hardwood floating floor installation questions

6 years ago

As soon as I solve my humidifier installation problem I need to order the hardwood for our floating floors. I have some questions about what to order.

Do I need T-moulding for the stair sil plate? The hardwood will be installed perpendicular to the sil plate. I saw some people undercut the plate, but I am not sure if with cork underlayment and the hardwood the height will permit that.
For transition between the hardwood and the tile should I buy t-moulding, a nose reducer or an overlap reducer?
Same question as above for carpet transition, nose reducer or overlap?

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

6 years ago

Traditional T-moldings (even) are used when two floor heights are identical or nearly identical (1-2mm difference). An uneven T-molding is used when the floor heights are only slightly different (3mm - 4mm difference).

A reducer is used for floor heights that are uneven by 1/4" (6mm) or more. The size, thickness, width, etc of the reducer will be directly related to the floor height difference.

You will need to know the FINISHED floor heights and then measure the difference between the two. Then you can plan/purchase your transition strips using the appropriate method. A flooring professional is your best source of information. If you are DIY or getting DIY level help from friends/family, you will need to do +++++ research before going much further.

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Comments (13)

SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
What does your professional flooring installer want you to do?
Oana
Original Author
6 years ago
A friend of mine will install it with our help, and haven't asked him yet. Basically I know I need reducers, but don't know why there are 2 types of reducers. And I guess I could measure the height of the silver plate and calculate if it's going to be higher than the hardwood+cork and I can undercut it or I need to use a T-moulding.
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LOL, no, sanding should NOT have been included in the original install quote. That is called surface preparation, so it is over and above any instalaltion rate quotations, and not part of the original scope of work defined in the quote as per your post. If they did not include it in your original quote, then it (surface preparation) was not figured into the original quote, probably because it was not needed prior to the abuse the subfloor received by it being open to the elements. Contact your general contractor or person responsible for it being open to the elements about reimbursement. If that person was you, then you just learned a valuable lesson about protecting existing work from the elements in a construction project. If you think the cost of professional repairs of the work is too much, get other quotes for the same work from other professionals. We can not tell you what is appropriate compensation for the work because rates change from person to person depending on skillsets and experience, from geographic area to area, and depending on exactly what work is involved (how bad the warpage is) which we can not see over the internet. If you break it down, that is only $0.92 cents a foot. Repair-Prep is a pain in the butt and very inconvenient, especially after the job was already quoted and when it should not have been needed in the first place because of someones carelessness, so most people will charge very high for it. I know we do.
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If the living room will be a seperately installed area, then it may be easy. First, will your nosing to parrallel with the longest wall? If it is out, then by how much? Lay out some boards from the nosing to the opposite wall where you have the starting board that you marked in red. Then you will know what size board you could have on each side. What you may not want is a sliver at the nosing or a 'wedge' at that place, unless making the nosing area visually perfect will adversely affect other floor/wall or floor/vertical object junctures. It is sometimes necessary, depending upon 'how boards will fall where', to rip a board to fit at the nosing and create a new groove and insert a slip tongue to replace the one you cut off when you fit the board to the nosing. The way I do it is fit the board to the nosing (the nosing is just tacked in place at this point)...then remove the tacked nosing, install the board with the slip tongue and then install the nosing. A dry layout of some product will help you see a solution.
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User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
This has a future, “Help! Disaster” post written all over it. Does anyone own a moisture meter?
Oana thanked User
Oana
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Sophie no need to jump the gun :). I mentioned I need to install a humidifier first. I am not even thinking of ordering before the humidifier is installed and has ran for a week or two. Then our friend used to install hardwood and is a high end tile installer. So he has the tools to measure the floor evenness and knows how to prep a floor. I am asking here because first he is super busy so I don't want him to do this research and second I am a control freak and like to know every detail especially when it comes to such a big investment,
User
6 years ago
Tile isn’t wood. Not by a long shot.

A Moisture meter is required. You are required to take and document readings of the subfloor and the wood.
Oana
Original Author
6 years ago
oh, sorry, I thought you meant the moisture of the house. Is there a meter that I can use for gypsum concrete and wood (engineered oak)? Or do I need 2 different ones?
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
Ohhhh good. Gypcrete (yikes). You need TWO different meters. You could purchase a single meter but those ones run $350+. A wood meter should be $100. As for gypcrete - zoinks. You will need to speak with your flooring professional - the friend. Get his toys out. This is his area. Even if he is doing this for you for free, he is still responsible (both professionally and ethically) for the readings.

Ask him for the tool....but then ask him how to work it. And then ask how and where and when to use it....by then he will simply do it himself. And yes they have multiple settings and a hand book that are really easy to get wrong.
Oana thanked SJ McCarthy
Oana
Original Author
6 years ago
If I live in a condo, on second floor, subfloor is gypsum concrete, install a humidifier and aclamate the hardwood for a week before installing do I need to do moisture measurements?
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Only if you want a proper job. How ca you yell if your wood is acclimated without a meter. You can’t.

There is going to be no warranty on this job because no one had the right tools, or knows the right products to deal with gyocrete. It will turn to mush if you use the wrong ones, and your wood will just springing and spronging around. Nothingv water based should touch it. Including most SLC’s.
Oana thanked User
Oana
Original Author
6 years ago
Ok, got it, I will need a meter to measure everything. If he doesn't have one I will just buy one an return it after measurements are done.

Now about fixing our subfloor, even if it's straight, I will have to remove the wood thing-ies that anchor the carpet. From what I read, those need to be cut out, no hammering because that might damage the bond of the subfloor next to them. Any product you recommend for filling those holes?
SJ McCarthy
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Aaaaaand again we start playing in the "nasty" sand box that is gypcrete. Gypcrete is horrible to try to patch. Your PROFESSIONAL will do this. Do not attempt to do anything with that gypcrete. Don't cut. Don't pull. Don't dig. Don't do anything! Get your friend (whom I believe should be paid FULL face value for this job....because it is one of the TOUGHEST jobs out there) to do all of this.

Gypcrete requires SPECIAL patch and SPECIAL primer and SPECIAL TECHNIQUES to deal with. Either DIY 100% or let a professional do this 100%. This is one substrate the homeowner should NOT help with. Let the professional handle it.

Please do not "buy something, use it and return it". It sounds rather underhanded. The companies that sell these devices have to deal with returned devices...and most of the time they have to toss them because someone "used them" in the wrong way and they are now defective.

And you don't use them "1 time". You use them on 10% of randomly selected boards on a DAILY basis (or ever 2-3 days if the wood is damp). By the time you are "done" using this device, you will have tested 100 - 1000 planks.

Either purchase and KEEP the device or let your professional friend do the work with his OWN device.

Remember: if you would not LIKE to have someone do that to you, please don't do it to them. I think a bit of "Do unto Others..." is warranted here. And please pay your friend the going rate. Gypcrete is a PITA!!! You have NO idea!
Oana thanked SJ McCarthy
User
6 years ago
Any professional that doesn’t own a moisture meter should not be allowed to do the job. They aren’t a wood flooring pro.

Never take advantage of friendships for work reasons. You can’t speak your mind if you get poor work, or if you do, you lose the friend. You have too much at risk here to be having a tile guy do a wood floor. You will either get poor work, and accept it, or you will lose the friend by speaking by up.
Oana thanked User

hardwood floating floor installation questions

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