Installation Instructions Walling

Quick Reference Guide

Installation:

Conform to current AS / NZS 1884 standard and these instructions.

Types of suitable wall surfaces:

Properly prepared smooth concrete render, fibre cement sheet, plasterboard, hardboard sheet, plywood and steel or aluminium sheeting.

Installation system:

Full spread hard-set adhesive.

Seams:

Heat weld or seambond.

Pattern match (reverse sheets):

No match - reverse the direction of every second run.

Adhesives (to be used to manufacturer's directions):

Use Armstrong Flooring recommended adhesives as set out in the Armstrong Flooring Recommended Adhesive guide or other reputable brand adhesives that have been tested with Armstrong Flooring/Walling products.

Trowel size:

V1 1.6mm deep x 1.6mm wide x 1.6mm apart or trowel as per adhesive manufacturers recommendation.

Special instructions:

All rolls of Armstrong Flooring products are marked with a 'batch number', and rolls are numbered in consecutive order. When using more than one roll make sure the rolls have the same 'batch number' and when used side by side in the same area are installed in roll number order. Ensure sheets are reversed at every second run. Installation is ideally suited to two installers.

To The Installer

Before cutting and installing Armstrong Flooring wall coverings, inspect the materials in a well-lit area to ensure correct product, colour, pattern and quantity (as ordered), that given areas are from the same batch, and there are no obvious transit damage, manufacturing defects, or other visual faults. Armstrong Flooring reserves the right to refuse an adjustment or claim for materials that are cut or installed where a reasonable inspection of the materials before installation would have identified the fault.

If there is a problem or doubt of any kind, then stop immediately and call Armstrong Flooring Customer Service on 1800 632 624 (AU) or 0800 449 649 (NZ).

Do not cut or install any damaged or defective material unless accepted, agreed, and approved by all parties concerned.

Job Site Preparation

Rolls should be stored upright with space between the rolls. Prior to installation, material should be allowed to relax in a flat form to acclimatise to job climatic conditions. Roll out flat and stack up to ten sheets for 24 hours at 15°C to 28°C.

Temperatures in areas to be covered should be maintained at a minimum 15°C to 28°C for 48 hours prior to, during, and after installation. Never install the material if the temperature in the room is less than 15°C as per current AS / NZ 1884. Please note that cold walls have considerable influence on delaying the open and drying times of adhesive used to install the walling.

Suitably prepare and clean (sweep/vacuum) a cutting area. Armstrong recommends the use of a vinyl dolly to roll out the walling material face up. Cut the required lengths, loosely roll up face in, and stand in the area to be installed; this will help to further condition the walling material to the area.

Wall Surface Preparation

Solid Construction Walls

(including smooth cement rendered walls and hard wall plastered surfaces)

• Walls must be dry, clean, and smooth and finished off with a steel trowel.
• Whilst walls are not subject to hydrostatic pressure, they can be damp; thus, before commencing the installation, ensure the walls are completely dry. This may take some time as the internal brickwork has to dry out as well.
• Cement rendered walls finished with a steel trowel should be smooth enough for wall installations. If cracks and holes exist, they should be levelled with a trowel-on underlayment.

Framed Construction

(including plasterboard, fibre cement sheet, hardboard sheet, plywood, and steel or aluminium sheeting)

• All framed walls must be well supported and stable. Nail heads, staples, or other fasteners must be flush to the surface of the wall finish. Gaps, holes, and uneven thickness of boards must be filled and levelled with patching compound (as per manufacturer's recommendations).
• Painted walls should be sanded and any loose paint scraped off.

Installation

Cut material to length and reverse sheets to fit (opposite edge to opposite edge), remove selvedge. Loose lay the first two lengths and before adhering, step back and inspect the overall effect. If acceptable, then proceed and install. If there is a problem or doubt of any kind, then stop immediately and call Armstrong Flooring Customer Service on 1800 632 624 (AU) or 0800 449 649 (NZ).

Ensure material is acclimatized. Warm sheets at corners using a hot air gun to end around corners. Please note a minimum corner radius of 8.00mm for all Armstrong Flooring walling materials.

If installing to a height of less than 1.5 metres, lengths should be laid horizontally as set out below:

• Mark out a horizontal reference line along the wall at a height slightly lower than the width of the materials from the floor or from the end of the coved flooring. This is to allow for trimming any unevenness of sub-floor. NOTE: Allowances must be made to the horizontal reference line to cover the rake of the corners.
• Do not install vertical seams in the wall corner – these are never straight and very difficult to weld. They are best placed 200 mm from the corner, obviously on the less visible angle.
• Add 50mm to required length and cut the walling material. This will allow for overlap at both ends. Remove factory edge if damaged or contaminated.
• Mark the centre of the length and the corresponding centre of the wall.
• When placing the walling material in position, make sure the factory edge matches the horizontal reference line of the wall and the corresponding centre marks. Then work toward each end. NOTE: Armstrong Flooring Wall Capping Strip should be applied to cover any differences due to the rake of the corners.

