Outdoor landscape wpc flooring, as a new polymer composite material, has gained user recognition for its excellent corrosion resistance, mildew resistance, aging resistance, and resistance to fading and deformation. As the core accessory for outdoor floor installation, the installation quality of the keel directly affects the length of its use. So how do we install the keel?
I. Substrate Pretreatment
Clean the installation area from weeds, gravel, trash, and other debris to ensure it remains clear of obstructions.
Check whether there are pipelines, cables and other facilities underground in the installation area to avoid damage during construction.
Concrete ground should be checked for flatness, cracks and depressions should be repaired, and the surface should be dry and clean.
The earth ground should be roughly leveled, and the pre-embedded positions of the columns should be marked.
II. Keel Spacing Standards
Keel spacing should be adjusted according to the thickness of the WPC flooring to ensure even load distribution and prevent deformation.
When the thickness of the wpc floor is less than 25mm, the spacing between the keels cannot exceed 250mm.
When the thickness of the wpc floor is greater than 25mm, the spacing between the keels can be appropriately relaxed, but the maximum spacing cannot exceed 400mm.
During installation, use an ink fountain to mark the position of the keel to ensure uniform spacing and neat arrangement
III. Keel Installation Process for Different Ground Scenarios
Typically, when installing keels, we encounter the following ground conditions:
ⅰ. When installing suspended walkways in parks, it's necessary to consider plants and flowers, or when large-scale drainage and concrete pouring are not possible on lake or pond surfaces. Galvanized ground screws can be used to screw directly into the ground, and then the galvanized pipe keel can be welded to the ground screws. If it is installed in a lake or pond, or the air humidity in the installation environment is high, it is recommended to choose hot-dip galvanized square tubes to avoid rust.
ⅱ. When there is a concrete foundation on the ground, which has been leveled and has a thickness of no less than 8mm, we can directly fix the WPC keels on the concrete ground with plastic expansion plugs.
ⅲ. For pure earth ground where the floor installation surface needs to be raised, we can first dig foundation pits on the ground to pre-embed concrete and galvanized pipe columns. Generally, the diameter and depth of the foundation pit shall not be less than 300mm. The specification of the galvanized pipe used for columns shall not be less than 6060mm, and the wall thickness of the pipe shall not be less than 2mm. The span between columns shall be controlled within 1800mm. After the pre-embedding of the columns is completed, weld the galvanized pipe keels on the columns, and the specification is recommended to be above 4060mm.
IV. Installation Precautions
Anti-corrosion and anti-rust: All metal components (keels, ground screws, columns, etc.) must be made of galvanized materials. Hot-dip galvanized parts are mandatory in humid environments to avoid rusting during long-term outdoor use.
Weather selection: Avoid construction on rainy or foggy days. Wet ground will affect the fixing effect of keels, and welding operations have potential safety hazards on rainy days.
Safe operation: Equip fire extinguishers during welding and keep away from flammable materials (such as weeds and plastic parts).
Reserve expansion joints: An expansion joint of 5-10mm shall be reserved between the keel and fixed structures such as walls and columns to avoid keel deformation and arching caused by temperature changes.
V. Post-installation Acceptance Standards
Keel spacing: Randomly inspect more than 10 points to ensure the spacing meets the standard, with an error ≤ 5mm.
Flatness: Check the keel surface with a 2m straightedge. The flatness error shall be ≤ 2mm/m, and there shall be no obvious height difference.
Stability: Manually shake the keels and columns; there shall be no looseness or displacement. There shall be no cracks or falling off at the concrete pre-embedded parts.
Anti-corrosion treatment: There shall be no exposed rust on metal components, and the anti-corrosion coating on welding joints shall be applied evenly without omission.
Post time: Nov-10-2025
