I then put an oil preservative on the deck surface. Then a thin veneer of hardwood is glued to the surface to create that authentic hardwood look. Hello, The instructions I have are for secret nailing to 38 mm joists, which would end up too high. Actually, the opposite is true. The intention is to have a monolithic unit. Your email address will not be published. You can hear the floor lifting after each step. Consider asking a specialist in basement waterproofing to solve that issue before installing any new floor. If you plan on attaching the floor directly to concrete (not recommended), youll need to drill holes through the wood and into the concrete. Whether its fingerboards, herringbone, or any other type of parquet flooring, glue-down is a great option for installation. Should I do the glue method? The adhesive used to install hardwood floors is extremely hard to clean up once it is has dried. We are installing engineered wood floors in the entire main level of our house. If youre moving into a brand-new home or you just poured the concrete slab, the concrete needs to cure before you can install hardwood floor over it. It simply means above the ground, at ground level or below ground, or the basement. Browse our selection. Cheers, Tom. It could have been somewhat, if not completely, prevented by pre-finishing the bottoms of the boards. It was glued down over an at-grade concrete slab and never buckled or separated until recent severe water damage. 
1.Will glueing prevent expansion/contraction eventually resulting in buckled seams? They tell me however that long planks of wood with considerable movement need to be nailed and to do this they sink wooden dove tail shaped strips into the cement to which the floor is subsequently nailed. The type of subfloor can determine how youll install the floor. You need a membrane between the concrete subfloor and wood floor. Why Choose Easiklip For Your Basement Hardwood Floor? And the installers is not just being lazy. Other meters can measure relative humidity in the slab. During the curing process, there is excess moisture still evaporating from the concrete that can ruin the floor if you install it too early. They also may be pre-finished or unfinished. Engineered floors are made with lots of chemical adhesives where a base of wood chips or thin sheets are pressed together under heat to form a sheet of OSB or plywood. If you are going to glue your hardwood directly to the concrete, you need to know what youre doing and work fast. If the wood cant expand sideways, it will twist warp or cup as it absorbs moisture. Floating hardwood floors can be installed above, below, or on grade. To avoid excessive moisture problems, new slabs must be detailed properly. I left adequate spacing all around the walls for expansion. A subfloor is the floor surface directly under the hardwood floor. The cost would be greater for the adhesive application. The floor is about 15 years old and very stable but needs to be replaced. 5. Normally with floating, floor floats over a thin underlay, and with glue you glue directly to the sub floor. Click here to learn more about recording moisture in a hardwood floor. I then duct taped those seams. No nails, glue, screws or hammer drills. Thanks for the great video. I have been told, however, that this can be joined in such a manner because it is more stable and that I need to cover the entire concrete slab with a flexible adhesive and glue each plank to the concrete, similar to tiling. Refer to manufactures installation guidelines Any parts of the subfloor that are not level will contribute to an uneven floor board thats results in a hollow or tinny sound.. Even the coating of glue from below, and a good multi-coat finish on top will not prevent swelling if you are in an even remotely humid climate. Or should I do a full floating floor job fitting the flooring around the cabinets. 
Mike, Just watched your video. Another issue is improper installation. Gluing floor is not a job for an inexperienced DIYer. Unfinished, Japandi Style - What It Is and How to Create One at Home. Seems like I should do one or the other, but not both? Most of the articles youll find online will recommend installing a floating floor made of engineered wood. This floor is rock solid. 
All wood will move with increases or decreases in relative humidity. Solid wood floors: Thinking aboutinstalling an engineered hardwood floor? Vinyl plank would probably be the least expensive below grade floor covering. While this saves time from not having to drill pilot holes first, it still adds to the cost of installing a floor. This article will focus on basement installations. How to get more leads from search engines & social media without wasting your time. Initially, the builder kicked the pieces of flooring back with his boot. 
