floor boards and the base 12. The material 14, when cured, has high gripping and tensile strength. Warping, cupping lateral or vertical buckling movement, or other distor~ions of the floor boards as a result of adverse moisture conditions are substantial-ly eliminated.
The flooring boards 20 may be installed in a parquet pattern. The boards may be placed in a tight abutting relation-ship and pressed into the material 14 in order to create a tight-ly jointed resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied wood flooring system.
The material 14 may be a two-component cellular or non-cellular filled urethane elastomer. An acceptable material _g_ 1 is Versaturf "360" marketed by Powerlock Systems, Inc.
The flooring boards may be any conventional type board, normally of oak or maple, and may, in fact, comprise the least expensive floor boards available since the invention works espec-ially well with short thin floorboards.
The present invention may be embodied in other speci-fic forms without departing from the spirit or essential attri-butes thereof, and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.
and it is further necessary that the adhesive securing the wooden floor members to the supporting base have sufficient gripping and tensile strength to control the expansion and buckling forces which exist during damper periods of the year.
Prior flooring systems wherein wood members were ad-hesively secured to the supporting base do not combine, by use of adhesive alone, elastomeric resilient cushioned response with a high resistance to movement and buckling caused by stresses in-duced by moisture in the wooden flooring members. Most frequently, problems arose as a result of adhesives that could not bridge an uneven supporting base, the use of adhesives which did not hold well, and adhesives which did not provide cushioned resiliency to the floor system. The prior art adhesives, often asphalt emul-sions, asphalt cutbacks, epoxies, polyvinyl acetates, or solvent 20 based rubbers, lacked the combination of high holding power to both wood and concrete in combination with cusioned resiliency.
Additionally, some were difficult to apply and had short working times before they set. None provided a resilient cushioning ef-fect.
Several attempts have been made to solve these prob-lems. Elmendorf in U.S. patent 2,018,711 uses a non-cushioned adhesive and provides for appreciable expansion between the floor-ing members. Accordingly, Elmendorf fails to achievea restricted-growth and resiliently cushioned wood floor system.
Other adhesive-applied flooring systems use rigid ad-hesives which may limit the movement of the wood flooring members, but they fail to provide resilient cushioning in the adhesive.
`- 1047728 l Other adhesive-applied wood flooring systems are able to achieve resilient cushioning by use of a cushioning non-adhesive layer spaced between the base and the flooring boards, but these systems failed to tightly grip and retain the floor boards in their desired disposition so that moisture-induced forces on floor boards which have little or no provision for ex-pansion between adjacent boards can be overcome without permit-ting the floor system to buckle or expand.
As a result of the foregoing, consumers wishing an ad-hesive applied wood flooring system applied directly to a supportbase have been required to select either a rigidly restrained non-cushioned adhesive-applied system, or an adhesive-applied cushioned system without positive restraint.
Other U.S. patents teach various composite flooring systems including Marino, U.S. patent 3,365,850; Bartolini, U.S.
patent 3,521,418; and Munro, U.S. patent 1,250,623. In each of ;~these patents, the floor boards are separated by spaces, the spaces being filled with some type of relatively easily compres- -~
sible material. The flooring systems of each do not combine, by -20 use of adhesive alone, resilient cushioning and positiverestraint of individual board members.
The novel flooring system described below overcomes these deficiencies and provides a flooring system having uniform planarity, an essentially monolithic surface, cushioned resili-ence, great stability, and the ability to accommodate a relative-ly uneven support base.
As contrasted with prior art low-pressure-between-board systems which are designed to permit board growth and move-ment, the present invention provides for lateral and vertical re--30 straint of wood floor members even during periods of high mois-ture content with resultant expansion forces within the floor system. It does this while simultaneously providing resilient cushioning.
" 10477Z8 1 An elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive, such as a two-component polyurethane, is provided between the floorboards : and the supporting base such as concrete, plywood, or the like.
When the wooden flooring members are placed on the un-cured adhesive and pressed into the adhesive, the adhesive achieves substantially intimate contact with the bottom of the wood floor-ing members. Being waterproof in nature, the adhesive thus seals the bottoms of the wood flooring members. This greatly aids in controlling the warpage phenomena known as "cupping" which occurs ~ 10 when bottoms of boards have a higher moisture content than tops - of boards. Additionally, the adhesive, after it is cured, pro-vides a bond of high strength between the flooring members and the supporting base. The flooring system, as thus described, is termed a restricted growth flooring system because essentially no - lateral or upward buckling movement of the floor boards is per-mitted, even during periods of moisture-induced high stress.
