• Date:Mon, Dec 17, 2018

  • The Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF) has provided guidance on the use of wood-based panels in floating floors for 20 years. In the latest revision, the guidance has had a major overhaul, not only to its styling and drawings but its technical content has been through a thorough evaluation. The main technical changes were to bring it up-to-date with current products and construction practices that have developed and matured over time as floating floors have become more widely used.

    The floating floor guidance document IS (WPIF) 3/2018 can be found as a stand-alone document and also reproduced as Annex 3 of the popular Panel Guide.

    The PanelGuide has also has changes made to bring it up-to-date.  The main changes were made to section 2.4 'flooring' to bring it into line with common accepted practice and to address questions that arrise regarding the laying of wood-based panel floors.  An error to the figure references in section 2.5 was also corrected.
     
    summary of changes to section 2.4:
    •            Nogging requirements
    •             How to deal with panels finishing mid span
    •           Allowable overhang of the panel over the joist at the edge of the room
    •            Removal of recommendation to fix panels parallel to joists
    •           Clarifying expansion gaps, both intermediate and at the perimeter where the floor          runs under the wall
    •           Changes to resilient floor underlayment specifications (BS 8203 changes)
    •           Take into account new panel products i.e. ‘glue only’ floor systems and weather             resistant panel products

    ends.