Thank you. Make a list so youll know what to look for and what to avoid when floor shopping. Note that in the video they also use glue, which is our next method. The exterior of the concrete slab should also be dampproofed prior to backfilling. Want to see how easy? This will prevent any excess moisture from wicking from the concrete directly into the wood. When installing hardwood flooring on basement, the concrete must be flat so the tongue and grooves of the hardwood meet and connect. Question In addition, individual boards will cup more than normal due to moisture absorption, mainly from only one side of the board--the side against the concrete. As an Amazon Associate, Easiklip Floors earns from qualifying purchases. Thanks! Took me a while to realize that what had happened was moisture had easily penetrated the bottoms of the boards from the always damp earth below, because there was no finish on them, while the tops had some resistance due to the oil finish. We would suggest you have an inspector look at the install. Can I float a vinyl floor over the top of the existing floor? Engineered wood is less susceptible to warping, can better handle water damage. If you are gluing down a floor to a concrete subfloor it will sound and feel as if solid wood has been installed. I put a hard pine floor down on a small porch on our own home several years ago, without pre-finishing the bottoms of the boards. a. If the material is solid and either vertical or horizontal, then I would recommend nailing it provided the subfloor meets all the proper specifications. Actually, even with the plastic, there will be some moisture absorption from the bottom as well. Easiklip is perfect for the DIYer who wants the beauty of hardwood without the hassle of glue or nails. I would strongly advise against gluing 3/4" boards directly to the concrete. It installs very quickly. You do this in three to four areas around the slab. Since a lot will depend on the species you are using and your local climate, I suggest you pay a reputable company to lay it for you. And, the traditional method of driving screws or nails through the moisture barrier turns your moisture barrier bowl into a sieve allowing excess moisture to wick into the wood. I have purchased solid Indonesian hardwood flooring (18mm kiln dried T&G pre-finished planks designed for false floors) to install over an existing concrete slab. 3 Questions 
You will receive a 5" sample of each of our floor types to see which one fits your decor: Youll also get two aluminum clips to test and see how it snaps into place. For these reasons, you should avoid gluing, nailing or permanently attaching directly to the slab.To drive a nail or screws into concrete, youll need to use a hammer drill and masonry bit to pre-drill each hole. In each case, it is significantly faster than installing with a traditional glue and trowel method. Place a 6-mil polyethylene vapor barrier over the concrete. Lay down a moisture barrier. The room temperature should stay within a range of 60 to 80. A Dozen Ways to Strengthen Your Remodeling Brand, The Most Affordable Places to Retire in America in 2022, Yardi Matrix Reports Institutional Investment in Single-Family Rentals Is Rising, NAHB: Proposed Schumer-Manchin Legislation Could Affect Builders, New Conservation Community Lagoon Valley Materializes in the Bay Area, 7 Ways to Prepare Your Team to Sell in an Uncertain Market. Check out our installation video. Acclimate the flooring by placing the boxes of Easiklip horizontally in the location they are going to be installed. Floating floors can sometimes sound hollow when walked upon. Lay 1/2-inch plywood sheets along the long axis of the room. The following is a rundown of all the basics you need to know about these two installation methods. Not sure if the Bostik series of adhesives would work with a flooring that is backed with its own pad. The floating floor can have a hollow sound ( Can be mitigated with https://www.cityfloorsupply.com/Results.aspx?srh=Muffler) an advantage to the floating floor is the product acts as one monolithic piece due to the seams being glued together. I am doing engineered bamboo click jointed flooring. My wife and I just moved into a new house, and we want to replace all of the carpets with hardwood floors. The Festool Vecturo should allow you to cut through the bamboo in order to place the vents into the floor. You should have no more than a 3/16 slope in a 10-foot radius or less than 1/8 inside a 6-foot radius. Underlayments can combine water barrier protection and noise reduction. Laying the floor. The most straightforward method is not to attach it but float the floor on top. The Bostik adhesives we carry do not require a vapor barrier as they can be their own with the proper notched trowel. The floor makes a lot of noise when we walk on it. They allow the wood board to expand and contract but they do not grow or shrink nearly as much as they would with a floating or nail down installation. Although you can attach hardwood directly to concrete with glue or nails, its not advisable. The only tools youll need are a tape measure, N IOSH-designated dust mask, some 1/2 in (15mm) wedges, a broom, a hand saw, and eye protection. Check out this video as Bob Villa watches some pros install solid hardwood to a concrete floor at grade. Definitely refer to the manufacturer installation methods. I am being told to choose floating LVPs instead of glue down because its pricier. We have carpet and vinyl sheet (bath & kitchen) today but need to make changes this fall. Or is this not an issue because the new flooring is only pressed fibers with a single top laminate layer made of synthetic non-wood material. However, the information applies to installing hardwood floors over concrete at any level. Should there be flooring under the island & cabinetry? I know I cant put the floating under the cabinets. Without the moisture barrier, the floor will first swell until it is pressed hard up against the sidewalls. Feel the quality for yourself by ordering a free Easiklip sample pack. d) Toe-nail it down using angular floor nailer (can be rented). Hence, the bottom faces of the boards swelled more than the top faces and the cupping resulted. The engineered bamboo Im installing suggest either a floating installation or a glued down installation. We need to replace the flooring throughout and were considering vinyl click planks but Im very concerned about the heat and potential cupping. As the natural wood it is good and also easier to install and maintain. The alternative is to purchase 1 3/ 4-inch powercleats specifically designed for this application. Thanks for the helpful tips. A lot depends on your expectations. You dont have those concerns with a solid hardwood floor. By using a foam underlayment it reduces the chance for this noise. 
