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Floating a 3/4" Solid Hardwood Floor Over Above Grade Concrete?

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Floating a 3/4" Solid Hardwood Floor Over Above Grade Concrete? lefebvre 12-19-2006
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Posted by resrfglc on December 19, 2006, 11:59 pm


"using 3m blue tape"

Hey, you have demonstrated that it works in your location. What can we
possibly add absent such personal experience.

Assume new installation is also at or above grade as well (below grade
installs over concrete are the iffy installations).

Not sure 3M Blue Masking tape would be my choice for the vapor barrier as
opposed to the tape sold for use with Tyvex House Wrap or similar.

I'm wrestling with a below-grade concrete basement floor I want to serve as
my workshop and would love it if your approach mightwork. But the moisture
would create MOLD big time if the wood pulled off the one basement wall is
any indication.

From what I've found, there's little one can do with a below-grade cement
basement floor and medical advice is "don't spend time standing on
concrete!"

Catcha-22
> Thanks for the tips. It seems that many installation provisions
> recomended boil down to a nail down type installation, either over a
> plywood subfloor over concrete, or the use of screeds. However, what
> about my orignal idea of actually "floating" it?
>
> Here is what I did on my test room:
>
> 1) My house is over 5 years old and the concrete is dry as its ever
> gonna be. It tested well.
> 2) I laid out a poly/foam vapor barrier over the entire space, with 12"
> overlaps and is taped using 3m blue tape.
> 3) I glued each plank of the 3/4" solid wood flooring to its neighbor
> via the tung and groove.
> 4) left a 1/2" space around the entire perimeter of the room.
>
> Thats it. The floor is floating much like an engineered product would
> be installed, but is a solid 3/4" plank floor (3" wide). The room has
> been going good for over a year now. Has seen all the seasons.
>
> Is this a crazy idea?
>
> Swingman wrote:
>>
>> > I am interested in floating a solid hardwood plank floor (3/4" x 3").
>> > Has anyone successfully done this?
>>
>> Absolutely ... around here (Gulf Coast) hardwood floors are routinely
>> installed on concrete slab foundations thusly:
>>
>> The concrete floor is first sealed with a layer of hot tar.
>>
>> 1" - 1 1/2" "screeds" (ripped SYP 2 x 4's are commonly used) are then
>> placed
>> on top of the tar about 12", or less, apart.
>>
>> The hardwood floor planks are then laid perpendicular to the screeds and
>> nailed to them, leaving approximately 1/2" - 3/4" room for expansion
>> along
>> all walls.
>>
>> The expansion gap is then covered partially by the baseboard and
>> completely
>> by the shoe molding.
>>
>> Hardwood floors done in this manner on concrete slabs generally survive
>> better in this climate than hardwood floors laid on the subfloor of a
>> crawlspace foundation.
>>
>> --
>> www.e-woodshop.net
>> Last update: 12/19/06
>



Posted by dpb on December 20, 2006, 9:57 am



resrfglc wrote:
> "using 3m blue tape"
>
> Hey, you have demonstrated that it works in your location. What can we
> possibly add absent such personal experience.
...

Well, he's demonstrated it for _one_ year for a flooring product that
traditionally installed could be expected to last multiple lifetimes.
Not exactly a conclusive test. :)


> I'm wrestling with a below-grade concrete basement floor I want to serve as
> my workshop and would love it if your approach mightwork. But the moisture
> would create MOLD big time if the wood pulled off the one basement wall is
> any indication.
>
> From what I've found, there's little one can do with a below-grade cement
> basement floor and medical advice is "don't spend time standing on
> concrete!"
...

Hardwood flooring is definitely not an option for below grade. Unless
the slab was laid w/ an effective moisture barrier underneath and
otherwise prepared, it may be difficult to do much in a solid flooring.

Possible alternative would be the perforated cushioned pads for a
walking surface. I use livestock padding as it's significantly cheaper
than most sold as comfort pads.


Posted by resrfglc on December 20, 2006, 1:30 pm


"I use livestock padding "

I was pricing that at Tractor Supply and bought some of those 24" square
foam interlocking sections at Big Lots (6 for $12) to serve immediately.

But the concern I have is that they may hold the moisture beneath and create
a layer of mold between concrete and "livestock pads" which appear
non-porous.

Do you ever check beneath them to see if anything's growing there?


>
> resrfglc wrote:
>> "using 3m blue tape"
>>
>> Hey, you have demonstrated that it works in your location. What can we
>> possibly add absent such personal experience.
> ...
>
> Well, he's demonstrated it for _one_ year for a flooring product that
> traditionally installed could be expected to last multiple lifetimes.
> Not exactly a conclusive test. :)
>
>
>> I'm wrestling with a below-grade concrete basement floor I want to serve
>> as
>> my workshop and would love it if your approach mightwork. But the
>> moisture
>> would create MOLD big time if the wood pulled off the one basement wall
>> is
>> any indication.
>>
>> From what I've found, there's little one can do with a below-grade cement
>> basement floor and medical advice is "don't spend time standing on
>> concrete!"
> ...
>
> Hardwood flooring is definitely not an option for below grade. Unless
> the slab was laid w/ an effective moisture barrier underneath and
> otherwise prepared, it may be difficult to do much in a solid flooring.
>
> Possible alternative would be the perforated cushioned pads for a
> walking surface. I use livestock padding as it's significantly cheaper
> than most sold as comfort pads.
>



Posted by Bill in Detroit on December 23, 2006, 2:33 am


resrfglc wrote:
> "I use livestock padding "
>
> I was pricing that at Tractor Supply and bought some of those 24" square
> foam interlocking sections at Big Lots (6 for $12) to serve immediately.
>
> But the concern I have is that they may hold the moisture beneath and create
> a layer of mold between concrete and "livestock pads" which appear
> non-porous.
>
> Do you ever check beneath them to see if anything's growing there?
>

I use a 24"x24"x 3/4" foam padding product I got from an auto supply
store. It does trap moisture underneath (house built in 1945) so I stand
the pads, one each in front of lathe and TS, up on edge when I am
vacuuming and leave them up until time to use them again.

Works for me. YMMV

Bill


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Posted by resrfglc on December 23, 2006, 5:13 am


"Works for me"

Yep, uunderstand. Thanks for teh FB.


> resrfglc wrote:
>> "I use livestock padding "
>>
>> I was pricing that at Tractor Supply and bought some of those 24" square
>> foam interlocking sections at Big Lots (6 for $12) to serve immediately.
>>
>> But the concern I have is that they may hold the moisture beneath and
>> create a layer of mold between concrete and "livestock pads" which appear
>> non-porous.
>>
>> Do you ever check beneath them to see if anything's growing there?
>>
>
> I use a 24"x24"x 3/4" foam padding product I got from an auto supply
> store. It does trap moisture underneath (house built in 1945) so I stand
> the pads, one each in front of lathe and TS, up on edge when I am
> vacuuming and leave them up until time to use them again.
>
> Works for me. YMMV
>
> Bill
>
>
> ---
> avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
> Virus Database (VPS): 0662-0, 12/22/2006
> Tested on: 12/23/2006 2:33:46 AM
> avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software.
> http://www.avast.com
>
>
>



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