General questions about our products

Wood and wood-based materials are so-called hygroscopic materials. This means that they adjust their own moisture content in a permanent process to the ambient humidity. If the ambient conditions in the room, such as temperature and humidity, vary greatly, the floor covering reacts by changing volume and shape – the planks cup or warp. You can easily prevent this by keeping the indoor climate conditions largely constant at 18–22° C and about 60% relative humidity.

If the floor covering bulges in the middle of the room, this can have several reasons. It may be that you have not left a sufficient expansion joint at the walls and that the planks are "pressed" against the wall. Furthermore, the humidity in the room may be too high and the wood of the flooring reacts by increasing in volume. This also applies if the temperature of the underfloor heating is set too high.

If there is a rare case in which you wish to make a complaint about a Parador flooring, please contact our contract partner or your dealer. They will handle the complaint in the interest of both parties.

Yes, this is completely normal for floor coverings, especially for flooring made of wood or wood-based materials. All materials permanently adjust their moisture content to the ambient humidity, which leads to movements and noise in the flooring in case of the usual floating installation.

If it is a floating floor covering such as laminate or engineered wood flooring, you should remove the old floor covering in any case. Coverings that are firmly glued over the entire surface, on the other hand, can remain in place. For hygienic reasons, carpets should always be removed.

We indicate on the leaflet for each floor covering whether it is suitable for use on a hot water underfloor heating system. Electrical temperature control systems for the flooring often work with higher temperatures, which is why we do not recommend the use of our flooring here.

Yes, there is.

The substrate must always be firm, clean, dry and even for all floor coverings. Smaller bumps up to about 2 mm per meter can be concealed by choosing the right footfall sound insulation, whereas larger bumps must be filled before installing our flooring.

The expansion joint or wall clearance should be at least 10-15 mm, more on larger areas.

The rule of thumb is: Per metre of flooring keep at least a 2.0 mm expansion joint at both sides of the room. (Example: room width 5 m = min. 10 mm wall clearance on each side)

You will find further information in the respective guide.

Very small bumps can be levelled out by the underlay. Smaller gaps in the substrate can be repaired with a cement-based repair filler. If the entire substrate is full of holes or pimples or not balanced, it is best to resort to self-levelling fillers (DIY store). They level the entire flooring area in one operation. It is important that you match the filling compound to your substrate (screed or wooden substrate).

You will find detailed installation instructions for our flooring in every second package as a leaflet.

For optical reasons, the planks should be laid parallel to the incidence of light, i.e. the long side runs in the same direction as the light entering the room. If there is more than one window, please go by the largest window. If the floor plan of the room is very unusual, the direction of installation should also be judged according to how the room is divided.

Also for optical reasons, the long sides of the floor should be at right angles to the long side of the room. This makes the room appear squarer and bigger instead of long and “tube-like”.

Our planks are manufactured in such a way that they must always be laid from left to right.

A vapour barrier is usually a 0.2 mm thin PE (polyethylene) film which is laid over the entire area of the substrate before the underlay (footfall sound insulation) and floor covering follow. The purpose of the foil is to prevent any moisture rising from the substrate from penetrating to the floor covering and damaging the wood. Vapour barriers are generally required on mineral screeds (cement and anhydrite), as the fine texture and capillarity of these materials mean that moisture transport is greatest here. For our flooring with cork backing, a PE film should always be used so that the floor covering can "slide" and expand unhindered.

In principle, floor coverings can be installed in two different ways: floating and glued in place.

With the floating installation, the flooring only rests on the substrate and has no fixed connection. It can move freely, swell and shrink without causing tension in the flooring structure. Footfall sound insulation between the flooring and the substrate minimises the transmission of sound into the building structure caused by walking on it. The floating installation of a floor covering is no problem at all for DIY enthusiasts.

When gluing over the whole area, the planks or strips of the floor covering are glued directly to the substrate. The demands on the evenness of the substrate are higher here, and the adhesive must also be precisely matched to the substrate. Due to the direct contact, the footfall sound insulation is not quite as good as with the floating installation, but the step sounds in the room itself (ambient noise) are better insulated. Gluing floor coverings over the whole area is very demanding in terms of craftsmanship.

As our LVT with cork backing is designed for floating installation, we advise against gluing - however, a PE foil must always be used as an underlay.