Further, when the adhesive provides an adequently thick continuous layer of material over the base, earth water vapor which could otherwise come through the base, when the base is on or below grade or over a swimming pool, and introduce moisture into the wood flooring members. Naturally, the thicker the continuous layer of adhesive, the more effective it will be in preventing water vapor from reaching the floor boards.
While the use of a free-flowing liquid urethane elas-tomer is possible, such a free-flowing liquid elastomer makes it difficult to control the installation of the floor boards which tend to initially skid in the material, and it is expensive to use, specifically over an uneven base. Accordingly, in the pre-ferred embodiment I use an elastomer of urethane which is suffi-ciently thickened so that it can be troweled onto the supportingbase in the desired adhesive ridge configuration. The trowel-ability of the elastomer is achieved by the addition of approxi-``-` 1047728 1 mately two parts by volume of powdered filler such as fumed col-loidal silicon dioxide to one part of elastomer. Additionally, the final average cushioning thickness of the adhesive can be pre-determined and achieved by controlling various factors including the configuration or amount of the elastomer applied to the base and the amount and duration of the weight applied to the floor boards.
A suitable two-component urethane is sold by Powerlock Systems, Inc. under the trademark "Versaturf 360".
By troweling the material, the usage of the material is maintained at a minimum, thereby controlling the adhesive cost of the flooring system. Further, the troweled material exerts an initial grabbing force on the wooden floor members set into the trowelable material. In contrast to using a flowable liquid '~
which spreads and initially fills the lowest areas in the base, ~ -the trowelable material maintains a substantially uniform thick- -ness over the base, even if the base is uneven. In addition, less labor is required to effect troweling, and troweling permits completion of isolated sections of the floor at a rate which can be set by the worker.
The troweling tool is preferably provided with an edge ~-serration pattern which provides a ridged pattern for the adhes-ive material on the supporting base. The ridges are spaced from each other and are wider at the base than at the top thereof.
In the preferred embodiment, the ridges are approximately three-sixteenths inch wide at the base, are approximately one-quarter inch high, and are spaced from one another by approximately three-sixteenths inch. However, the troweling tool will apply a very thin layer of the adhesive between adjacent ridges. As theboards are pressed into the ridges, the elastomer is sompressed and sub-stantially fills the space between the boards and the base to a substantially uniform predetermined thickness of approximately `~ -6-one-sixteenth inch. Naturally, the foregoing dimensions can be modified depending upon the degree of resilient cushioning re-quired for the floor. Depending upon the pressure applied to the top of the floor boards, slight gaps may exist between adjacent flattened ridges of adhesive. However, when the base is at or below ground level it is preferred that no slight gaps exist.
Additionally, the durometer of the resilient cushion-ing adhesive can be varied between 30-80 using a Shore A-2 hard-ness scale as a guide to secure the desired degree of cushioning, depending on the specific usage intended. The lower range of the scale is more desirable for walking and athletic activities, and the upper range of the scale is more suitable for heavy commer-cial usage such as in bakeries and newspaper plants.
The foregoing disclosed embodiments are preferredsince the floor obtained thereby has excellent properties and involves a minimum of cost from a labor and material standpoint.
Various powdered fillers such as silicon dioxide, sold under the trademark "CAB-0-SIL" by Cabot Laboratories can be used for thickening the liquid urethane elastomer. Alternatively, a chemical thickener such a diethylene triamine may be utilized.
As the thickened urethane elastomer cures, there is essentially no loss of volume. Thus, important cushioned bridging support is provided between floor boards and any uneven depressed portions of the supporting base.
The final floor may be rolled to force the floor boards into uniform intimate contact with the adhesive prior to the cur-ing of the adhesive. Additionally, a concrete primer, such as silane may be used to improve the grip between the urethane elas-tomer and concrete supporting base.
