3M Company Flooring manual Room Preparation, Procedure, Seams

Smoking by individuals exposed to asbestos fibers greatly increases the risk of serious bodily harm.

Unless positively certain that the existing in-place product is a non-asbestos containing material, you must presume it contains asbestos. Regulations may require that the material be tested to determine asbestos content and may govern removal and disposal of material.

See current edition of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) publication Recommended Work Practices for Removal of Resilient Floor Coverings for instructions on removing all resilient floor covering structures or contact your retailer or Armstrong World Industries, Inc. 1 800 233 3823

The floor covering or adhesive in this package does NOT contain asbestos.

Room Preparation

Remove baseboard, quarter-round moldings, wall base, appliances and furniture from room. For best results, the decorative trim and jamb moldings at doorways should be undercut to allow flooring to slip underneath. After preparation work, be sure to sweep and vacuum the entire work area to remove all dust and debris. Check the substrate one last time for smoothness, cleanliness, loose boards, or squeaks. Correct as necessary. Installation on stairs is not recommended.

Procedure

StrataMax flooring is designed for modified loose lay installation using acrylic double-face tape only at seams and other critical areas. In bathrooms, tape should be used to secure the flooring in front of tubs and shower enclosures. Other critical areas could be a doorway where trim cannot be used to cover an exposed edge or an area in the kitchen with a heavy movable appliance. Do

not use the tape around the entire perimeter of the room.

StrataMax flooring should be cut approximately 1/8" to 3/16" away from all vertical surfaces such as walls, cabinets, pipes, etc. This will prevent any fullness around the perimeter of the room and also provide a small gap that must be filled with a good quality siliconized or acrylic caulk, even in areas where trim moldings or vinyl wall base will be put on top. This will prevent moisture from getting beneath the new flooring. StrataMax flooring should not be cut full or snug. Make sure all areas are lying flat before applying caulk in the perimeter gap.

Seams

If a seam is required in a primary part of the room, it should be made after the product has been rough cut

and is lying flat in proper position in the room but prior to final cutting and fitting around the perimeter. Overlap the selvage edges of both pieces of flooring so that the proper pattern match is achieved. Then, carefully fold back the seam edges without shifting the sheets, so that a strip of scrap material can be placed under the product where the seam will be cut. This will save your knife blade and prevent scoring the subfloor or old flooring directly beneath the seam. Reposition the two edges, ensuring a good pattern match.

[Seams should be double-cut. Straight edge and butt method of seaming is not recommended for this product. The seams of StrataMax flooring should not be stretched or compressed to obtain pattern match as it will create buckles in the flooring adjacent to seams.]