# Hardwood over concrete slab?



## cobrakillerta (Oct 29, 2011)

I just bought my first home this past February which needed a bit of updating. The house was built in 1964 and is mostly all original. Besides the basics, I've redone the kitchen myself (new tile floor, new cabinet doors/drawers and sprayed cabinets)....My house is built on a concrete slab and I'm right near the water on the south shore of Long Island with many canals/etc. in the area.

The second floor of my house is the original hardwood from 1964 which I'm guessing is Oak with a clear/natural finish? It is a 2 1/4" wide plank...The first floor entryway currently has slab tiles leading into ugly blue carpet. I'd like to rip up both floors and put down hardwood in the entire area.

After some research, it seems like engineered hardwood would be my best bet. I'd like to go right over the slab to keep the height down. Any and all help & recommendations to a newbie would be appreciated...

Are there any brands that I should try to stick with?
What do you think about some of the lines that Lowes carries such as Bruce, Natural Floors by USFloors, etc?
What about Lumber Liquidators Schon, Mayflower, Virginia Mill Works?
What type of underlayment should I go with over the concrete slab?
A lock type floor seems like my best bet and user friendly over the slab, correct?


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## Rusty (Oct 30, 2011)

Avoid LL. Their products are usually poor quality.


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## west (Nov 10, 2011)

engineered over slab is good. .flash patch
with cement any depressions, then lay 30# bldg paper.

http://www.westchester-architects.com


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## joecaption (Nov 10, 2011)

Some can be glued directly to the concrete or a sub floor. All can be attached with a flooring staple gun or nails in an angle flooring nailer, if you first lay down a 3/4 Advantec subfloor, but that would raise the floor to much. And some get glued together at the joint to make it a floating floor.
A moisture test must be done before any type of flooring goes it or it's going to fail.
Other flooring that can go on a slab floor are laminite, Allour linolium strip flooring, tile. 
http://www.ehow.com/how_7321554_install-floors-over-concrete-slab.html


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## west (Nov 11, 2011)

Engineered does not "need" to be attached to the subfloor, there is such
a thing as a "floating" floor. See manufacturer's installation instructions.

Architect in Westchester county NY


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## nealtw (Nov 11, 2011)

Be carefull here, changing the height of the floor will change the rise of the first stair and create a triping hazard. All tread heights should not change by more than 1/4 "


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## Rusty (Nov 19, 2011)

joecaption said:


> Some can be glued directly to the concrete or a sub floor. All can be attached with a flooring staple gun or nails in an angle flooring nailer, if you first lay down a 3/4 Advantec subfloor, but that would raise the floor to much. And some get glued together at the joint to make it a floating floor.
> A moisture test must be done before any type of flooring goes it or it's going to fail.
> Other flooring that can go on a slab floor are laminite, Allour linolium strip flooring, tile.
> How to Install Engineered Wood Floors Over Concrete Slab | eHow.com



It's obvious you aren't a flooring installer.


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## joecaption (Nov 19, 2011)

All About Floating Wood Floors
And no I do not install floors everyday but in the past 30 years I have laid hundreds of them and work with flooring guys every week working on my projects.
So once again if I'm giving the wrong advice please speak up and make some suggestions so we can help the poster get the job done right.


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## do-er (Nov 19, 2011)

You definitely will be good with engineered floor, I just have laid 3000 sqF in 40 year old house last week and here are few tips, look for any surface cracks and check for any weak loose concrete on top (might raise with floor later), floor should be fairly leveled (older house is older house), vacuum and wash the concrete surface good for better glue grip (you might even treat the bare concrete with special pre-gluing products), later apply reg. general flooring rules  like work smaller areas at the time, leave proper gaps etc and enjoy your DIY project


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## do-er (Nov 19, 2011)

forgot ... if you don't have much of a flooring experience then you will be much better off with floating floor, it's also quicker to do, doesnt require glue but under-layer


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## yonamac (Nov 20, 2011)

nealtw said:


> Be carefull here, changing the height of the floor will change the rise of the first stair and create a triping hazard. All tread heights should not change by more than 1/4 "



ah so you mean that if there is something to change in the flooring the first stair will create a tripping hazard?i think engineer can do their job to find ways how to improve it and make your home safe!!!


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## isola96 (Nov 21, 2011)

samfloor said:
			
		

> It's obvious you aren't a flooring installer.



It's one of only a few methods that will ever work in this case of install.
The lower level of the house is very questionable with the rise of water level as the world gets older it gets worse.


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## Rusty (Nov 25, 2011)

If you have moisture issues, you absolutely do not want wood floors. They will not last.


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## coldxrain (Dec 4, 2011)

west said:
			
		

> Engineered does not "need" to be attached to the subfloor, there is such
> a thing as a "floating" floor. See manufacturer's installation instructions.
> 
> Architect in Westchester county NY



My preferred method of installation of this type is elastilon. Have you heard of it? Greetings from Yonkers btw.


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## coldxrain (Dec 4, 2011)

west said:
			
		

> engineered over slab is good. .flash patch
> with cement any depressions, then lay 30# bldg paper.
> 
> http://www.westchester-architects.com




In addition to this I'd say check out elastilon. It seems complicated but it really isn't.


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