Further expense of the flooring system is minimized by the ability of the system to utilize short lengths of wood, normally less than six inches. Also, relatively thin floor boards may be used, normally not in excess of five-sixteenths inch in thickness. The boards may be set in any desired pattern, including a parquet configuration. The width of the wood boards may be as desired, and the least expensive widths can be used in the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment, the floor boards are approximately five and one-half inches long, five sixteenths inch thick, and approximately fifteen-sixteenths inches wide. As an alternative other wood flooring members such as plywood or 10 Masonite sheets, wood chipboard, nine by nine inch by one-half inch thick plywood flooring tiles, or the like, could be used.
The urethane elastomer, after it cures, is approximately 1/16"
thick and the floor system provides both impact and air-borne 1~
sound deadening as well as resilient cushioning. i-According to one broad aspect, the invention relates to a restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied -wood flooring system comprising a supporting base, a plurality of wooden flooring members each of which is substantially smaller than the base, elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive spread upon at least one of said base and said wooden flooring members, said wooden flooring members being spaced from said base by said adhesive, each of said wooden flooring members having a plurality of side edges, a top surface and a bottom surface, said wooden members being embedded into said adhesive such that said adhesive substantially contacts and substantially water-proofs the base and the bottom surface of said wooden members, at least the majority of said wooden members having each of their edges substantially in expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent ~embers, said adhesive in its cured state havlng a specific height when not under load, and being deformable with desired cushioning to a lesser height . ~ .
I
~04~28 when under load and returning substantially to said original height when said load is released and providing a cushioned resiliency to said system but having sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wood flooring system as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of installing a restricted-growth resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied wood flooring system over a supporting base comprising the steps of: coating at least one of the base and a plurality of relatively small wooden flooring members with a curable elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive which in its cured state has a specific height when not under load, and is deformable with desired cushioning to a lesser height when under load and returns substantially to said original height when said load is released; embedding-the wooden members having top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of side edges into the adhesive such that each of the side edges of at least the 20 majority of said wooden members is in substantially expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent members;
pressing said wooden members into the adhesive such that said adhesive contacts substantially the entire base and the entire bottom surface of the wooden members to substantially moistureproof the bottom surface of the wooden members and bonds the wooden members to the base; and permitting the adhesive to cure to a condition wherein it has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wooden members as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shawn in the drawing~ a form which is presently preferred;
` ` ~0477Z8 it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a flooring - system constructed in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a section view taken along lines 2-2 of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a partial perspective view showing the preferred configuration of adhesive applied to the base or subfloor.
Referring now to the arawings in detail there is shown in Figures 1-3 a floor system generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. The system is applied over a subfloor or supporting base 12 which may be concrete, wood, or the like.
A troweled layer of a urethane elastomer 14 is applied to the subfloor 12. When applied to the subfloor, the troweled layer preferably has spaced ridges with the width of the ridges ~` .
~,. ..
1~)47728 l at the base being approximately three-sixteenths inch. The height of ridge 16 is approximately one-quarter inch. There are gaps of three-sixteenth inch between adjacent ridges 16 and 18 and be-tween each of the adjacent ridges.
The urethane elastomer, after mixing of the two compon-ents, is brought to a trowelable consistency by the addition of approximately two parts by volume of powdered silicon dioxide thereto, so that the elastomer is changed from a flowable liquid to a trowelable mastic consistency. The polyurethane elastomer has an approximate tensile strength of 200 p.s.i., a 10% compres-sion modulus of less than approximately 90 p.s.i., and a duro-meter Shore A-2 gauge hardness of approximately 35 to 55.
After the ridges of material 14 are applied, the floor boards 20 are pressed into the material 14. The ridges are crushed by pressure applied to the upper face of the boards to in-sure maximum contact with the bottom face of the boards and to ` force the adhesive material into a substantially uniform prede-termined thickness between the floor boards and the supporting base. As the adhesive material 14 cures, it provides an adhesive and cohesive resilient cushioning elastomeric layer between the floor boards and the base 12. The material 14, when cured, has high gripping and tensile strength. Warping, cupping lateral or vertical buckling movement, or other distor~ions of the floor boards as a result of adverse moisture conditions are substantial-ly eliminated.
The flooring boards 20 may be installed in a parquet pattern. The boards may be placed in a tight abutting relation-ship and pressed into the material 14 in order to create a tight-ly jointed resiliently cushioned adhesive-applied wood flooring system.
