Thoughts on wood flooring on slab on grade.

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  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    Thoughts on wood flooring on slab on grade.

    Our home is slab on grade construction. and the carpets are so bad that I have started ripping them out without any defined what we are going to do after. (Pets, pollen, and other misc allergens just got on my last nerve!)

    My wife stumbled across an idea that I kind of liked..

    Plywood wide plank flooring.

    I would think I would want to do mine with a T&G, but other than that, I rather like the idea. However some problems arise...

    #1. The house is slab on grade single story. Underneath that nasty carpet pad is / was concrete.
    #2. There is existing tile flooring this will be butting up against. Thickness / height variance can be an issue.
    #3. I think the total height of pad / tack strips and carpet was 3/4". Everywhere I read tells me to...
    -- Use a 6 mil vapor barrier sheet (good idea, no problem there).
    -- Use a 3/4" CDX or other PT ply subfloor material. Why"
    -- THEN install your flooring.

    I am thinking 1/4" variance between say the tile, and wood floor is hardly noticeable, so why not...

    -- 6 mil vapor barrier.
    --15/32 PT ply subfloor instead of 3/4".
    --15/32" ply to be turned into flooring planks.
    -- shorter nails to tack the planks.

    By using plywood I can radically reduce my costs, and get a wide plank flooring appearance. Not to mention I can more easily replicate / replace any damaged pieces.

    I know it will be a bunch of work, but am I off my noodle for even considering this?
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  • Stytooner
    Roll Tide RIP Lee
    • Dec 2002
    • 4301
    • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
    • BT3100

    #2
    The veneers in most plywood are extremely thin.
    With cheap plywood, you will get variances in thickness and voids.
    Those will be hard to contend with especially if you can't do any sanding at all to it to even out the joints.
    For a cheap floor, you might consider using straight T&G plywood sub flooring and paint it. The use area rugs if you have those in specific places.
    It can be nice for a short term cheap change. Then when you are ready to add the new flooring at some point in the future, you are all set.
    The hard work is done.
    Lee

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    • TB Roye
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 2969
      • Sacramento, CA, USA.
      • BT3100

      #3
      I am putting Laminate flooring in our house on a on grade slab. I am using Pergo and puting down a vapor/sound underlayment. You use a transition strip usually matching the flooring between different floors. With hardwood floors you do basically the same. The moisture barrier is the important part. The hard part is pulling up the carpet and tack strips, without damaging the concrete. They recommend undercutting the door jambs so the wood fits. My brother in law and I are both putting down the same flooring and installing the base board after the flooring leaving a 1/4" space for expansion under the base board. We live in Sacramento and don't have a problem with extreme cold or humidity like it better without the shoe base (1/4 round) Paint the baseboards first before installing works better. We are using Pergo XP which comes with a sound deadening underlayment attached , but we are adding the underlayment with moisture/sound deadening alslo works great on concrete, the Pergo is 10mm thick and looks great will post a picture later. So far I have done my office/den and part of the hallway, I have limits on what I can do and where I have to stop and when because of the Hoildays. I stopped with the floor install and installed the furniture and got all the boxes and old furniture out of the Living room and dinning will start back on floor on Monday.

      Tom

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      • Ed62
        The Full Monte
        • Oct 2006
        • 6022
        • NW Indiana
        • BT3K

        #4
        I'm also just finishing putting down Pergo XP over concrete. Looks great! About the only thing I did differently, was to use moisture barrier I had left over from when I built my room addition. It was quite a bit heavier than the stuff they try to sell you with the flooring, and I felt that it would be harder to get tears in it when installing the laminate flooring.

        If you should decide to go the laminate flooring route, I'd suggest checking out the various transitions they have to match the flooring before you buy anything. They make the job easier and professional looking when finished. Also read the instructions on installing the flooring AND the transitions before installing the flooring. A few minutes reading can save a lot of aggravation later on.

        Ed
        Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

        For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/

        Comment

        • TB Roye
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2004
          • 2969
          • Sacramento, CA, USA.
          • BT3100

          #5
          I agree with ED62. I bought this moisture/sound deadening underlayment it comes in 48" wide rolls and I just lay one strip at a time. It save tearing and they recommended this sealing tape for the seams at 4 or 5 dollars a roll, found out when I got it, it is clear packaging tape with the company logo on it. I bought my flooring by the pallet and had it delivered to my house the driver rolled it into the garage from me. Saved about $.20 a square foot by getting a pallet. The plus side is LOML loves it. The challenge is fitting it under the door jambs at closets and other rooms

          Tom

          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            Houses built on a slab should have a vapor barrier already under the concrete. If they do not you would have already noticed the floors being wet at times. Anyway, another vapor barrier will not hurt. Cutting in under the door jams and other trim pieces that are not easily removed can be done with an oscilating tool. Look it up, if you do not already have one they are handy for about every small cutting job. Slab on grade and raised slabs are popular in this part of the world because no one has a basement, so there are tons of wood floor on slabs. I hear no negatives, only positives, being that the laminated floors like Pergo installed on slabs are so much quiter than those installed on houses with crawl spaces/frame/ wood floors.
            Another line of thought. In my house on a raised slab rather than install tile in the kitchen and bathroom floors we installed a thick padded vinyl type roll floor covering that is easily mistaken for tile. We like it 100 x more than our previous tile floors. This vinyl material is available in a lots of different wool plank designs, and is indistinguishable from wood floors, and since it is padded it is easier on our old feet and bones. I see it being installed in 400k houses so it is not junk. Its price is somewhat less than real tile and wood and carrys a 15 yr warranty.
            capncarl

            Comment

            • JimD
              Veteran Member
              • Feb 2003
              • 4187
              • Lexington, SC.

