Earlier this year we moved our local operations to a more spacious location. In doing so a custom made hardwood medallion was chosen at the entry. You can read more about custom hardwood floor medallions in general along with approximate costs if you desire such.
Installing on concrete requires planning. 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. If you click the photo to enlarge you will see our line penciled on the concrete before we spread the adhesive.
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.
More photos of the actual medallion cut out area.
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 in the area.
Final product after finishing the floor...
1 comments:
nice post, thanks for sharing!
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