I often get emails with the question on how to install hardwood floors on concrete. This installation deserves special attention, so I decided to write about it in a separate article, where I’ll try to describe your actions.
Before you install any kind of hardwood on concrete, you should make sure that the working surface is flat, so first you should remove the old flooring. It may be carpet, linoleum, tile and so on.
Then you need to remove foreign objects such as staples, as well as bulging spots which are left over from the old construction. Carefully sweep the floor in the whole room and keep it clean.
After all of the working surface is cleaned and swept, check for holes and bumps. You can do this by using a straight edge if checking the surface in a small room, or with a string line (chalk line) in a large room.
Since you will not find a flat surface under the old coating, then you have to think abouthow to install hardwood floors on the concrete, if it does have problems.
Leveling verification is best done in the presence of the homeowner. He can see all the trouble spots himself. In this case, it will be easier to explain to him that you need to do extra work (and get extra money!).
You can remove bumps with a concrete grinder, designed to work with a cement coating. If there are holes, you can fill them with the floor leveling compound.
If the holes are deep enough, do not rush to fill them all at once. It is best if this process is divided into several stages and the flood floor is completed by leveling the compound, layer by layer. At the same time, you must wait until the previous layer of floor leveling compound has dried well. When the cement floor is flat and dry, then you are ready for the hardwood floor installation.
How to install hardwood floors on concrete? Which installation method is suitable and best? Typically, on cement, you can install any kind of floor in three ways – as a floating, nail down and glue down. This is suitable for almost all types of hardwood, even solid wood. To do this you will need a special glue and material ¾ inch thick. This solid wood should be very high quality. Otherwise, its boards will be very difficult to pull together.
One of the most popular methods of hardwood floor installation on concrete is the glue down. Glued wood flooring has a sound barrier through the glue, which drowns out steps and other noises. If you need a high sound barrier, advise the homeowner to install cork as an underlayment. In this case, the cork is also fixed to the cement with glue.
Next method of hardwood installation on cement – a floating floor: The customers also like it! This floor does not fasten at the bottom to the subfloor. As a rule, it works with the underlayment (poly or cork) as soundproofing.
Now you know about how to install hardwood floors on concrete. Each installation method requires certain knowledge and skills which do not come immediately. If you are a beginner floor installer, then take the time to learn, at once, these three installation methods, and make higher achievement possible for your trade. Moreover, there is no difference in which method you begin learning to work with. You can start with any in you really know how to install hardwood floors.
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