Hi Josey11 , Paul21 here , I don't know if I replied in the correct way to your question re my floor but just in case ... We are strapping the whole slab with 1" X2" pressure treated wood with foam sheet insulation between topped with 1" wide plank maple flooring ( shiplap ) . The bath area and kitchen will have 3/4 plywood over the strapping to support and raise the tile to the same level as the rest of the floor. We built the walls on the main floor 2" higher than normal to ensure that we had full ceiling height . ( Vapor barrier on the floors of course ! )

Also our heat is , electric baseboard as backup , mini split heat pump , probably one of the high end ones that have a floor " rad : instead of the ugly wall mount , at least downstairs and a big wood stove in the corner of the living room . We're still in negotiation re the heat pump .

You can check around for the wide plank floor . I don't know exactly where you are but if you are in New Bruswick , the guy I'm using works all over the Atlantic Provinces and beyond . I had a lot of trouble narrowing it down to this option as all the flooring " experts ' wanted me to buy their product and their options were tile or engineered flooring , neither of which suited me for the living areas . It wasn't until I spoke to people who had been INSTALLING flooring for 20 years or more that I got sensible advice. Good luck with your project . You will probably get some flooring leads if you punch in " wide plank flooring " on your computer .

I'm in Halifax , by the way and if you're down this way in the fall or early winter , let me know how to contact you and you can take a look . ( please God , let it be finished by then , this last winter was a killer ! )

paul21

It's a good quetion and one I struggled with myself. In the end I installed over my slab some 1/2" rigid insulation and 5/8" plywood sheathing. Then the foam vapour break for the laminate flooring.

My basement floor does not feel warm but also does not feel cold. I'm glad I put the effort into to the subfloor prep myself.

Not sure what zone I'm in but I live in North Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Paul21/John

Thanks, As I will have insulation and a vapor barrier under the slab I don't think I will need them on top but I like the idea of the plywood and strapping.

I am in Bathurst, NB and would like to know Paul your supplies of wood.

How were they fixin to install the foam to the slab ?

Cabot:

It is required by the building code to install a minimum of 2" of rigid foam under the slab. It is not attached, it is layed on top of the gravel base followed by a vapor barrier and then the concrete slab is poured on top.

ah thanks

I installed over the slab and wish I could do the installation over again and found an installer to make my floor warmer. The floor is so cold all the time.

susanlynn: Did you install rigid insulation under the slab?

Hi Josey11 , Sorry to be so long getting back to you . My wood guy Fraser's business can be reached at 902-772-2769 or email fraser@bellaliant.net . You can check out his website at www.orininalwideplank.com.

By the way , we also installed rigid foam under the slab to comply with the building code .

Paul21

My floor has no foam under the slab. It was poured in the 50's or 60's when this was not a requirement. I tired something new with my install and installed both the foam and the plywood with thin-set and nothing else. My slab was not thick enough to trust puncturing it with hundreds of fasteners so I went into BETA TESTING mode.

A year plus later and it is still holding fine. The floor does not get cold.