How To Lay Solid Hardwood Flooring On Concrete

Moisture can pose problems for solid hardwood floors below ground level so engineered wood floors made of layers of wood glued together are the best.

How to lay solid hardwood flooring on concrete.

In other words everything from thin plywood with a hardwood veneer layer on top to solid wood strips and planks. We had a topic earlier on the community regarding the do s and don ts of installing solid hardwood floors over concrete. Anytime you are installing real wood over concrete regardless of what thickness or material it is you will need to do some preemptive steps to ensure. The installation process is slightly different for each but by following the correct steps it can be done without any problems.

When it comes to installing a floating solid hardwood floor in your basement easiklip should be your first choice. Your best option is engineered hardwood flooring. Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. There are many types of hardwood flooring available ranging from prefinished laminated also called engineered strips and planks.

The fact that your home is built on a concrete slabs does not preclude installing hardwood floors but several considerations apply not least of which is subfloor preparation. Most manufacturers advise against installing hardwood flooring over concrete for two reasons moisture levels in concrete and the difficulty of attaching directly to concrete. Lay the 1x4s perpendicular to the direction you intend to install the floor planks. For starters while you can consider solid hardwood for at and above grade installations only engineered flooring with its plywoodlike construction is suitable below.

Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. Then nail the flooring planks with a standard flooring nailer see photo for details. Since humidity causes natural wood to expand and contract your flooring won t be able to move. Laying a solid hardwood strip floor is easier and faster if you choose a prefinished product to avoid the extra work of sanding staining and finishing.

This will result in buckling. Laying a solid wood floor over concrete both solid wood flooring and engineered wood flooring can be laid onto a concrete subfloor. With dry concrete and the right subfloors and vapor retarders solid hardwood floors can be installed on slabs that are either on grade at ground level or above grade above ground level. As i wrote in the post you can go with other options such as engineered or click lock real wood flooring.