Can You Float A Hardwood Floor Over Concrete

Step 1 prepare the room.

Can you float a hardwood floor over concrete.

Both laminate and engineered hardwood floors can be floated. So if you have a plywood sub floor the world is your oyster. Floating wood flooring can provide you with a simple installation and a beautiful floor at the same time. Although it is not impossible to float a solid wood floor successfully generally speaking floating a hardwood floor is not a great idea.

Moisture can pose problems for solid hardwood floors below ground level so engineered wood floors made of layers of wood glued together are the best choice there. The whole nature of solid hardwood flooring means that it is in a constant state of change due to the effects of rising and falling temperatures. In new england a 3 4 hardwood floor installed directly over concrete will absorb moisture from the concrete slab and the boards will swell and cup. When we talk about a floating floor it means that the hardwood floor is not permanently attached to the subfloor.

You ll want to install an underlayment on concrete floor in basement. You can choose any type of flooring solid or engineered and any type of method but i would suggest nailing since it s the most secure. I suggest laying out felt paper over the concrete sealing the joints with an asphalt adhesive and then laying the wood floor over as though you were installing a floating floor. The reason for this is that solid wood flooring is much more susceptible to movement than engineered flooring due to fluctuating moisture and humidity levels.

It rests or floats on top held in place by the weight of the floor itself. Most people can install this type of hardwood flooring as long as they are willing to do a little bit of work. Here are the basics of how to install floating hardwood floors over concrete.