Thre-ply kraft paper

[nemofish]

Hi

I've recently bought a book detailing how to install hardwood floors as I'll be installing an oak floor. However, the book is american and states that you should use three-ply kraft paper when boarding over exisiting floorboards. This acts as a moisture barrier, reduces noise and provides a clean working surface. Can anyone tell me what the UK equivalent would be and can I get it from somewhere like B&Q? The book also says that you should not use a polythene moisture barrier if that helps.

Many thanks

Mat.

[nightjar]

Kraft paper is a thick brown paper, shiny on one side, which you would probably recognise if you saw it wrapped around a parcel. I would use paper underlay, from a carpet shop, instead - the stuff that replaced interesting old newspapers under lino.

Colin Bignell

[Paper2002AD]

The Americans use kraft paper, ie, made from virgin fibre, ie trees, as opposed to most of UK 'kraft' wrapping paper which is pretty near 100% recycled. They do it because they can, since trees are cheap in the US - I hasten to add that they plant and grow the trees that they use for paper-making. Having said that, they are building recycling mills for packaging papers, but because most of the stuff they recycle is made from 100% virgin, their 'recycled' paper is superb compared to ours.

I would have thought that any old thick paper would do for this kind of underlay. If you know anyone who works for a corrugated box company, they may get you a stub end of paper on the reel.

Incidentally, paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. Each time it is subjected to the paper-making process, the fibres get shorter and the paper gets weaker, and eventually you would have mush. The whole cycle depends upon the introduction of virgin fibre - usually from trees, but it could be any cellulose fibre - to maintain paper strength.

There will be a test at the end of the month, class.