Connect Flooring (all ranges)

Connect is a revolutionary system of laminated flooring installed without glue and ideal for any room in the house.

Put the unopened packs into the centre of the room to acclimatise for 48 hours. All panels should be checked in natural daylight or bright artificial light. Do not install any damaged panels.

Connect flooring panels can be rotated to fit into one another, with either the tongue into the groove, or groove onto the tongue. The preferred and easiest method is to fit Connect flooring with the tongue into the groove (the following fixing instructions are based on this method as fitting the groove onto the tongue is only required in a few specific situations). Position the panel to be installed at an angle of 20-30 degrees to the panel already installed. Move the panel to be fitted slowly up and down and at the same time exert a forward pressure. The panels will connect together into place (fig 1).

Fig 1

In some instances the panels cannot be rotated into one another, for example along the short edge of a panel that has already been connected into place along its length, or under a door frame. In these situations the panels are installed lying flat using a hammer and Connect hitting block (fig 2).

Fig 2

Step 1
Connect foam underlay helps reduce the sound of footsteps and levels out any unevenness. Roll the foam in the direction the new boards will be laid (fig 3).

Fig 3

Step 2
The first three rows are installed along the wall. Once the first three rows have been installed they are pushed against the wall and spacers positioned along the long edges. Install the flooring so that the tongue of the panel faces the wall (allowing you to work tongue into groove).

If your walls are uneven you will need to cut the panels in the first row to follow the contours of the wall.

Step 3
The rest of the floor can now be installed, row by row, connecting the long edges and tapping the short edges into each other using a hammer and the Connect hitting block. Left over pieces of panels can be used to start new rows (which reduces waste) as long as they are a minimum length of 20cm.

Panels should always be laid so that there is at least 20cm between joints to maintain the strength of the floor.

The last row of panels will normally need to be cut down in width. Remember it is still essential to allow a 9mm expansion gap between the last row and the wall. The last row is connected into position using a hammer and the Connect crowbar (fig 4) for the long edges and Connect hitting block for short edges.

Fig 4

Step 4
Pipes - when installing flooring to fit around pipes lay so that the pipe falls on the joint of two panels.

Finishing - once installed you can immediately walk on your floor. Remove expansion gap spacers and any traces of dust from the floor. The expansion gap can be covered by replacing skirting board to wall or fixing coverstrip/beading to face of skirting board. Do not fix skirtings or coverstrips to floor, so as to allow the floor to move freely. In places where the skirting/coverstrips cannot be used, the expansion gap can be filled using a flexible mastic or a pipe cover.

Where the floor meets carpet, linoleum or laminate flooring use a threshold to bridge the height difference.

Bathroom Installation
(for Connect II, Texture & Tiles only)

Extra care must be taken when using Connect flooring in bathrooms due to the increased risk of water damage. Make sure that you have adequate ventilation, relative humidity of a least 50% and that all water is wiped away from the floor immediately.

The best conditions for installation are a temperature of 15 - 20 C and relative humidity of 55 - 60%.

The floor should be installed as normal, polythene underlay followed by foam underlay and a minimum 9mm expansion gap around the full perimeter of the floor. For additional protection the edge of the floor/expansion gap should be sealed/filled with Richard Burbidge bathroom silicone sealant. This can then be covered using a suitable coverstrip. To protect the floor from water it is also a good idea to use a drip mat when getting in and out of the bath.

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