Installing Solid Hardwood Flooring On Concrete

Hardwood type there is no way to install standard 3 4 hardwood on concrete.

Installing solid hardwood flooring on concrete.

Most recently the most popular method of installing solid 3 4 hardwood floors on concrete was a plywood subfloor attached to the slab. Old basement slabs can crack and buckle in places. Carefully score the top of. Homes built on concrete slabs are good candidates for solid wood flooring provided that the slab does not wick up too much moisture.

Since humidity causes natural wood to expand and contract your flooring won t be able to move. This will result in buckling. Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Things you ll need step 1.

If you have a concrete then you have choices to make 1. You can install either an engineered hardwood floor this is real hardwood done in layers or a laminate floor this is fake floor that looks like hardwood on top of cement. You usually determine this. You don t want to try and glue it down either.

Your concrete floor or slab must be flat. Most engineered flooring can be installed using staples full spread adhesive or a floating method over an approved subfloor. You need to fill any large cracks and be sure that the entire floor is level. When installing a basement hardwood floor the concrete must be flat so the tongue and grooves of the hardwood meet and connect.

Add moisture barrier once the slab is dry cover it with a moisture barrier consisting of two layers of tar. Solid parquet hardwood flooring can be glued directly to a concrete slab on grade or above grade with the use of a manufacturer recommended vapor retarder. Most 3 4 inch solid hardwood flooring can be installed using nails or staples over an approved subfloor. To save money try to reuse your baseboards a fresh coat can give them a new look.

Using a minimum 5 8 cdx plywood the material is installed over the same moisture barriers but it is attached by way of concrete fasteners. Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. Stack flooring log cabin style or just spread it around the room but not directly on concrete. If the concrete has been painted you will need to remove it to guarantee adhesive will stick.

Humid conditions such as. Engineered hardwood will improve the value of your home. Laminate will cost less. Installing hardwood flooring over concrete step 1.

Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. A variety of concrete fasteners are used including concrete cut. You can rent a. The entire flooring level is considered to be below grade where soil is present along any perimeter wall and is more than 3 above the installed wood flooring level.