Installation of
hardwood floor medallions on concrete is far
easier to do when the actual floor is being
installed. In the set of photos to follow we
had used our installation template to mark the
area on the concrete where the medallion was
going. Considering this is a glue down
hardwood floor you don't want to cover the
entire area before the design area is cut out
from the floor. Doing so will create a
nightmarish problem trying to remove the
boards.
Depending on the medallion manufacturer all
have will different thickness templates. Ours
was 3/8" of one inch. The next step once the
floor was installed and the adhesive had a
chance to cure(24 hours minimum), is tacking
the template to the floor with brad nails in
the desired area. Templates must be secured
firmly, otherwise once we get the router
cranked up it could shift and ruin the whole
project.
 Lesson
number one. Don't do as we did in the photo
below. Actually I was doing the photos and did
not like what was going on so I continued the
rest of the router work. The photo example
shows the collar (guides the cutter blade
along the template) barely touching the
template. Medallion installations are quite
easy, but if you fail to double check before
you start plunging into the floor you could
have a lot of repair work ahead of you.
Special NOTE
Designs should not be cut out in one single
pass. In our case we made three passes around
the template taking off a little under 3/16"
of an inch at a time to play it safe.
Incidentally, the hardwood floor is a select
white oak unfinished 5/8" thick engineered
plank manufactured by Owens Plank Flooring.
More Special NOTES
Your subfloor
has to be flat for this project to work.
Thicker medallions do not bend well. It is
also critical your new medallion not be stored
in areas exposed to high humidity or reverse,
prior to installing. Thinner medallions also
have a tendency to warp if you do not install
within a certain period of time. How long?
This is unknown depending on your
circumstances.
Once you do receive your medallion everybody
wants to see it and you're likely to display
it proudly. Once you have marveled over the
workmanship, we recommend placing it back in
the original packaging until it is time to
install. It's also best to lay it flat when
storing.
Next step is cleaning the area where the
medallion is to be installed. If you've
followed our advice on
spreading the glue on the outside line of the
pencil scribe, you may still get some glue
squeeze over that line. In this case I
adjusted the cutter blade depth on the router
to where it was barely missing the concrete.
It look off any remaining
glue like a charm.
For other contaminates or glue use a 4"
flooring scraper, but be careful with those
blades! Finish by vacuuming.
Time to glue her up and drop that beauty into
place!
It's also important to note all perimeter
areas should be flush with the floor itself.
This is very important with prefinished floors
but not as critical with floors that will be
finished. After dropping in the medallion,
walk on it to seat the adhesive. Don't worry,
it will not move. The precision of the
template makes for a seamless appearance.
Neighbors, relatives, and your best buddy will
be impressed with your expert workmanship! For
added protection before the adhesive has a
chance to cure, place weights on the perimeter
area while making sure the medallions is flush
with other areas around it.Other photos...
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