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Columbia Clic Installation Instructions

GENERAL
Columbia Clic is a revolutionary system for installing laminated flooring without using the glue. Columbia Clic uses an ingenious form of tongue and groove to "click" the panels together. The Columbia Clic system enables you to work 50% faster than with traditional, glued laminated flooring, and because there is no glue, Columbia Clic is much easier and cleaner to work with.

1.  You can join together the panels of the Columbia Clic system in 2 different ways: A. The panels can be rotated to fit into one another, with either the tongue into the groove, or the groove onto the tongue. The easiest way, though, is to fit the Columbia Clic tongue into the groove. (The installation instructions are based on using as much as possible this last installation technique. 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% to the panel already installed. Move the panel to be fitted slightly up and down at the same as exerting forward pressure. The panels will then click into place together. B. In some cases, the panels cannot be rotated into one another, for example along the short edge of a panel that has already been clicked into place along the long side, or under a door frame, etc. In this case, the panels can also be fitted lying flat. IMPORTANT! To do this, you need a hammer and the SPECIAL COLUMBIA CLIC TAPPING BLOCK. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER TAPPING BLOCK - otherwise you may damage the panels to be fitted. You should not attempt to knock the Columbia Clic joint into place with one hit. For the short edge, use a number of smaller taps until the panels click together completely. For the long edge you should tap them together gradually; begin tapping lightly at the corner of a panel until the joint is made, then repeat the process some 12 inches along until the entire long edge of the panel has clicked in with the other. For the best results, it is absolutely vital to follow the installation instructions to the letter and TO USE THE FOLLOWING COLUMBIA CLIC ACCESSORIES ONLY: COLUMBIA CLIC INSTALLATION SET (spacer blocks, Columbia Clic buffer block and crowbar) COLUMBIA 3 & 1 FOAM UNDERLAYMENT OR COLUMBIA SOUND CHOICE UNDERLAYMENT THE COLUMBIA CLEANER Columbia Clic is not suitable for use in damp areas such as bathrooms or saunas. Check the panels from all packs before and during installation. Defective panels should not be installed.

2.  Tools for installing the floor In addition to the traditional tools for installing laminated flooring, such as hammer, saw, crowbar or pinchbar with protruding edge (to be tapped on with a hammer), and spacer blocks (1/32 to 5/16 inch), it is absolutely vital to use the COLUMBIA CLIC TAPPING BLOCK when installing the floor. With any other type of tapping block, you are certain to damage the panels. When sawing pieces off the panels, use a fine-toothed hand saw, jigsaw or cross-cut saw. To achieve a clean cut, saw with the pattern side down with a jigsaw and up with a hand saw or cross-cut saw.   3.  The best preparation The floor should preferably be installed parallel to the way the light falls. The ideal environment is a temperature of 59-68° F and relative humidity of 50-60%. Allow the laminated flooring to acclimatize for 48 hours, in its original packing, in the area where it is to be installed. Put the packs in the middle of the room. NEVER against a wall or place in a corner. CHECK THAT: The doors can still open and close after installing the floor with sub-floor (minimum + 3/8 inch). The door frames may need to be adapted to install the floor under them. The old plinths can be removed.   4.  The base floor The base floor must be thoroughly clean and flat before COLUMBIA CLIC is installed on it. Flatten any unevenness of more than 0.1 inch/yard. Depending on the situation, the following cases may present themselves: CONCRETE New construction: The moisture content of the concrete may not exceed 2.5% (CM method). A freshly poured coating must dry out for at least 1 week per 13/32-inch thickness up to 1 5/8 inch, and 2 weeks per 13/32-inch thickness above 1 5/8 inch, with sufficient ventilation. (2 13/32 inch concrete must therefore dry out for a minimum of 8 weeks). In case of floor heating, the moisture content may not exceed 1.5% (CM method). In this case, some specific installing instructions are applicable. Please consult your dealer for more information. Renovated construction: In the case of damp-proof flooring (PVC, linoleum, etc.), Columbia Clic may be installed on the existing floor covering. In the case of damp-open flooring (carpet, needle felt floor, etc.), first remove the existing floor covering. WOODEN FLOOR First remove any existing floor covering. The wooden floor must be sufficiently stable. Any loose parts must be nailed down and, if necessary, a levelling underfloor must be installed. The moisture content of the wood may not exceed 10%. It is essential that the creeping space under the wooden floor be sufficiently ventilated: remove any obstacles and provide sufficient ventilation (minimum 5/8 sq. inch total ventilation opening per yard of floor). Install the new panels across the planks.

