Engineered hardwood

10 years ago

Is it necessary to glue down engineered hardwood flooring when installing over basement concrete floor? Our concrete floor has radiant heat installed and is heated with a boiler giving the floor a nice toasty feel in the cold winter. Our basement is dry. We do live in the Midwest so we do experience humidity issues however we do run a dehumidifier in the summer months along with air conditioning. I do not like the idea of gluing down the entire floor! We considered the vinyl looking wood floor but I just don't care for the look.

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Comments (5)

PRO
Shannon Ggem Design
10 years ago
This is a great alternative for those in your situation. It's a faux-bois long plank tile. The better tiles have a texture like wood grain, not just a printed image, it feels good under foot and is very beautiful.

The Italian product shown here is no longer in production, but any tile showroom- not home imporvement store- will be able to source many versions of this. Comes in all different colors.

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PRO
APK Designs LLC
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
You don't have to glue it down. You can do a "floating floor" installation, where the installer will leave fractions of an inch at the edges of the room (for temperature shifts) which will be covered by the baseboard. However, I am not sure if radiant heat will be ok for the engineered wood planks. Shannon's recommendation above of porcelain tiles that look like wood planks might be a better choice. They make them so realistic today you cannot tell the difference.
hawaiijsh thanked APK Designs LLC
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Ok - currently saving money on carpet; already have pool table and lamp for this area. What about creating different seating areas in the room. You said there are built ins? Computer station? Family using this space. Here is MY suggestion: I would use MORE than one rug - each for specific areas of this room. You can have the sisal berbers made to fit - and I think ONE large one would actually end up being a little messy as this would be huge - and could get off bounds? (out of shape) You could have these bound and use them to create different areas within the larger space? Is that a gold or a taupe or beige color between the red pattern? Here is my suggestion : the opposite side of the color wheel tones down the other - since this is a red color - how about using a very soft BLUE/GREY on the ceiling? Or a very soft Grey/Blue? And a very soft taupe or mocha color on the walls - something which is within the SAME tonal family as the NON-red portion of your rug? This should go nicely with your brown sofa and the sisal or other type berbers? YES - get one larger one (RUG for the area in front of the TV . . . large enough to go from the baseboard area - to completely under your sofa? BTW - LAZYBOY makes beuatiful furniture - and you do NOT have to get the plumped and rolled ubiquitious leather chair. OR, I can personally, highly recommend FurnitureLa South, in Hickory N.C. - and they will deliver for FREE! Love that! They have a style for everyone and this is where they actually make the furniture. They sell ALL manufacturers at cost. Well not Lane or Ethan Allen. My one last thought - since this is such a very large space - I would also get a rather substantial and DARK drapery rod using finials - and extend the width of the drapes to help balance the room on the other side with the windows. Since you have built ins on the other side - this will help balance the space visually. IF you do not like the color of the fixture material on the pool table light - you can get any finish you desire in a rustoleium paint - I would consider spray painting this something in the neighborhood of a oil rubbed bronze; or something with more of a dark patina? This would also help balance out the room and bring focus into the space you are utilizing - the rest will fade away. SO - ceiling paint a must; paint the trim or add a more traditional trim - at least 5 inches in depth; TWO separate rugs - not one big one - at least one for now for the TV area; Extend your drapes and raise them almost to the ceiling to help balance the room; Darker drape rod - and double the fabric for your drapes to make them look fuller; Spray paint a darker finish on to the pool table fixture. Use a tone of paint on the wall which will go with the tone of the other color of your rug! Another thought: You consider finding an old wooden bench - or church pew ??? that would be fun; you could place facing into the space around the pool table area? This will give folks a place to sit and could help further define your separate areas?
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You should have a professional installer in your area take a look at your home so you can discuss what end result you are wanting. You may need to use an engineered wood. This is still an all wood product and is much more dimensionally stable than solid wood. This is a huge advantage if you are in an older home or in the midwest where humidity levels can drastically change from season to season. A solid wood will cup or curl if humidity and moisture levels are not managed. Your installer should do a moisture test before installation to make sure the installation does not fail. All warranties will be voided if this step is not taken. Also, your transitions will need to be considered. Is the new wood floor going to butt up to tile, carpet, or vinyl? The height difference in the two products will need to be taken into consideration. You will have a greater selection of thicknesses in the engineered woods. Engineered wood should be several plys, all wood. If you choose a solid wood, the hand scraped versions are fantastic for a high traffic area with children. Hickory, Red Oak, most Brazilian Species, and even Bamboo are hard enough to take everyday traffic and still look terrific. Good luck!
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You mentioned 12mm laminated floor yet you are asking about 'wood'. These are often two different floors. Are you asking about an engineered HARDWOOD that is 12mm thick or are you talking about a 12mm LAMINATED floor (fibre board with a pretty picture of wood on the top)? Engineered hardwood works well in a kitchen (just like Oak & Broad points out). Laminated flooring normally DOES NOT do well in a kitchen. That means the answer to your question could be "yes" or "no"....depending on which floor you are talking about. Please clarify.
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We have had a wood floor in our kitchen for 13 yrs now, and we love it. Ours was finished on site, (more durable than engineered) with 3 coats of water based poly on it. It is just now that I am getting ready to recoat it. I have had both engineered and site finished hardwood,. The engineered didn't hold up as well, and we stripped off the finish and applied a new finish. It's more durable now. Finishing on site is more disruptive to your family and home, but it is worth it, because of the durability that comes with it. You won't be sorry at all about the hardwood. It is warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. In the kitchen especially, you have to clean up water, ice cubes, etc asap, and you have to be sure that you have a good dishwasher that doesn't leak (you don't have to put it under the entire dishwasher, just a few boards under the front and in the back). If there's a little water that you don't find immediately, and do later...ice maker leak,etc, in all likelihood, the grain will be raised, but in most cases, it will go down, and be okay. We love our hardwood floors, and hope that you will too. We have it all the way through our first floor, even in our powder room. It's terrific. I would never have tile in my common areas, it's cold and hard on your joints. We only have tile in our upstairs bathrooms. It's great there.
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PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
10 years ago
A floating floor is one of your best options. Engineered hardwood (so long as you purchased the "floating" type) does well in basements so long as you take the necessary precautions of a vapour barrier (yes, this still has to be done) over the slab and then the engineered over top.

