Wood flooring on concrete slab
ItwaslikethatwhenIgothere
| Posted in General Discussion on
I recently bought a home in Hilton Head, SC and would like to install wood flooring in the bedrooms and living room. I’ve tried to read several of the past postings about floating wood over concrete. It sounds like that is my best option. Anyone out there have any favorite manufacturers/installation methods? I’ve looked at Kahr’s, Andersen and Junkers so far.
Thanks for the help.
Replies
Does anybody have experience with the Delta-FL product?
http://www.deltams.com/deltafl/
I just checked out the web site you sent about the Delta FL product. It looks interesting. To tell you the truth, here in South Carolina, I'm not sure if I should be more or less concerned about moisture on the slab. We certainly have our share of humidity but don't have the big temp swings/freezing and thawing that they get up north.
Do you think the flooring manufacturers would void any warranties if you used this product? It's probably an upgrade from the 6 mil plastic that many of them call for, but it would give them somewhere to place the blame if you had any problems.
Thanks
Vince
Regarding warranties, the photo on the Delta site shows laminate flooring being applied over the delta product, and there is the flooring manufacturers foam underlayment between the products. I would think that they are implying that both are acceptable.Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
The concrete slab should be dried out. This we check with a test that involves crushing a sampüle (from at least 4 locations) in a chemical reactive test that uses Carbide which reacts with water. The created pressure tells you about the moisture. If you have no moisture problem (heated room/over heated room) you dont need any moisture barrier. Delta FL is great, because it has these voids that let air move. It´s a german product (I think too pricey for the idea, but great in basements).
Junckers from Denmark are the ones with the steel clamping method . It works fine. Kährs from Sweden have developed a glueless interlock system, which is also tops.
You could take a less expensive flooring, if you just take care to use the right construction adhesive: SIKAbond. It is elastic and a superb product. But the slab has to be dead flat and level (can be cured by floating self-levelling ....don´t know your expression. Don´t forget the right primer.http://www.sikaconstruction.com/tds-cpd-SikaBondConstructionAdhesive-us.pdf
Mathias Raulf http://www.raulfcarpenters.com
Edited 10/29/2003 12:55:59 PM ET by Matt
Thanks for the advice Matt. Is it possible for an amatuer like myself to check the moisture content of the slab? The only carbide I have around here is on my saw blades.
On a related note, I called an old neighbor of mine over in Savannah who has owned a flooring store there for the last forty years to get his opinion on floating engineered wood over a slab. I knew he had done it a couple of years ago on a million dollar place he built for himself. He was very unhappy with the wood, said it scratched very easily and was a pain to take care of. After we got done laughing about the fact that one of the biggest flooring dealers in SE Georgia had a floor in his house he didn't like he told me about a solid vinyl product called Solar Brite. I think Torly's makes it. He was very enthusiastic about it. I think it's sold as a commercial product. Have you had any experience with it?
Thanks
Vince Bowman
Vince,
Low-tech moisture meter? Tape a 2' square piece of poly down on the slab. Tape the perimeter. Check back periodically and see if any moisture has built up under the ploy. If you use clear ploy it's easy to see the moisture without having to pull the tape.
Engineered flooring has goten better over the years, most importantly, in the finish. Look for an aluminum oxide finish on a quality piece of flooring. Some I've handled seem near-bulletproof.
Kahrs in a very nice product.
Whatever product you decide upon, talk to their tech department, or visit their website (I recommend both) to hash out the specifics of how the flooring can and cannot be installed.
Don´t know about the vinyl...Is it a vinyl wood look-alike, on a MDF substrate? The best factory finishes are UV-cured and hard as ....But nevertheless, a good dancing with leather shoes and sand under them destroys ana finish.
I like hardoiling the foor on site. Try http://www.asuso.de/html/produktbesch/prdhartoelwachs.htm only german though. Perect product.
This gives me the opportunity to patch and touch up little faults later on. A UV-cured finish you can only take off... Look at http://www.laegler.com/html_e/home3_e.htm - TRIO - the best machine to do this.
Mathias
Edited 10/30/2003 2:17:03 AM ET by Matt
Edited 10/30/2003 2:19:57 AM ET by Matt
Edited 10/30/2003 2:20:38 AM ET by Matt
I haven't seen the vinyl yet. I'm going to drive over to Savannah on Sunday and take a look at it. It is a vinyl wood look alike. All I know for now is that it comes in 6" x 3' sections, I'm not sure about the thickness, 5/8" maybe. It has a 10 year commercial warranty and lifetime residential. I can't imagine that it's going to look very good, but we'll see.
I wish I could read the web site about hard oiling. I'm a big fan of oil finishes on my furniture projects. Unfortunately, I'm about three generations removed from that ability. How does oiling hold up to use? Which species are the best to use.
Vince
Probably the vinyl will look like a photo of wood. If it´s MDF core forget about it. If you ever spill anything, the moisture creeps in the joints and swells them. Very unholy!
The Asuso hardwaxoil is comparable to Osmo-Color Hartwachsöl. http://www.osmo.de/osmocms/eng/produkte/...color/polyx_oel.php
They have been on my floors for years and stand family with dogs and children. Regular vacuuming and/or mopping (very little water - you can add some milky product to refurbish moisture and oil) is enough. R E P A I R A B L E...
Mathias
Edited 10/30/2003 11:20:12 AM ET by Matt
Be concerned with moisture! Use a vapor barrier. Poly sheeting breaks down over time especially in contact with concrete.
Go to http://www.edelweissflooring.com and check out the Sika Acoubond system for float-bonding a wood floor to a substrate.
Mr. Micro,
Do you get a vapor barrier with the Acoubond system? I see where the holes in the mat would be filled with their adhesive but what about the seams between the mats?
Have you seen this system in action?
thanks
Vince Bowman
I have seen it in action on a few jobs here where I live. The guy that does it swears by it, and is using it on $3MM plus weekend lake houses for the rich and famous from NYC. You probably get as effective a vapor barrier as any, given that all the slots in the foam mat are filled with the urethane adhesive. The beauty of the system is that it allows the floor to move with changes in humidity, and gives a slight cushion feeling when walked upon.