A buddy has asked me to help him install a new floor in two rooms in his condo.
Situation
- Existing carpet over concrete slab
- New floor needs to meet up with existing tile (approx 5/16″)
- No apparent problems with moisture in slab
- Rooms will be an office/spare bedroom and a family room
I have always been a fan of and installed full 3/4″ hardwood. Due to the concrete slab, I don’t think that is an option. That leaves me with either an engineered wood or a laminate. Any recommendations on brand?
I’m leaning more towards a laminate. I was never a big fan of them when they first came out, but I have been hearing better things recently. I understand its a throw away floor, but I’m not looking to get 20 years of service out of it either. Something quick/easy to install (since I will be “donating” my time) would be preferable.
Replies
Last fall I help my brother-in-law doing an uplevel at my brother-in-law friends vacation house in NH. He ask me if I knew how to install Pergo, I said no but I'll read the instruction and doing for you. The house is 40' x 24' the 1st floor it has a living room, small dining room, kithcen, two bedrooms w/closet, and a enclose porch. I did the Pergo on entire 1st floor minus the bathroom in 2.5 days. It was simple follow the manuf. direction that's it. You should take min 1.5 or 2 days. The Pergo is the no-glue type.
P.S I am a Remodeling Contractor I'm recover from a massive stroke that I had in Jan 8, 2003.
Edited 9/10/2005 5:42 pm ET by MRinger
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Thank You!
WARNING!!!!!!
I'm in the middle of solving a problem with a big laminate job on a slab that is on grade, but not below grade. YOU MUST ASSUME THAT AT SOME POINT WATER VAPOR WILL "WICK" UP THROUGH THE SLAB. ALL MANUFACTURERS HAVE A VERSION OF THEIR INSTALL GUIDELINES FOR FLOORS WHERE THERE COULD BE MOISTURE. FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY.
WATER VAPOR CAN BE PRESENT UNDER CARPET BUT NOT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF WETNESS.
Advocate
Hi, I have/had a similar situation, slab in condo building (floors above and below), no moisture, etc.
I've had good luck with some stuff I got (embarassingly) at HD. It was TrafficMaster something. It's engineered, no glue, but it has real wood veneer on top. I think it was 7/16 thick or so, and around $3 a sqft. I found it in the flooring isle, in between the Pergo and the 3/4 HW - look closely for it.
It comes in sheets that are like 10 x 40 or something and clicks together. I just followed the directions explicitly. You'll need their "blue foam" underlayment too.
I build furniture for fun, so with my eye towards real wood grain, I knew that If I used Pergo or a similar "picture of wood" that my eye would find the repeats and I'd go bonkers in no time.
I'm pretty happy with this stuff. If you walk on it with hard soled shoes it'll sound sort of hollow, but no big deal. I would highly highly recommend that you level the floor with floor leveler to within like 1/16th over 6-8 feet. I missed a few spots and I regret it now - when I walk on those spots (1 or 2) the floor feels kinda - soft. My wife tells me that I'm the only one to notice it, but still...
Good luck
J