Please ensure that the manufacturer ALLOWS for installation over in-floor radiant heat (some producers do NOT allow) before doing any form of installation. Please be aware that there are some very specific concerns with wood and radiant heating. The heating system can only be adjusted by 5 degrees in 24 hours. Wild swings in temperature are not "allowed" when wood is installed over radiant heat (I know because our cork floating floors have all the same issues - they are a form of wood and wood needs to adjust slowly).

Humidity must be maintained between 45%-65% throughout the year for most woods. With a floating floor you should be looking at some form of underlay as well or else the planks are going to "slap" against the cement - and the echo is going to be rather annoying. The underlay must be approved for infloor radiant heat.

Floating over radiant heat is the way to go with engineered products.
hawaiijsh thanked Cancork Floor Inc.
PRO
Ayr Flooring Inc.
10 years ago
Agree with Cancork that an Engineered floor must be rated for radiant heat. This mostly has something to do with suitable wood species. Each manufacturer will have its own guidelines, but in our experience hickory wood is usually a tough one to put over radiant. There are others as well.

Also, we would recommend click or drop lock hardwood over tongue and groove gluing. See photo for example.
hawaiijsh thanked Ayr Flooring Inc.
PRO
Hardin Builders, Inc.
10 years ago
Nice response by Cancork Floor Inc. Their right, installing underlayment is important to avoid additional acoustic issues, also it just has a more solid feel beyond accommodating moisture control. We have used a product called Regupol successfully.
Hope that helps.

Engineered hardwood

Comments (5)

Shannon Ggem Design

APK Designs LLC

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