Installing Solid Wood Flooring On A Concrete Slab

Add moisture barrier once the slab is dry cover it with a moisture barrier consisting of two layers of tar.

Installing solid wood flooring on a concrete slab.

Before installing any wood floor over concrete you ll need a moisture barrier. Fortunately a variety of flooring materials are water resistant enough to function well over a concrete slab. Things you ll need step 1. But it s considerably more difficult to install a 3 4 in.

Using a minimum 5 8 cdx 3 4 recommended plywood the material is installed over the same moisture barriers mastic excluded but attached by way of concrete fasteners. We install a hardwood floor on concrete using the direct stick method. Wood planks to the plywood. With solid hardwood floors a proper vapor retarder must be installed on top of the slab to make sure normal slab moisture does not reach the finished floor.

The reason why is because there are many tricky things you ll need to consider. If you are planning on installing any type of glue down hardwood floor product you must see the entire concrete surface and make sure that it is flat within 3 16 in a 10 foot radius or 1 8 within a 6 foot radius. You don t want to try and glue it down either. If you love solid wood floors and your home rests on a concrete slab you re not out of luck.

It s essential to choose the best option from the available types of floors for your hardwood. Installing hardwood on concrete is not a do it yourself project. Wood floor over concrete than over a wood subfloor. Lay a plastic moisture barrier and then screw 3 4 in.

Can i install hardwood floors on a slab. Watch this video to see how easy it is. They make the job quick and easy. Subfloors the national wood flooring association recommends two choices in sub flooring systems for concrete installations.

Some of these reasons are. Typically it is sheets of plastic laid on the slab and taped at the seams with waterproof tape. Layers of asphalt felt with asphalt mastic or 6 mil polyethylene sheathing are some of the choices. You usually determine this.

Installing the wrong kind of flooring over consistently damp concrete may encourage warping and wear over time. Dry the slab before you prepare the concrete for hardwood flooring it must be dry. Hardwood type there is no way to install standard 3 4 hardwood on concrete. Choose the best material.

Plywood to the concrete. It will extend up the wall for about 2 to 3 inches creating a bowl where your wood floor stays dry and protected. When a concrete slab absorbs moisture it can retain it for a surprisingly long time. Over the most recent thirty years the most popular method of installing solid 3 4 hardwood on concrete was a plywood subfloor attached to the slab illustration above.

The floor clamps come in really handy.