The material 14 may be a two-component cellular or non-cellular filled urethane elastomer. An acceptable material _g_ 1 is Versaturf "360" marketed by Powerlock Systems, Inc.
The flooring boards may be any conventional type board, normally of oak or maple, and may, in fact, comprise the least expensive floor boards available since the invention works espec-ially well with short thin floorboards.
The present invention may be embodied in other speci-fic forms without departing from the spirit or essential attri-butes thereof, and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.
Claims (8)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A restricted-growth resiliently cushioned ad-hesive-applied wood flooring system comprising a supporting base, a plurality of wooden flooring members each of which is substantially smaller than the base, elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive spread upon at least one of said base and said wooden flooring members, said wooden flooring mem-bers being spaced from said base by said adhesive, each of said wooden flooring members having a plurality of side edges, a top surface and a bottom surface, said wooden members being embedded into said adhesive such that said adhesive substantially contacts and substantially waterproofs the base and the bottom surface of said wooden members, at least the majority of said wooden members having each of their edges substantially in expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent members, said adhesive in its cured state having a specific height when not under load, and being deformable with desired cushioning to a lesser height when under load and returning substantially to said original height when said load is re-leased and providing a cushioned resiliency to said system but having sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wood flooring system as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
2. A restricted-growth resiliently cushioned wood flooring system according to Claim 1 wherein said adhesive is a two-component polyurethane.
3. The wood flooring system of Claim 2 wherein said polyurethane has a tensile strength of approximately 200 p.s.i., a 10% compression modulus of less than approximately 90 p.s.i., and a durometer Shore A-2 gauge hardness of approximately 35 to 55.
4. A wood flooring system according to Claim 3 where-in said polyurethane has added powdered filler material to achieve a desired trowelable consistency.
5. A method of installing a restricted-growth re-siliently cushioned adhesive-applied wood flooring system over a supporting base comprising the steps of:
coating at least one of the base and a plurality of relatively small wooden flooring members with a curable elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive which in its cured state has a specific height when not under load, and is de-formable with desired cushioning to a lesser height when under load and returns substantially to said original height when said load is released;
embedding the wooden members having top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of side edges into the ad-hesive such that each of the side edges of at least the majority of said wooden members is in substantially expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent members;
pressing said wooden members into the adhesive such that said adhesive contacts substantially the entire base and the entire bottom surface of the wooden members to substantially moistureproof the bottom surface of the wooden members and bonds the wooden members to the base; and permitting the adhesive to cure to a condition wherein it has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wooden members as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
coating at least one of the base and a plurality of relatively small wooden flooring members with a curable elastomeric resilient cushioning adhesive which in its cured state has a specific height when not under load, and is de-formable with desired cushioning to a lesser height when under load and returns substantially to said original height when said load is released;
embedding the wooden members having top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of side edges into the ad-hesive such that each of the side edges of at least the majority of said wooden members is in substantially expansion force transmitting contact with edges of adjacent members;
pressing said wooden members into the adhesive such that said adhesive contacts substantially the entire base and the entire bottom surface of the wooden members to substantially moistureproof the bottom surface of the wooden members and bonds the wooden members to the base; and permitting the adhesive to cure to a condition wherein it has sufficient gripping and tensile strength to overcome potential buckling forces generated within said wooden members as a result of adverse moisture conditions without sacrificing desired cushioning properties.
6. A method of making a restricted-growth resilient-ly cushioned wood flooring system according to Claim 5 wherein said curable adhesive is a two-component polyurethane.
7. A method of making a wood flooring system accord-ing to Claim 6 wherein said polyurethane has a tensile strength of approximately 200 p.s.i., a 10% compression modulus of less than approximately 90 p.s.i., and a durometer Shore A-2 gauge hardness of approximately 35 to 55.
