Prefabricated tongued-and-grooved floor elements, such as boards, planks, panes, sheaves, blocks, strips and the like, are today commonly used and easy to floor, professionally as well as on a do-it-your-self basis. Disclosed floor elements include highly abrasive resistant floor boards etc. being made up from a fibre or particle board and at least one thermosetting laminate, whereby the upper surface of said floor boards etc. is a thermosetting laminate surface. Laminated boards etc. are normally floored by being tongue and groove joint and glued together. It is here desired to compress the joint as much as possible, thus making the joint almost invisible, which substantially increases the moisture resistance of the resulting floor. Compressing of the joint is often made using a hammer, mallet or other impacting tool and optionally an impact absorbing or protecting block or the like. An substantial drawback using such a method is that impact damages often occur resulting in disfiguring damages and/or damages obstructing further tongue and groove joining. A further disadvantage is that the joint is not kept tightly pressed together during the drying or curing time of the glue. The latter makes the joint weaker. The fibre of particle board normally swells when wetted by the glue, which causes the floor boards to creep back from the compressed position, thus resulting in a joint having a gap of up to 0.5-1 mm. Penetration of moisture and other contamination into said gap may result in considerable swelling causing the edges of the floor board surface to rise upwards, whereby the edges are subjected to severe abrasion reducing the life-time of the floor.

Above drawbacks and problems have through the present invention been eliminated or substantially reduced, whereby the life-time of disclosed floors is substantially increased. The invention refers to a flooring method wherein the floor elements consists of or comprises rectangular elements such as boards, planks, panes, sheaves, blocks, strips and the like. The floor elements are at a first short and a first long side tongued and at a second short and a second long side grooved. The floor elements are by means of the tongues and grooves joint to a floor. The invention is characterised in that the floor elements are, subsequent application of glue in the grooves, joint in columns, which columns consists of at least two, preferably three, floor elements. The columns are then gradually joint to form units corresponding to the width of the floor. The units consists of at least two, preferably three rows of floor elements. The floor elements in the columns are preferably sideways dislocated by at least 10% of the length of a floor element, whereby the short side joints in adjoining rows not coincide. The floor elements in the units, or preferably the floor elements in the columns, are gradually pressed together, thus compressing the joints, by means of one or more compression arrangements comprising a first counterstay, at least one strap and a second counterstay being provided with a locking device. The strap or straps are preferably placed under the floor elements before joining of these. The first counterstay is placed towards the edge of a long side of the first row of floor elements in the first unit or preferably the first element in the first column. The strap or straps are connected to the first counterstay and the elements in the unit or column are pressed together by means of the locking device and the second counterstay.

The columns are suitably dislocated, row by row, in the same direction by at least 10% of the length of the floor elements. The number of rows in a unit is preferably three, whereby the columns, row by row, preferably are dislocated by one third of the length of the floor elements.

The length of the strap exceeds the number of rows multiplied by the width of a floor element.

The first and the second counterstay comprise suitably a geometry adapted to the grooves and tongues of the floor elements.

In a further aspect, the present invention refers to the use of a compression arrangement as substantially herein disclosed. The compression arrangement comprises a first counterstay, at least one strap and a second counterstay provided with a locking device and is used in a flooring method wherein a number of substantially rectangular floor elements, such as boards, planks, panes, sheaves, blocks, strips and the like, are joint to a floor.

The invention is further illustrated in enclosed figures which teach a preferred embodiment of a flooring method and a compression arrangement included therein, whereby -Figures 1.1-1.4 schematically and stepwise show, in perspective views, a preferred embodiment of the flooring method of the invention.

-Figure 2 show a compression arrangement used in the flooring method of the invention.

Figures 1.1-1.4 schematically and stepwise show, in perspective views, a preferred embodiment of the flooring method of the invention. Rectangular tongued-and-grooved floor elements 1 are used in the embodiment. The grooves and tongues are used to join the floor elements 1 to a finished floor. The floor elements 1 consists of a carrier made of fibre board, which on its upper surface is clad with a multiply thermosetting laminate having a very high abrasion resistance. The lower surface of the fibre board is clad with a laminate barrier.

The floor elements 1 have a length of 1200 and a width of 200 mm. The first step (Fig. 1.1) in the embodiment of the flooring method is to cut a first floor element 1 to give a floor element 1"having a length of 800 mm. A second floor element 1 is cut to give a floor element 1"'having a length of 400 mm. An uncut floor element 1'is then placed with the tongue facing the wall, whereby the cut floor elements 1"and 1"', after applying glue in the grooves of elements 1'and 1", and floor element 1'are joint to a first column 4', which column forms the basis for a unit 2. Further uncut floor elements 1 is now added column by column 4"-4"" (Fig. 1.2). Pieces cut from floor elements 1"and 1"'are suitably used in the last column 4. A floor element 1 is if necessary cut to fit the width of the room. A first unit 2'comprising three rows 3', 3"and 3"'is now pressed together by means of compression arrangements 10 (Fig. 2). The number of compression arrangements can of course be adjusted as desired, but a suitable number is one for each column 4.

The compression arrangements 10 can alternatively be applied gradually as soon as a column 4 is finished. The straps 12 (Fig 2) is placed under the floor elements 1.

Two further floor elements 1 is now cut to a length of 800 and 400 mm and then placed as disclosed above, whereby column by column 4'-4""is added until a second unit 2" (Fig. 1.3) is finished. The locking devices 13 are unlocked from the first unit 2'and the straps 12 (Fig. 2) are pulled under the second floor unit 2".

Glue is now applied in the future joint between units 2'and 2"and said units are pressed together.

The compression arrangements 10 can alternatively be applied gradually as soon as a column 4 in the second unit 2"is finished. The straps 12 (Fig 2) is placed under the floor elements 1.

The steps as disclosed above of these embodiment of the present invention is repeated and further floor elements 1 are joint to units 2 until a complete floor is obtained. The compression arrangements 10 are preferably allowed to remain in a compressed state until the glue is dried or cured.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a compression arrangement 10 used in the flooring method of the present invention. The compression arrangement 10 comprises a first counterstay 11, a strap 12 and a second counterstay 13'provided with a locking device 13. The first counterstay 11 is placed towards the edge of the long side of the first row 3'of floor elements 1 in the first unit 2' (Fig. 1.1).

The strap 12 is connected to the counterstay 11 and then placed under the units 2.

The strap 12 is then connected to the locking device 13 of the second counterstay 13', which is used to press the units 2 together, thus compressing the joints.

A compression arrangement 10 used in the flooring method of the present invention can of course also be used in conventional flooring methods. The compression arrangement 10 can also be used with for instance wood floors such as hardwood floors.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and it is, therefore, contemplated to cover by the appended claims any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.