Installing Wood Floor Over Concrete Subfloor

A floating floor laminate or locking hardwood shouldn t be installed over a wood subfloor that s adhered to a concrete slab.

Installing wood floor over concrete subfloor.

Floated subfloor alternate subfloor glue down sub floor and the nail down subfloor system. After installing a vapor retarder if necessary cut your plywood panels into 2 x8 or 4 x4 sections. This may be as simple as a 6 mil polyethylene plastic covering 100 percent of the concrete and brought up all walls then trimmed after the floor has been installed. Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in.

Experienced professionals pay close attention to managing moisture and minimizing wood floor expansion and contraction when preparing to install hardwood floors on concrete slabs. The surface can t be slick heavily troweled or burnished. Inspect the moisture level check the moisture level of the subflooring using a moisture meter. Installing a hardwood floor over a concrete slab even if your home was built on a concrete slab you can still enjoy the beauty and charm of hardwood floors.

Get a comprehensive breakdown on which materials to use what to take into consideration and what steps to take for four subfloor systems. Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. It s safe to use self leveling compound on wood as. As needed use a concrete grinder you may want to rent one to remove any coating and to slightly roughen the concrete surface so the adhesive will stick.

Learn how to install beautiful hardwood floors over a concrete slab. Floating for floated wood subfloors installed on grade and below grade be certain moisture control is taken into account. As with a floated subfloor nwfa recommends a vapor retarder for glue down subfloors when installing wood flooring over concrete. Before installing any wood floor over concrete you ll need a moisture barrier.

If you install wood flooring directly over an uneven subfloor your new wood floor will be uneven as well. If you are installing a locking or floating floor not attached to the subfloor just make sure that the subfloor is clean. Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Typically it is sheets of plastic laid on the slab and taped at the seams with waterproof tape.

Follow these steps to install an engineered wood floor in your home.