Do you want to know how much it REALLY costs to install hardwood? There should be install cut sheets inside the boxes of you flooring product. There is no better way to improve your home than by choosing Easiklip for your basement hardwood floor. Not sure what youre asking could you clarify? The adhesives that CFS sells for hardwood flooring, both solid and engineered, are designed to allow expansion and contraction.
1.Will glueing prevent expansion/contraction eventually resulting in buckled seams? They tell me however that long planks of wood with considerable movement need to be nailed and to do this they sink wooden dove tail shaped strips into the cement to which the floor is subsequently nailed. The type of subfloor can determine how youll install the floor. You need a membrane between the concrete subfloor and wood floor. Why Choose Easiklip For Your Basement Hardwood Floor? And the installers is not just being lazy. Other meters can measure relative humidity in the slab. During the curing process, there is excess moisture still evaporating from the concrete that can ruin the floor if you install it too early. They also may be pre-finished or unfinished. Engineered floors are made with lots of chemical adhesives where a base of wood chips or thin sheets are pressed together under heat to form a sheet of OSB or plywood. If you are going to glue your hardwood directly to the concrete, you need to know what youre doing and work fast. If the wood cant expand sideways, it will twist warp or cup as it absorbs moisture. Floating hardwood floors can be installed above, below, or on grade. To avoid excessive moisture problems, new slabs must be detailed properly. I left adequate spacing all around the walls for expansion. A subfloor is the floor surface directly under the hardwood floor. The cost would be greater for the adhesive application. The floor is about 15 years old and very stable but needs to be replaced. 5. Normally with floating, floor floats over a thin underlay, and with glue you glue directly to the sub floor. Click here to learn more about recording moisture in a hardwood floor. I then duct taped those seams. No nails, glue, screws or hammer drills. Thanks for the great video. I have been told, however, that this can be joined in such a manner because it is more stable and that I need to cover the entire concrete slab with a flexible adhesive and glue each plank to the concrete, similar to tiling. Refer to manufactures installation guidelines Any parts of the subfloor that are not level will contribute to an uneven floor board thats results in a hollow or tinny sound.. Even the coating of glue from below, and a good multi-coat finish on top will not prevent swelling if you are in an even remotely humid climate. Or should I do a full floating floor job fitting the flooring around the cabinets. Mike, Just watched your video. Another issue is improper installation. Gluing floor is not a job for an inexperienced DIYer. Unfinished, Japandi Style - What It Is and How to Create One at Home. Seems like I should do one or the other, but not both? Most of the articles youll find online will recommend installing a floating floor made of engineered wood. This floor is rock solid. All wood will move with increases or decreases in relative humidity. Solid wood floors: Thinking aboutinstalling an engineered hardwood floor? Vinyl plank would probably be the least expensive below grade floor covering. While this saves time from not having to drill pilot holes first, it still adds to the cost of installing a floor. This article will focus on basement installations. How to get more leads from search engines & social media without wasting your time. Initially, the builder kicked the pieces of flooring back with his boot. Thank you. Make a list so youll know what to look for and what to avoid when floor shopping. Note that in the video they also use glue, which is our next method. The exterior of the concrete slab should also be dampproofed prior to backfilling. Want to see how easy? This will prevent any excess moisture from wicking from the concrete directly into the wood. When installing hardwood flooring on basement, the concrete must be flat so the tongue and grooves of the hardwood meet and connect. Question In addition, individual boards will cup more than normal due to moisture absorption, mainly from only one side of the board--the side against the concrete. As an Amazon Associate, Easiklip Floors earns from qualifying purchases. Thanks! Took me a while to realize that what had happened was moisture had easily penetrated the bottoms of the boards from the always damp earth below, because there was no finish on them, while the tops had some resistance due to the oil finish. We would suggest you have an inspector look at the install. Can I float a vinyl floor over the top of the existing floor? Engineered wood is less susceptible to warping, can better handle water damage. If you are gluing down a floor to a concrete subfloor it will sound and feel as if solid wood has been installed. I put a hard pine floor down on a small porch on our own home several years ago, without pre-finishing the bottoms of the boards. a. If the material is solid and either vertical or horizontal, then I would recommend nailing it provided the subfloor meets all the proper specifications. Actually, even with the plastic, there will be some moisture absorption from the bottom as well. Easiklip is perfect for the DIYer who wants the beauty of hardwood without the