5.  The Columbia Clic Underlayment System It is absolutely vital to use a leveling compound in order to level out any unevenness in the base floor. USE Columbia 3 & 1 Foam Underlayment or Columbia Sound Choice underlayment. Roll out two rows of the underlayment following the instructions on the roll. Tape the edges together.

CORRECT INSTALLATION

Wood is the primary constituent of Columbia Clic. Because the humidity of the room can vary, due to differences between the seasons for example, the floor must be able to expand in all directions. This expansion can amount to 3/32 inch per yard, so the greater the surface area, the greater the room for expansion required. The floor must be able to expand or contract on ALL sides. To facilitate this, an expansion gap is provided at walls of 5/16" - 13/32". A gap must also be provided around pipes or at thresholds. With large surface areas, a wider gap must be provided, for example under a double wall. Take into account the fact that the floor may move in one direction. Where possible, provide expansion gaps, for example under doors. These gaps are covered by a profile that is not fixed to the laminated flooring but to the base floor. Install the panels preferably in the same direction as the longest wall and the way the light falls (visually more attractive). Start installing the floor on one corner or in the middle of the area. You can also work from left to right, or right to left. Always remember that the easiest way of installing the floor is using the tongue into the groove. In these installation instructions, we will begin with installing the floor in the left-hand corner. This means that we are installing the floor from left to right and will be clicking the panel together using the tongue into the groove.

A.  Take four panels and place them ready in the corner where you want to begin installation. For the time being, do not place them too close to the wall so that you can easily get between the wall and the panels. First saw through panel 2 so that you have a piece 80 cm long that you can use with a groove along the long and short edge (the sawn-off part against the wall). To ensure a perfect expansion joint, the tongues along the long edge of panels 1 and 3, which go against the wall, need to be sawn off.

B.  We can now begin installation. Place your knees on panel 1 and push the tongue of panel 2 into the groove of panel 1. Rotate panel 2 up and down (while you hold panel 2 hard against panel 1) until both panels click together. If panel 2 does not stay flat or if the joint is not perfectly tight, this is a sign that the joint has not been fully made. If this is the case, rotate and press both panels again, using more force until they click in together.

C.  Now install the second panel of the first row. Take panel 5 and hold it in your left hand. Hold the panel slanted, so that the tongue (on the short edge) can be fitted easily into the groove (on the short edge) of panel 1. If the tongue sticks in the groove, rotate panel 3 up and down and at the same time push against panel 1. Make sure that panels 1 and 3 are perfectly aligned to one another. This is very important for installing the next rows! Before you go any further, first place a weight (e.g. a full pack of panels) on top of panels 1 and 2.

D.  Place both knees on panels 1 and 3. The weight (pack of panels) that is lying on panels 1 and 2, will ensure that the joints you made previously will not come apart. Now take panel 4 in both hands, and fit it on the slant into the groove on the short edge of panel 2. Ensure that - on the long edge - there is a space of +/- 1 cm between panel 4 and the panels in the first row. Rotate panel 4 gently downward and press it against panel 2 until you feel the tongue and groove click firmly together. Now the panels lie flat on the ground. Slightly lift up panel 2 and 4 and use your left hand to tap panel 4 on the long edge side so that it moves in the direction of the first row so that the tongue of the long side of panel 4 comes into direct contact with the groove of the first row.

F.  From the third row on, finish off each row at a time, each time joining the panel along its short edge, then along its long edge. You can use the left-over pieces that you have at the end of each row as the beginning panels of the next row. That way you make the best possible use of each panel. Always place a weight (a pack of panels) on the joints that you have just made in order to stabilize them.

G. Finish After installing your floor, you can immediately walk on it and begin the finishing process. This is one of the major benefits of the Columbia Clic system. Remove all spacer blocks. Fix the skirting boards to the plastic membrane sticking up from the floor. Never fix the skirting boards to the floor itself, but allow the floor to expand and contract underneath the skirting board. Finish the pipes with rosettes or elastic paste. In place where no profiles or skirting boards can be placed, the expansion gap must be filled with elastic paste.