Securing Flooring Materials

Abstract

A material for covering a surface of a home or building is provided in the form of a flexible laminate having a fastening side comprising a sheet-form fastener component, and an opposite side formed by a sheet of paper laminated to the fastener component to increase the dimensional stability of the fastener component for covering and fastening over a wide area. The fastener component can have either hooks or loops. The laminate is particularly useful for laying flooring with low backlash between adjacent pieces.

1 - 31 . (canceled) 
   
   
       32 . A method of securing a flooring material over a subfloor surface, the method comprising:
 placing a female touch fastening material against the subfloor surface, the material being in the form of a flexible laminate having a fastening side comprising a hook-engageable knit or non-woven web having a basis weight of less than about 4 ounces per square yard, and an opposite side formed by a sheet of paper laminated to the fastener component to increase the dimensional stability of the fastener component;   securing the female touch fastening material to the subfloor surface;   providing a complementary hook fastener component on a flooring material to be releasably secured over the subfloor surface; and then   placing the flooring material against the secured female touch fastening material to releasably secure the flooring material in place.   
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 32  wherein placing the flooring material against the secured female touch fastening material comprises individually placing and securing discrete pieces of flooring material against the female touch fastening material and interlocking the placed pieces. 
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the female touch fastening material and the complementary hook fastener component are selected to provide a backlash between adjacent pieces of flooring material of less than about 0.020 inch, preferably less than about 0.015 inch, when one of the adjacent pieces of flooring material is subjected to a lateral separating load of 10 pounds. 
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 34  wherein the backlash is at least 0.001 inch. 
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the web of the female touch fastening material is in a laterally stretched condition as laminated to the paper. 
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the paper has a lateral stiffness at least as great as that of 85 pound Kraft paper. 
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the hook fastener component comprises an array of discrete male fastener elements. 
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the male fastener elements have molded resin stems integral with a sheet-form resin base layer secured across the flooring material. 
   
   
       40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the base layer is secured to the flooring material by resin of the base layer encapsulating surface features of the flooring material. 
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the web comprises a non-woven web defining multiple engageable loops. 
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the web comprises a non-woven web of entangled fibers and includes a binder resin anchoring hook-engageable fibers or yarns and constituting between about 20 percent and 40 percent of the weight of the web. 
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising an adhesive disposed on a broad side of the paper opposite the web. 
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 32 , including unrolling the female touch fastening material directly onto the subfloor surface. 
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the paper significantly stiffens the web material against stretching in a plane of the laminate, the laminate having a Gurley stiffness of more than 500 milligrams while being sufficiently flexible to be rolled up for storage and transport. 
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising securing the female touch fastening material to the subfloor using discrete mechanical fasteners. 
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 32 , comprising placing the flooring material over the female touch fastening material, and then removing an engagement barrier from between the female touch fastening material and the placed flooring material to engage the hook fastener component with the female touch fastening material. 
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the flooring material comprises hardwood, parquet, stone, tile, carpet or vinyl.