hassle of glue or nails. I would strongly advise against gluing 3/4" boards directly to the concrete. It installs very quickly. You do this in three to four areas around the slab. Since a lot will depend on the species you are using and your local climate, I suggest you pay a reputable company to lay it for you. And, the traditional method of driving screws or nails through the moisture barrier turns your moisture barrier bowl into a sieve allowing excess moisture to wick into the wood. I have purchased solid Indonesian hardwood flooring (18mm kiln dried T&G pre-finished planks designed for false floors) to install over an existing concrete slab. 3 Questions You will receive a 5" sample of each of our floor types to see which one fits your decor: Youll also get two aluminum clips to test and see how it snaps into place. For these reasons, you should avoid gluing, nailing or permanently attaching directly to the slab.To drive a nail or screws into concrete, youll need to use a hammer drill and masonry bit to pre-drill each hole. In each case, it is significantly faster than installing with a traditional glue and trowel method. Place a 6-mil polyethylene vapor barrier over the concrete. Lay down a moisture barrier. The room temperature should stay within a range of 60 to 80. A Dozen Ways to Strengthen Your Remodeling Brand, The Most Affordable Places to Retire in America in 2022, Yardi Matrix Reports Institutional Investment in Single-Family Rentals Is Rising, NAHB: Proposed Schumer-Manchin Legislation Could Affect Builders, New Conservation Community Lagoon Valley Materializes in the Bay Area, 7 Ways to Prepare Your Team to Sell in an Uncertain Market. Check out our installation video. Acclimate the flooring by placing the boxes of Easiklip horizontally in the location they are going to be installed. Floating floors can sometimes sound hollow when walked upon. Lay 1/2-inch plywood sheets along the long axis of the room. The following is a rundown of all the basics you need to know about these two installation methods. Not sure if the Bostik series of adhesives would work with a flooring that is backed with its own pad. The floating floor can have a hollow sound ( Can be mitigated with https://www.cityfloorsupply.com/Results.aspx?srh=Muffler) an advantage to the floating floor is the product acts as one monolithic piece due to the seams being glued together. I am doing engineered bamboo click jointed flooring. My wife and I just moved into a new house, and we want to replace all of the carpets with hardwood floors. The Festool Vecturo should allow you to cut through the bamboo in order to place the vents into the floor. You should have no more than a 3/16 slope in a 10-foot radius or less than 1/8 inside a 6-foot radius. Underlayments can combine water barrier protection and noise reduction. Laying the floor. The most straightforward method is not to attach it but float the floor on top. The Bostik adhesives we carry do not require a vapor barrier as they can be their own with the proper notched trowel. The floor makes a lot of noise when we walk on it. They allow the wood board to expand and contract but they do not grow or shrink nearly as much as they would with a floating or nail down installation. Although you can attach hardwood directly to concrete with glue or nails, its not advisable. The only tools youll need are a tape measure, N IOSH-designated dust mask, some 1/2 in (15mm) wedges, a broom, a hand saw, and eye protection. Check out this video as Bob Villa watches some pros install solid hardwood to a concrete floor at grade. Definitely refer to the manufacturer installation methods. I am being told to choose floating LVPs instead of glue down because its pricier. We have carpet and vinyl sheet (bath & kitchen) today but need to make changes this fall. Or is this not an issue because the new flooring is only pressed fibers with a single top laminate layer made of synthetic non-wood material. However, the information applies to installing hardwood floors over concrete at any level. Should there be flooring under the island & cabinetry? I know I cant put the floating under the cabinets. Without the moisture barrier, the floor will first swell until it is pressed hard up against the sidewalls. Feel the quality for yourself by ordering a free Easiklip sample pack. d) Toe-nail it down using angular floor nailer (can be rented). Hence, the bottom faces of the boards swelled more than the top faces and the cupping resulted. The engineered bamboo Im installing suggest either a floating installation or a glued down installation. We need to replace the flooring throughout and were considering vinyl click planks but Im very concerned about the heat and potential cupping. As the natural wood it is good and also easier to install and maintain. The alternative is to purchase 1 3/ 4-inch powercleats specifically designed for this application. Thanks for the helpful tips. A lot depends on your expectations. You dont have those concerns with a solid hardwood floor. By using a foam underlayment it reduces the chance for this noise. Do you want to know how much it REALLY costs to install hardwood? There should be install cut sheets inside the boxes of you flooring product. There is no better way to improve your home than by choosing Easiklip for your basement hardwood floor. Not sure what youre asking could you clarify? The adhesives that CFS sells for hardwood flooring, both solid and engineered, are designed to allow expansion and contraction.