Wood Flooring On Concrete Subfloor

Check your flooring manufacturer s recommendations to ensure you re using a proper subfloor.

Wood flooring on concrete subfloor.

Concrete is a common subfloor material and in general it s easy to prepare for a luxury vinyl flooring installation project. Check for cracks and crumbling. Determining moisture content of both the wood flooring and the subfloor is an important part of quality control in the flooring installation process. New concrete is heavy with moisture and it must be a minimum of 30 days old before moisture testing begins.

A vapor retarder is recommended any time you install a solid 3 4 inch wood flooring over concrete. Use a moisture vapor retarder between the subflooring and the hardwood flooring to prevent moisture from leaching through the joists and subfloor to negatively affect the hardwood above. Floated subfloor alternate subfloor glue down sub floor and the nail down subfloor system. Make sure the concrete slab is flat to the wood flooring manufacturer s specification.

The concrete subfloor must be sufficiently strong to safely support the flooring furniture and people in the room. Typically manufacturers will specify a flatness tolerance of 1 8 in a 6 foot radius and or 3 16 in a 10 foot radius. If the slab is out of specification consider grinding floating or both. Get a comprehensive breakdown on which materials to use what to take into consideration and what steps to take for four subfloor systems.

Learn how to install beautiful hardwood floors over a concrete slab. How to install a glued subfloor over concrete. As with a floated subfloor nwfa recommends a vapor retarder for glue down subfloors when installing wood flooring over concrete. Over concrete with a wood subfloor.

Subfloor must be flat. Laminate planks snap together and float above a subfloor which means tiny subfloor imperfections are okay although again a level subfloor will help prevent damage. Solid wood flooring is never recommended below grade but some solid wood flooring manufacturers now recommend their products for glue down over slabs. This is a popular subflooring option in the southern states and in areas where homes do not have basements.

If you have a subfloor that consists of wood on top of concrete you ll need to test both floors. To level a subfloor for installing laminate follow the directions above to remove high and low spots.