Wood floor over concrete?

[etpm]

Wow, lotsa stuff to think about. The existing floor is always dry. There is no moisture coming up from below. When the slab was poured a moisture barrier was put down first over sand. The basement is the daylight type so we have two large windows and a pair of french doors leading outside. The basement is cool year 'round so I imagine the floor is too. I didn't even consider in-floor heating. I'll need to think about that. We will have oriental rugs on the floor like we do upstairs. But of course they don't cover all the floor. Thanks for all the suggestions and advice folks!
Eric

 

[2manyrocks]

Concrete could be stained or you could install ceramic tile over the concrete, but I don't know if tile would properly bond if the concrete has ever been stained.

Concrete can feel dry to the touch, but actually be wet underneath. You really need to know what your moisture situation is because it can make a wood floor pop and buckle.

 

[mikester]

I did a floating engineered wood floor over concrete. Use a good quality underlay. No problems, warm and dry...then again my insulated concrete floor was dry to start with.

Put a sheet of plastic and something covering it on your floor somewhere for at least a week. If you lift up the plastic and see a dark spot where the plastic was you may have a moisture or dampness issue to worry about.

 

[etpm]

I did a floating engineered wood floor over concrete. Use a good quality underlay. No problems, warm and dry...then again my insulated concrete floor was dry to start with.

Put a sheet of plastic and something covering it on your floor somewhere for at least a week. If you lift up the plastic and see a dark spot where the plastic was you may have a moisture or dampness issue to worry about.

Thanks for that. A good test. I'll try a few spots.
Eric

 

[rsizem]

We are finally, after nearly 20 years, finishing our basement. Our house proper has 3/4" maple floors. They are beautiful and I don't want the basement to look cheap by comparison. So I'm thinking maple floors once again in the basement. But the existing floor is concrete and I don't know that I can lay wood right on top of concrete. I'm wondering about some sort of thinner maple floating floor on some sort of padding. Anybody here have any pointers?
Thanks a bunch,
Eric

I have an slab ranch. As long as you have the ceiling height and since you have an underslab vapor retarder, you can utilize my approach. lay 1 or 2 inch eps foam (25psi compression capacity) edge to edge leaving 1/2 at perimeter. Next layer of 23/32 advantech sub flooring...again edge to edge is fine (no reason to engage the tongue and groove)...make sure the edges do not align with foam edges, again leave 1/2 to walls (perimeter). One more layer of advantech, make sure edges don't align to previous layer of advantech. Now screw layers of advantech together. One complete you can install nailed tongue/groove wood flooring or any type of floating floor. I've had approx 1000sq ft of maple tongue/groove installed for years here in the mid west in a conditioned shop w/ heavy equipment...no issues. Addt'l 2000 sq ft of floating floor with multiple rooms (floating transitions between rooms) and no issues. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[dnw64]

Put a sheet of plastic and something covering it on your floor somewhere for at least a week. If you lift up the plastic and see a dark spot where the plastic was you may have a moisture or dampness issue to worry about.

Yes, and. Tape the edges down.

If the concrete is dry, you can do a full trowel glue down directly to the concrete. However, note that 3/4" maple has an R-Value of about 0.55. Less than single strength glass. So if the floor is cold now, it will always be (the oriental rugs may suffice for you).

For living space, I personally would put down 2x2 sleepers with 1-1/2" XPS foam between and put the solid maple directly over that.

(I am a wood floor manufacturer)

 

[nacl9163]

I used DriCore panels over a decade ago--never any problem. They allow air flow under the floor, don't wick moisture (if any), and insulate. Plus, they are a DIY project. All you need is a circular saw, a. large square, a tape and a pencil. I put carpet over mine. Highly recommend!!

 

[dnw64]

Dricore is great for carpet or tile, but if you are planning to put solid wood, nailed down, there isn't enough meat to hold it. JMO.

 

[D&D]

Yes, and. Tape the edges down.

If the concrete is dry, you can do a full trowel glue down directly to the concrete. However, note that 3/4" maple has an R-Value of about 0.55. Less than single strength glass. So if the floor is cold now, it will always be (the oriental rugs may suffice for you).

For living space, I personally would put down 2x2 sleepers with 1-1/2" XPS foam between and put the solid maple directly over that.

(I am a wood floor manufacturer)

And how would you adjust the existing door frames? Most doors don't have ~2.5" to spare.

 

[mikester]

Yes, and. Tape the edges down.

If the concrete is dry, you can do a full trowel glue down directly to the concrete. However, note that 3/4" maple has an R-Value of about 0.55. Less than single strength glass. So if the floor is cold now, it will always be (the oriental rugs may suffice for you).

For living space, I personally would put down 2x2 sleepers with 1-1/2" XPS foam between and put the solid maple directly over that.

(I am a wood floor manufacturer)

R value of 0.55 struck me as a little low and I looked up some reference values

https://www.ahfc.us/iceimages/manuals/building_manual_ap_1.pdf

Hardwood Flooring 0.91 per inch or 0.68 (3/4 inch)
Single Glass 0.91

Perception and memory is funny!