How To Install Pine Flooring On Concrete Slab

Wood planks to the plywood.

How to install pine flooring on concrete slab.

Experienced professionals pay close attention to managing moisture and minimizing wood floor expansion and contraction when preparing to install hardwood floors on concrete slabs. Any installation of wooden flooring over a concrete slab must be carried out only after having a polyethylene vapor barrier on the ground where the concrete slab is laid and on the top of the concrete slab. Start at one end of the board and work to the other nailing every 2 ft. Lay the section on the concrete slab and use moisture resistant tape to tape all four sides to the floor.

So if you want wood floors and are dealing with concrete don t worry. Lay a plastic moisture barrier and then screw 3 4 in. Place a layer of 6mm polyethylene onto the concrete as your moisture barrier. Insert shims for even gaps and nail through the tongue of the board with a flooring stapler.

We caution against the plastic sheet method for testing moisture levels in your concrete slab. Installing a hardwood floor over a concrete slab even if your home was built on a concrete slab you can still enjoy the beauty and charm of hardwood floors. One of the most common questions we receive from both homeowners and professionals alike is if wood flooring can be installed over concrete. There are three primary methods to installing floorboards on a concrete slab.

One method the sleeper on slab system lost popularity 30 years ago because it added too much height to the floor. Wood floor over concrete than over a wood subfloor. Nail the floor every 2 ft. This is to prevent the moisture penetration from the ground into the concrete slab which can cause swelling or buckling of the wood floor.

Plywood to the concrete. The answer is yes. But it s considerably more difficult to install a 3 4 in. This method requires you taping a 16 inch square piece of clear plastic at least 6 mils thick to the floor.

In fact many homes are built on a concrete slab rather than a crawl space. If you love solid wood floors and your home rests on a concrete slab you re not out of luck. Allow 12 hours drying time before finishing your floors. Using a hilti direct fastening tool shoot concrete nails into 1 2 inch plywood to apply directly onto concrete.

A vapor barrier is necessary between the concrete and the pine to prevent the wood from swelling due to high humidity from the concrete.