Solid wood floors should not be installed in basements or below grade.
Installing hardwood floors over large areas.
Installing new hardwood over old hardwood floors.
Every year an estimated 1 billion worth of hardwood floor damage occurs across the country.
I use bostik s mvp.
As a vapor retarder for strip flooring installed over conventionally framed floors.
Experienced professionals pay close attention to managing moisture and minimizing wood floor expansion and contraction when preparing to install hardwood floors on concrete slabs.
Engineered hardwood flooring can be installed as a floating floor over the solid concrete and is more durable in high humidity areas.
Models with dust catchers help minimize dust in the house.
But they also can be the consequence of installing flooring in areas of excessive dryness.
Installing new hardwood over older wood floors can be extremely time saving in lieu of removal that can become expensive dirty and even dangerous depending on how the original floor was installed.
For large areas you can rent a hardwood flooring edger to make the job go faster.
Sweep the straight edge across the floor and mark any areas not level.
As a consultant and author for the national wood.
Analyze the floor s level using a 10 foot straight edge.
Sand off the high spots on the subfloor.
For instance i will look at much older floors that were nailed into floor joists before the widespread use of subfloors.
This funny video is about installing hardwood floors over existing hardwood floors.
They are available in 3 4 inch thickness as well as low profile styles that are 5 16 to 5 8 inch thick which are a good or installing over existing flooring.
Sand humps with a belt sander and fill any depressions with a troweled on patching compound.
Waxed paper underlayment http amzn to.
Things i mention in this vid.
Even if your home was built on a concrete slab you can still enjoy the beauty and charm of hardwood floors.
Like unfinished hardwood floors the prefinished types typically have tongue and groove edges on all sides.
If the floor is below grade or if it is a concrete slab floor engineered hardwood flooring offers a moisture resistant fit that also provides sound proofing.