8. A method of making a restricted-growth resiliently cushioned wood flooring system according to Claim 7 wherein said polyurethane has added powdered filler material and the step of coating the base includes troweling the adhesive onto the base in a ridged pattern.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US59360975A | 1975-07-07 | 1975-07-07 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1047728A true CA1047728A (en) | 1979-02-06 |
Family
ID=24375409
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA256,345A Expired CA1047728A (en) | 1975-07-07 | 1976-07-06 | Restricted growth adhesive applied wood flooring system and method of making the same |
Country Status (15)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5214025A (en) |
| AR (1) | AR217404A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU509919B2 (en) |
| BE (1) | BE843832A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7604450A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1047728A (en) |
| CH (1) | CH616478A5 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2630634A1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES449617A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2317062A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1558408A (en) |
| MX (1) | MX145615A (en) |
| NL (1) | NL7607419A (en) |
| NO (1) | NO762351L (en) |
| SE (1) | SE424566B (en) |
Families Citing this family (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4694627A (en) * | 1985-05-28 | 1987-09-22 | Omholt Ray | Resiliently-cushioned adhesively-applied floor system and method of making the same |
| FR2706512B1 (en) * | 1993-06-17 | 1995-09-01 | Koenig Tapis Lausanne Sa | Method of laying a parquet floor and prefabricated strip for the implementation of this method. |
| DE19729058A1 (en) * | 1997-07-08 | 1999-01-14 | Sika Ag | Composite element and method for its production |
| DE19928030A1 (en) * | 1999-06-18 | 2000-12-21 | Sika Chemie Gmbh | Wooden floor comprises a layer of adhesive whose shear stiffness in a fully hardened state is less than the shear stiffness of the base structure |
| FR2798687B1 (en) * | 1999-09-17 | 2002-05-31 | Geroclair Sa | FLOATING SUPPORT PARQUET |
| US6907700B2 (en) * | 2001-03-15 | 2005-06-21 | Tarkett Sommer | Floor with floating support |
| ITAN20100171A1 (en) * | 2010-10-06 | 2012-04-07 | Margaritelli Spa | MULTILAYER LIST AND METHOD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WOODEN OUTDOOR FLOORING. |
| WO2013024804A1 (en) * | 2011-08-12 | 2013-02-21 | インテリアいとう有限会社 | Recycled floor panel manufacturing method, recycled floor panel manufacturing device, and recycled floor panel |
Family Cites Families (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE697156A (en) * | 1967-02-16 | 1967-10-18 |
-
1976
- 1976-07-05 NL NL7607419A patent/NL7607419A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1976-07-05 GB GB27859/76A patent/GB1558408A/en not_active Expired
- 1976-07-06 AR AR263870A patent/AR217404A1/en active
- 1976-07-06 SE SE7607732A patent/SE424566B/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1976-07-06 BE BE168674A patent/BE843832A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1976-07-06 MX MX165397A patent/MX145615A/en unknown
- 1976-07-06 CH CH865276A patent/CH616478A5/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1976-07-06 CA CA256,345A patent/CA1047728A/en not_active Expired
- 1976-07-06 FR FR7620648A patent/FR2317062A1/en active Granted
- 1976-07-06 NO NO762351A patent/NO762351L/no unknown
- 1976-07-07 BR BR7604450A patent/BR7604450A/en unknown
- 1976-07-07 AU AU15666/76A patent/AU509919B2/en not_active Expired
- 1976-07-07 JP JP51080010A patent/JPS5214025A/en active Granted
- 1976-07-07 DE DE19762630634 patent/DE2630634A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1976-07-07 ES ES449617A patent/ES449617A1/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AR217404A1 (en) | 1980-03-31 |
| SE424566B (en) | 1982-07-26 |
| JPS5214025A (en) | 1977-02-02 |
| AU509919B2 (en) | 1980-05-29 |
| MX145615A (en) | 1982-03-16 |
| AU1566676A (en) | 1978-01-12 |
| GB1558408A (en) | 1980-01-03 |
| FR2317062B1 (en) | 1982-06-04 |
| JPS6113072B2 (en) | 1986-04-11 |
| BR7604450A (en) | 1977-07-26 |
| BE843832A (en) | 1976-11-03 |
| DE2630634A1 (en) | 1977-01-27 |
| NL7607419A (en) | 1977-01-11 |
| SE7607732L (en) | 1977-04-12 |
| CH616478A5 (en) | 1980-03-31 |
| ES449617A1 (en) | 1977-07-01 |
| FR2317062A1 (en) | 1977-02-04 |
| NO762351L (en) | 1977-01-10 |
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