AIM FLOOR UNITS

AIM Floor Units are simple to install and will take up minor imperfections in the surface on which they are to be laid. AIM Floor Units provide excellent thermal insulation and are suitable for both suspended floors and for ground floors. They can be installed quickly and easily, with no need to raise existing floors, and offer minimum disruption to other trades or to the existing structure. The Floor Units are installed over a structural floor for new build or conversions.

HANDLING & STORAGE

AIM Floor Units are easy to handle, but should be treated with relative care. They should be stored in dry conditions. Should indoor storage be impossible the product should be stacked clear of the ground and covered with a stout tarpaulin. Boards which have become wet should not be installed.

CONDITIONING

The Floor Units should be conditioned for two to three days prior to installation. This process must take place in the area and atmospheric condition in which they will be installed. Flooring grade chipboard will expand or contract according to moisture content; conditioning allows the chipboard surface of the floor units to adjust to the atmospheric moisture of its surroundings.

PREVENTION OF MOISTURE INGRESS

Any significant changes in moisture content after the boards are installed will cause dimensional change in the floor units. Therefore the building must be substantially weather-tight before installing the floor units; in other words all the doors and windows must be fitted – this is also an NHBC requirement. Where the AIM Floor Units are being laid on a ground floor, or onto new concrete or screed, a polythene vapour barrier should be installed above the sub floor to prevent moisture ingress from below. During installation, the Floor Units must be protected from wet trades and water spillage; in service the Floor Units should be protected from exposure to moisture attack from above by the use of waterproof floor coverings especially in wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Floor Units are not suitable for wet trade overlays.

EXPANSION GAPS – GENERAL

A minimum 5mm gap should be left between the Floor Units and perimeter walls or partitions; this gap should be filled with Aimcoustic PE Isolation Strip. In order to ensure that this gap is maintained, spacers should be placed between units and walls, but these must be removed after floor units have been laid. Pipes or other services penetrating the floor units must also be provided with an expansion gap.

Expansion Gaps – long corridors (& other long runs) Where the length of run of AIM Floor Units equals or exceeds 12 metres an intermediate 10mm movement joint is required, filled with two layers of Aimcoustic PE Isolation Strip, in addition to the perimeter gap. Thereafter the maximum allowable length between movement joints is 9 metres for end sections and 6 metres for intermediate sections.