Product Care & Help Guide
Proper pre-installation storage, substrate preparation, and ongoing maintenance help ensure a durable, level and attractive finish for your renovation project. This guide from Tobridgeroad provides general preparation, installation and care advice across our woodcraft, wall panels and cladding, and flooring and tiles. Please always refer to the specific instructions supplied with your individual product.
1. Woodcraft & Timber Mouldings: Acclimatisation & Finishing
- Indoor Acclimatisation: Natural timber and wood-based mouldings respond to changes in ambient humidity. Store woodcraft boards and profiles flat off the ground in a dry, heated room for 24–48 hours before cutting or fixing. Do not store timber in damp garages or rooms with freshly wet plaster.
- Cutting & Sanding Safety: Use a fine-toothed mitre saw or handsaw for clean corner joints. Lightly sand cut ends with fine-grit sandpaper and wear a suitable dust mask and eye protection when cutting wood or MDF products.
- Sealing & Painting: Where woodcraft items are supplied unfinished, apply an appropriate wood primer, knotting solution (for softwood), oil, wax, or interior paint across all faces and cut edges to seal the timber against moisture movement.
2. Wall Panels & Cladding: Substrate Prep & Cleaning
- Surface Preparation: Ensure walls are dry, structurally sound, clean, and free from loose wallpaper or flaking paint before fixing wall panels. For uneven masonry walls, installing horizontal timber battens checked with a spirit level provides a flat mounting plane and allows airflow behind the panels.
- Fixing Methods: Depending on the panel type and wall substrate, panels may be installed using high-grab panel adhesive, countersunk screws through acoustic felt backing into battens, or concealed tongue-and-groove clips, in accordance with the product instructions.
- Routine Cleaning: Dust acoustic timber slat panels gently with a soft brush attachment or dry microfibre cloth. For waterproof PVC cladding, wipe with warm water and a mild non-abrasive household cleaner; never use wire wool or harsh solvent cleaners.
3. Flooring & Tiles: Subfloor Checks, Batch Matching & Care
- Pre-Installation Shade & Batch Check: Before laying any flooring planks or tiles, open and inspect boxes under good lighting to verify that shade codes, batch numbers, and surface textures match. Mixing planks or tiles from several packs from the same batch during laying helps create a natural, balanced visual blend.
- Subfloor Level & Expansion Gaps: Subfloors must be dry, clean, firm, and level. For floating click-lock flooring (such as laminate or SPC planks), leave the recommended perimeter expansion gap around walls, door frames and radiator pipes so the floor can expand naturally with seasonal temperature changes.
- Cleaning & Floor Protection: Fit felt pads underneath chair and table legs to prevent surface scratches. Sweep or vacuum grit regularly, and clean hard flooring using a well-wrung damp mop with a pH-neutral floor cleaner rather than flooding the surface with standing water or steam cleaners (unless explicitly rated as steam-safe).
4. Product-Specific Instructions
The guidance on this page is general preparation and maintenance advice. Dimensions, thickness tolerances, moisture ratings, fire classifications, and fixing requirements vary by model. Always follow the instructions and specifications provided on the relevant product page and with your item, and ensure installations comply with applicable local building regulations where required.
Need Technical Assistance?
If you have questions about product specifications, coverage calculations, or care advice, please contact our support team:
Brand Name: Tobridgeroad
Business & Returns Address: 45-47 Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 4TL, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 20 7403 3480 | Email: support@tobridgeroad.com
Customer Service Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM UK local time (GMT/BST, as applicable)