The same method is used if installing vertically, but use a plumb line to give the first vertical starting line.

Adhesive Application

A band of approximately 100mm to 150mm of contact adhesive is applied below the horizontal line. Apply recommended hardset adhesive to the remaining area. The band of contact adhesive is to prevent the sheets from slipping down because of the weight of the walling material.

If the walling material is applied up to the ceiling height, then the band of contact adhesive should be applied at the top.

Contact adhesive is recommended at external corners. Hardset adhesive is recommended at internal corners.

When applying walling materials on the ceiling, the contact adhesive is applied to the entire surface of the ceiling.

Following adhesive manufacturer's instructions:

• Spread the recommended adhesive to the properly prepared substrate using the recommended trowel notch size.
• Allow adhesive to tack up; tack time will be dependent on site and wall conditions.
• Contact adhesive is specially formulated contact adhesive that has a high plasticiser migration resistance. Contact adhesive should be applied to both corresponding surfaces: wall and back of material. For non-porous surfaces, apply a thin coat of contact adhesive by brush or paint roller to both the wall and the back of the material (porous wall surfaces will require two coats). Adhesive must be allowed to 'touch dry' before joining coated surfaces together.
• When placed in position, apply pressure with a hand roller to set adhesive and expel air bubbles.

Wall to Floor Transition

When installing the walling material to join coved 2.0mm vinyl floor coverings, heat weld the walling and floor together to provide a smooth hygienically welded joint.

Seam Preparation

One of the many advantages of Armstrong Flooring walling materials is the fact that it can be seam-welded to give a joinless, dust-free, watertight wall treatment. Grooving and welding should not be carried out until adhesive has completely set (usually 24 hours after sheet installation, as moisture from adhesive can interfere with the heat welding process).

Factory edges should be removed during installation.

• Trim the first side using a sheet vinyl edge trimmer or by cutting 10mm from the factory edge using a straight blade knife and straight edge.
• The second run of vinyl should overlap the first by 10mm to 15mm.
• After the wall covering has been placed into the adhesive, under scribe the join. Scribe the seams using a recess scriber set to provide a maximum gap of 0.5mm (when the gap between sheets is set correctly, you should not be able to see any subfloor or adhesive through the gap).
• Cut along the scribe line keeping the knife upright to achieve a square edge. Roll cut edge of wall covering into the adhesive using a hand roller.

Heat Weld Installation

Routing or grooving and heat welding must be done once adhesive has set for 24 hours. For best welding results and to reduce damage to the surface of the vinyl, use a fine air stream speed nozzle. Armstrong Flooring weld rod must be used.

• Rout or groove the seam in a "U" shape to a maximum depth of 2/3rd the material thickness (1.2mm) using a grooving machine or hand groover or a triangular or P groover fitted with a sharp blade against a straight edge, being careful to ensure both sides of the seam are grooved equally and uniformly.
• Set the temperature setting on the hot air welder, fitted with a speed nozzle, to deliver enough heat to fuse the weld rod to the sheet. Amperage of electrical supply, length of extension cord, and wire size along with site conditions and subfloor temperature will affect the temperature setting.
• As a guide, a Leister weld gun fitted with a speed nozzle should be set to a heat setting of around 400 to 450 degrees. NOTE: Practice welding on a piece of scrap material until correct settings are achieved.
• Insert weld rod into the speed nozzle and immediately insert the rod into the groove, hold the welding gun at an angle so that the tip of the speed nozzle is parallel with the material. A good weld will result when the weld just starts to flair on each side of the seam. If the weld rod in the join flares excessively, you are going too slow. Scorching the material can occur if the heat setting is too high and/or if you are going too slow.
• To change directions in welding, shave off excess weld rod, groove the end of the weld rod for approximately 20mm to create a splice. Start welding from the opposite direction and continue welding until you overlap the grooved weld rod and continue for another 20mm before lifting weld off.
• Allow weld rod to cool to the room/floor temperature. Skive the excess weld rod off in two passes. The first pass using a quarter moon (spatula) knife with a trim plate or a Mozart trimming tool with the spacing plate.
• Allow weld rod to completely cool before final skiving (trimming).
• Once the weld rod is cooled off, skive off in two passes. The first pass using a Mozart or quarter moon (spatula) knife with a trim plate. The second pass should be flush with the material. Too much weld rod flair or an uneven seam will result in the top surface of the material being removed, exposing the material backing.

Contact Information

Australia (AU):
Customer Service: customerservices@armstrongflooring.au
Phone: 1800 632 624

New Zealand (NZ):
Customer Service: customerservices@armstrongflooring.co.nz
Phone: 0800 449 649