Hickory Wood Flooring on Cement Slab
Charactermatters
| Posted in Green Building Techniques on
Hi All,
We are replacing our carpet by installing Hickory wood flooring. We have heard so many thoughts on underlayment, etc. Should be put a vapor barrier? We live in Michigan, so it gets cold in the winter (we keep our heat low) and it gets warm, sometimes humid in the summer. Sometimes we put the airconditioner on.).
We have a cement slab. Do we put a subfloor? vapor barrier? If no sub floor do we nail to the cement?
We want the greenest and healthiest option that is the longest lasting. It is our personal home.
Thank you in advance.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
There are three ways to install wood flooring over a concrete slab. I recall either Martin or Joe wrote an article about it a few years ago. I think it's in GBA prime.
Option 1 is to face glue it to the concrete slab. If you have moisture you can apply a vapor barrier such as Bona R540. The floor will feel the most solid, but will be cold if your slab is cold in the winter and not insulated or heated. It is also difficult to remove face glued flooring for repairs or renovations.
Option 2 is to tongue and groove glue it and float it typically over an underlayment. This is the most economical, but your floor could feel a bit bouncy. Some underpayments can be vapor barriers and can provide some minimal R value, but not much.
Option 3 is to put a subfloor down either a premade one such as dricore or make your own and affix it to the slab with tapcon screws. You can then glue assist staple the flooring to the subfloor. This is the most costly option and you lose ceiling height.
If you find your floors cold in the winter and you have ceiling height and budget, I would lean towards making a subfloor with rigid insulation covered with OSB and then glue and staple the floor.