Laminate Hydron 600 technically meets the requirements for an all-over adhesion of up to 20 m². However, removing the bonded surface is extremely time-consuming. We therefore advise against all-over adhesion and accept no responsibility for any consequential damage (this also applies in particular to all other laminate floors).

Modular ONE is suitable for all-over adhesion in small rooms with a maximum size of 20 m2.

It is ideal if the same environmental conditions prevail at the time of installation as during subsequent use.

For living spaces this means a temperature between 17 and 24°C and a relative humidity as follows:

Engineered wood floors: 30 - 65%
Laminate and design floors: 35 - 60%

This ensures that the floor covering only expands or shrinks minimally. It is important that you store your new planks in the room in which they are to be installed for at least 48 hours BEFORE installation.

Some of our engineered wood floorings can also be glued over the whole area. The products Trendtime 3, Edition New Classics with tongue-and-groove connection and Open Frameworks with loose and fixed tongue and groove connection are even designed exclusively for whole-area gluing and are not suitable for floating installation. The following applies to the selection of the adhesive:

• only the water and solvent-free, one or two-component (1-C or 2-C) polyurethane adhesives recommended by the adhesive manufacturer for this purpose, or solvent-based adhesives according to DIN 281, are to be used as large area adhesives. The adhesive manufacturer's instructions regarding the amount of adhesive to be applied must be observed, the size of the serrations on the adhesive spatula depends on this.
• Parador recommends the adhesives T54 FC and 151 Objekt made by Sika. These adhesives are suitable for all common types of wood such as beech or oak. If you have specific questions, please contact the adhesive manufacturer and refer to the relevant technical data sheet.
• In principle, the substrate must be dry, level, free from cracks, clean and suitable for gluing and must be below the corresponding moisture values. The pre-treatment/priming depends on the specifications of the adhesive manufacturer.

You can easily order them via our website. We would like to give our customers the opportunity to have a close look at our products before buying them. Therefore you can have up to 3 hand samples delivered to your home free of charge.

To ensure that your new floor covering is not damaged by rising damp from the substrate, screeds must not exceed certain moisture values - a PE film has to be used for such substrates.

Decisive for these values are the screed material (cement or anhydrite/calcium sulphate screed) and the question of whether underfloor heating has been installed or not.

 

The values:

- Anhydrite screed

without underfloor heating:        max. 0.5 CM %

with underfloor heating:             max. 0.3 CM %

 

- Cement screed

without underfloor heating:        max. 2.0 CM %

with underfloor heating:             max. 1.8 CM %

 

The abbreviation CM stands for the commonly used measuring method (Calcium carbide Method), which should only be performed by an experienced professional. A sample is taken from the screed and checked for moisture content. The test material must be taken from the lower third of the screed structure, whereby the thickness of the screed must be measured and documented at each test point. The specifications are only valid for screeds without additives. For screeds with additives, such as fast-drying screeds, the information provided by the respective manufacturer must be observed.

As a matter of principle, steam cleaners must not be used for cleaning our floor joists. The penetrating water would cause swelling and destroy the wooden support and wear layers. In addition, even with insensitive materials, the moisture penetrating to the back of the floor covering could lead to the formation of mould.

Basically you should use the floor cleaner from the Parador range for care and maintenance, which you can find on our website under the menu item "Tools & Care".

To prevent impressions or scratches in your new floor covering, you should fit all moving furniture in the room with felt glides. You can get them for gluing, screwing or nailing in any hardware store. In general, it is better to lift the furniture slightly instead of sliding it across the flooring.

Basically our recommendations are the same across all flooring types:

• with felt glides under furniture or soft castors under office chairs you can avoid scratches and impressions on the surface
• regular cleaning should be done dry with a vacuum cleaner or soft broom
• if you wipe the flooring in case of stubborn dirt, wring out the mop so that you only wipe it damply
• under no circumstances should you use scouring agents, floor waxes, hot steam cleaners or polishes for cleaning

A damaged plank (vinyl, laminate or engineered wood flooring) in the middle of a room can be replaced with a little craftsmanship. After cutting out the damaged plank (hand-held circular saw or oscillating multitool), you must first cut away the two groove sides from the replacement plank and then glue the plank into the clean gap. You will find the exact work steps with drawings in our laminate flooring advice section on page 20.

