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In order to ensure that you will enjoy years of your floor, please go through this brief checklist prior to laying.

1. Examine, wether between floor and door is enough space (at least 1 cm) so that after the laying of the mats and the door still can be opened and closed, if necessary shorten the door.

2. Is the space which you are going to be installing the product, suitable (no damp rooms)? Be aware of the type of flooring you are using!

3. The following subfloors are suitable:
V100 subfloor planks; old flooring such as PVC (if full-surface adhesive is used); wooden flooring, ceramic tiles, linoleum, needled felt, cement floors. *The readiness of the subfloor for installation must be ascertained. If a measurement protocol of residual moisture is not performed, the manufacturer will not make good on any claims.

4. The following subfloors are not suitable:
Thick carpeting with long fibres is too soft and must be removed prior to installation. Composition flooring contains too much residual moisture.

5. Pretreating the subfloor. Only install kronotex flooring on subfloors that are absolutely dry, even, solid, stable, and clean. Minor unevenness will be equalised by the underlayment pad. Unevenness of greater than 4 mm should be sanded down to 1 mm or smoothed out with putty. Be sure to sand down any highspots. Lay new planks in such a way that they run perpendicular to the existing ones.

6. Use of underlayments: In order to provide a moisture and vapour barrier when laying the material on a mineral substrate or on a floor with radiant heating, foam underlayment with diffusion-proof PE foil with a minimum diffusion thickness of 0.2 mm must be integrated. Subfloors that lie directly on the subsoil or are subject to fluctuations in temperature require a vapour barrier comprised of a PE foil underlayment with a minimum thickness of 1.2 mm. This applies to such spaces as greenhouses without cellars or that are located over unheated rooms, corridors, ect. Strips should be glued down or installed with at least 20 mm of overlap, and should also be positioned about 5 cm above the base of the wall and subsequently covered with the baseboard.

7. For impact sound and thermal insulation, please use underlayments such as foam, felt, cork or cork shavings. You can also use, for this purpose, kronotex combination underlayment pads which are comprised of moisture-regulating corrugated cardboard. These pads are laid joint to joint and are glued down with moisture-resistant self-adhesive tape (advantage: the whole job consists of only one step).

Vapor barrier Impact sound insulation
Composite cement x x
Earthenware tiles x x
PVC - x
Linoleum - x
Wooden particle board/compressed fibre board - x

8. Allow for expansion joints.
kronotex floorings are a natural product and inasmuch as the base material (wood) has the properties of a natural product, planks expand or contract in all four directions. Consequently, on all surfaces to which flooring is applied, expansion joints of at least 10 mm or 1.5 mm per running metre must be allowed for all vertical surfaces (pipes, conduits, thresholds, columns, room dividers, ect.) Spacers (to be removed after installation is completed) are used to localise these expansion joints.

9. Spaces that measure more than 12 m and/or 8 m in terms, respectively, of plank length or width, require an extra expansion space of a minimum of 10 mm or 1.5 mm per running metre. This applies as well to doorways, openings between rooms and corridor corners. We recommend removing plank tongues in the area around the expansion profile in order to allow for sufficient expansion space. Under no circumstances should the floating system be removed in whole or in part. Mouldings should be attached to the wall only, and not to the flooring.

10. Cover the expansion spaces.
After installation, expansion spaces around the perimeter of the floor as well as transitions to other flooring need to be covered with base or shoe mouldings that match or are colour coordinated to blend with your floor. kronotex has trims colour coordinated to kronotex floors that can be used to cover wall expansion spaces. To see our complete line accessories, visit your nearest kronotex dealer.
Basic parameters of Kronotex Laminate Flooring
1. The installation should be performed at an ambient temperature of at least 18° C, a ground temperature of at least 15° C and relative humidity of 50% (minimum) and 75% (maximum). Please do not aerate the space during installation.

2. For optical reasons, kronotex panels and planks should always be laid lengthways in relation to the principle light source.

3. Prior to installation, calculate the width of the final row of planks: they should not be less than 5 mm wide. If necessary, cut the first row of planks accordingly.

4. kronotex flooring is laid using a floating system, which means that the flooring is not glued, nailed, attached to fixed to the subfloor in any way. Adhesive is applied to the tongue-and-groove joints only. After laying the floor, attach mouldings directly to the wall only, and not to the flooring!

5. When putting planks in place, never hammer directly on the plank tongue. Use an appropriate tapping block instead. In doing so, make certain that the tapping block is placed squarely against the tongue and that the latter is seated properly in the groove of the tapping block.

6. Be sure to perform the installation exactly as described in the instructions. No claims will be honoured if the procedure described therein is deviated from. If any problems arise, change the manner of installation or interrupt the procedure altogether and contact your supplier.
Installing in Special Areas
1. If the space contains vertical surfaces such as heating pipes or room dividers, cut the planks to the correct length first. Then lay the pieces next to the places where they are to be installed, measure the recesses with a measuring stick or tape measure, and mark accordingly. Now drill holes at the places you have marked, and make sure you do not forget to allow a 10 mm gap on each side. Saw the plank at a 45 degree angle up to the boreholes. Doing this enlarges the gluing surface. Apply adhesive to the sawed piece and use the pull bar to lock the pieces tightly together behind the heating pipes.

2. To undercut (i.e. shorten) a door casing, first lay a plank against the casing with the decorative side facing down. Then shorten the door casing along the plank with a hand saw, and finally push the plank underneath the casing, with the decorative side facing up.

3. When installing a floor in rooms that measure more than 12 planks long and/or 8 panels wide, you must leave additional expansion space. This applies to doorways, openings between rooms, wall overhangs, corners and angles. It is recommended that the tongues of the panels are removed from areas around expansion profiles so that sufficient expansion space is allowed for.
Subsequent treatment
Immediately after installing a kronotex floor, you can walk on it and move all the furniture back in. Remove spacers and cover any expansion spaces. Your kronotex dealer can supply you with matching and colour-coordinated trim. Install mouldings with pegs or screws. When doing this, make certain that you do not inadvertently fasten down the flooring planks with the trim. This would prevent the floating laminate surface from moving freely.