              #7
              My basement has laminated oak flooring glued to the concrete slab. It has been down several years with no issues.

              Another experience you may like is installation of Bruce Timberline pre-finished oak flooring in my wife's lake house. We used 5/16 thick solid oak we paid about $1/bd ft for at Southeastern salvage. It was pre-finished with a 5 year warranty on the finish. You could put something like this over relatively thin sub-floor layer of plywood. It helped us sell that house.

              Comment

              • dbhost
                Slow and steady
                • Apr 2008
                • 9209
                • League City, Texas
                • Ryobi BT3100

                #8
                Originally posted by JimD
                My basement has laminated oak flooring glued to the concrete slab. It has been down several years with no issues.

                Another experience you may like is installation of Bruce Timberline pre-finished oak flooring in my wife's lake house. We used 5/16 thick solid oak we paid about $1/bd ft for at Southeastern salvage. It was pre-finished with a 5 year warranty on the finish. You could put something like this over relatively thin sub-floor layer of plywood. It helped us sell that house.
                You are more or less on the same thought pattern I am... I can't be sure, but changes may be coming that will make me have to either sell, or rent out our current house, and I need to get flooring down, NOW...
                Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                Comment

                • sscherin
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2003
                  • 772
                  • Kennewick, WA, USA.

                  #9
                  We did 12mm laminate flooring in our slab on grade home..

                  We did a vapor barrier, foam pad , flooring..
                  going to 12mm is worth it.. the stuff is solid.

                  As for undercutting the door jams.. I may have use my plate joiner in a manner it was not built for. It did an excellent job at it though.

                  The transition to tile was interesting.. The transition piece came with a plastic rail it clipped in that you had to nail to the floor.. How do I nail to concrete? Liquid nails.. worked great.


                  I would highly recommend a miter saw with a new blade (it'll be dull when you get done) and band saw or jig saw for notching around corners.
                  William's Law--
                  There is no mechanical problem so difficult that it
                  cannot be solved by brute strength and ignorance.

                  Comment

                  • Mr__Bill
                    Veteran Member
                    • May 2007
                    • 2096
                    • Tacoma, WA
                    • BT3000

                    #10
                    Whatever you do, be sure to flatten the floor first. I used a brick chisel on the high points and floor leveler on the low points. Used a 6' straightedge marked the spots with a marker and spent a day on my knees. Laminate is not as flexible as carpet and will span the low spots making the floor feel spongier when you walk over that area. And much of a high point may make the stuff crack.

                    If you think you may have to rent it out I would make each room it 's own area so if you have to fix or replace later it's less of a job. I did and apartment 10 years ago with the least expensive laminate from HD and it still looks as good today as it did a week after it was laid. This is a floating floor and it hasn't floated away yet.

                    The transition pieces were rather expensive and only 8' long. I decided to make my own out of oak, raw it was close to the same color as the laminate so I just clear coated it.

                    Hope it's a good thing that may happen

                    Bill
                    over here on the left coast

                    Comment

                    • dbhost
                      Slow and steady
                      • Apr 2008
                      • 9209
                      • League City, Texas
                      • Ryobi BT3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Mr__Bill
                      Whatever you do, be sure to flatten the floor first. I used a brick chisel on the high points and floor leveler on the low points. Used a 6' straightedge marked the spots with a marker and spent a day on my knees. Laminate is not as flexible as carpet and will span the low spots making the floor feel spongier when you walk over that area. And much of a high point may make the stuff crack.

                      If you think you may have to rent it out I would make each room it 's own area so if you have to fix or replace later it's less of a job. I did and apartment 10 years ago with the least expensive laminate from HD and it still looks as good today as it did a week after it was laid. This is a floating floor and it hasn't floated away yet.

                      The transition pieces were rather expensive and only 8' long. I decided to make my own out of oak, raw it was close to the same color as the laminate so I just clear coated it.

                      Hope it's a good thing that may happen

                      Bill
                      over here on the left coast
                      Well, no birds are in hand yet, so I can't say much... At this point decision makers need to do their thing...
                      Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                      Comment

                      • dbhost
                        Slow and steady
                        • Apr 2008
                        • 9209
                        • League City, Texas
                        • Ryobi BT3100

                        #12
                        Well either way, the demolition has begun. I have the carpet and padding ripped out of the living room, all the tack strip removed, and the concrete slab cleaned up. I have started filling the divots where the tack strip nails were, and a couple of low spots / cracks. I have found one noticeable, well, lump in the concrete I will need to grind it down.

                        I have done the moisture test, and that won't be a problem at all, so my next issue will be to start selecting the plywood, and ripping it and setting the T&G in it. let it acclimate to the house. Then sand it, go over it with sanding sealer, then stain / urethane it. Once it is ready to install, I will set it in place with Liquid Nails for Construction.

                        My other option for time / budget sake would be low $$ laminate. That may prove to be a far easier install, but every time we look at the stuff, LOML heads directly to the high dollar stuff...

                        The deeper I go into the repair projects, the more I think, renting wasn't so bad after all...
                        Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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