Light scratches can be repaired with our laminate retouching set. Minor damages and impressions on laminate, engineered wood and also design flooring can be concealed with our special repair kit, consisting of a repair compound, two pigments and a spatula. It is important that you adjust the colour of the compound to the wood tone, which is why we have one repair set each for dark and light flooring in our product range. In the case of major damage, consideration can be given to replace the planks(s). In the case of extensive damage to the wear layer, it is only possible with our real engineered wood flooring to sand and reseal/oil the surface as a whole.

Not all our floor coverings are suitable for use in the bathroom without restrictions. Laminate and ready-made engineered wood flooring, for example, react sensitively to moisture due to their wood content, which is why installation in the direct splashing water area around the shower, bathtub, toilet and wash basin is taboo. For laminate flooring, our special Aqua-Proof process enables use in wet rooms with up to one hour of standing water protection (Classic, Trendtime and Edition). In permanently wet rooms or damp environments (sauna areas, small bathrooms, etc.) laminate and ready-made engineered wood flooring should not be installed. The situation is different with our SPC and vinyl floorings made of solid material, which are an attractive alternative to the usual tile coverings even in splashing water areas due to their material properties. Our vinyl flooring versions with an HDF core board must also not be installed in areas where splashing water can get onto the floor. However, Modular ONE's waterproof surface and the special core board suitable for damp areas allow this flooring to be used in wet rooms with up to four hours of standing water protection.

Especially for floating installation, we recommend Modular ONE Hydron, SPC and Laminate Hydron 600.

 

Modular ONE enables use in damp rooms with up to 4 hours of protection against standing water.

Laminate from the Classic, Trendtime and Editon collections can be used in damp rooms with up to one hour of protection against standing water.

If you choose our SPC and vinyl floorings made of solid material, we recommend that you glue these floorings over the entire area (you will find a suitable adhesive in our range).

This reliably prevents water from getting under the flooring and causing mould. For the same reason you must seal the transitions from the floor covering to the walls and other rising components with a silicone sealant.

If, on the other hand, you choose the floating installation, do not seal the transitions with silicone, but with special sealing profiles with flexible sealing lips. The silicone would not follow the movements of a floating floor in the long run and would tear. In addition, use a PE film to protect the substrate.

In principle you can say that the same conditions should be met as for the installation of tiles.

In conservatories, above-average solar radiation is to be expected due to the large glazed areas. UV radiation can cause colour changes (darkening or lightening) in some versions of our floor coverings, such as engineered wood flooring. The high level of heating of the room associated with solar radiation leads to an increase in volume for flooring with a high wood content, as already described. For this reason, we recommend the use of laminate flooring, vinyl flooring with an HDF core board, vinyl flooring with an SPC core board (with 8mm all around expansion joint) or Modular ONE for conservatories. Due to the respective product structure, these coverings react less strongly to temperature fluctuations than vinyl flooring made of solid material or engineered wood and laminate flooring. Basically, you should always fit such generously glazed rooms with a functioning external shading system to keep UV radiation and heating within limits. Furthermore, approval for an installation in a conservatory is only possible if the room is used as living space all year round (and a "normal" indoor climate prevails). 

Nevertheless, discolouration of the planks in direct sunlight is to be expected.

Since all our floor coverings are produced without any harmful substances and are very durable and easy to clean, they are also suitable for all kinds of pets.

There is no absolute scratch resistance for any of our floors. For hard coverings such as laminate and lacquered parquet, carpets or blankets can help.

In parquet with a structured surface (e.g. brushed structure / Elephant skin), cat claws can also trigger individual wood fibres.

Yes. Depending on the product category, our floor coverings have been awarded the following certificates: Blue Angel, PEFC, EPD, Eco Institut, TÜV Rheinland, Floor Score, French A-mark

The castors on office chairs, file trolleys and roller containers should be equipped with soft treads (type W, EN 12529). If this is not the case with your existing castors, you can also exchange the castors yourself. For heavily frequented areas of your floor covering, you can obtain thin and transparent protective mats from specialist office supplies retailers.

Design, modular and laminate floorings are divided into wear classes to give you, as a consumer, guidance about the resistance of the floor coverings.

The first digit defines the area of use, so the "2" stands for the private and the "3" for the commercial sector, for instance.

The second number describes the resistance of the floor covering, with a scale ranging from "1" for low stress, "2" for medium stress and "3" for high stress.

For example, a floor covering of wear class 21 is perfectly adequate for installation in the bedroom, whereas in a busy shop, flooring of wear class 33 should be installed.

Please note that the normative classification requirements for identical use classes of different products (e.g. Modular One vs. laminate) are not identical.