Solid Hardwood Flooring over Concrete Slab

3 years ago

I am currently building a custom home in the MS Delta that is on a raised concrete slab (32” high stem wall backfilled), with full spray foam insulation envelope on a 2x6 exterior wall and 2x8 roof rafter. The home will also have a high end Lennox HVAC with an ERV-175 fresh air intake system and whole home dehumidifier system.

My question is can I install solid hardwood flooring directly over the slab in this tightly sealed home with controlled humidity?

Or is Engineered Wood flooring my only option to avoid cupping?

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

PRO
G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
Engineered flooring is the recommended wood flooring type over slabs. You can glue down solid but, you will be limited to 2 1/4" quarter sawn for stability. The glue will not be the issue. There are adhesives that are designed for solid wood widths of unlimited widths.

Slabs will do both suck the moisture dry and give off constant vapor. So, you will have major expanding and contracting. Your HVAC is not designed to control humidity at floor level.

I recommend using Schaffer's V3 unfinished engineered flooring. Fully customizable, 3/4" thick, 6 mm veneer, excellent millwork and long lengths. http://www.v3-usa.com
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
I did some repair work on a solid wood floor that was adhered to concrete in Florida. It had been there for years; no cupping. The adhesive was relentless.
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Yes, it does look like an easy method to install flooring. I'm surprised to see maybe even ceramic. Not too sure about that one. It runs $2/sf. In this case it would save quite a bit of labor just on floor prep. There's adhesive on the slab which would otherwise need to be removed. It also provides a moisture barrier so he said solid wood could be used. I believe he even said 3/4 inch. Looking at the installation instructions, it looks to lay loose on the slab. I wonder what it's like to walk on one of these floors. If it feels like a regular wood floor. Another concern I have is how easy it is to replace a board. Or if a board goes crooked while trying to install it and you're already into the adhesive stage if you're stuck with a gap. Particularly worrisome when someone else is doing the install and maybe not as picky as you'd be yourself. The site says it has a worldwide patent but the salesman said that type of product has been used in Europe for over 20 years successfully. It's only new to the US. I'm looking into floating floors due to the adhesive on the slab but don't want a fake hollow sounding floor. The flooring stores I've been to don't seem to have sample floatings installed for people to check them out.
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How old is the slab? How old is the home? How old is the HVAC system? How much humidity control do you have (do you open a window or do you touch a button on the thermostat/humidistat to alter the home's environment)? Solid hardwood is possible - when done properly. Glue down is possible when done properly. Nail down is possible so long as the plywood is glued down properly (same vapour barrier glue as you would use if you glued down the hardwood). All of this leads to "properly done". The NWFA Certified Sand/Refinishers in your area would be more than capable to do either format of install. Your HVAC specialists (the one's who sold/maintain your home's system) are more than capable to add/upgrade your HVAC system to ensure you have pin-point accurate humidity control in you home (no more opening the windows to alter the feel of the house!). And narrow strip hardwood is always the best option for solid hardwood in a humid area. rift and quarter sawn being an absolute "must" for your situation.
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If Mittens Cat had said in the first post that people in her family have severe allergies that are caused by tiny amounts of dust, then I would have said that wet mopping might be added to the protocol. I understand about allergies, but this wasn't originally mentioned. And the reality is that, once the slab had been cleaned by vacuuming, the installation of a hardwood floor will likely add far more dust to the environment than the little bit trapped permanently under the flooring, which is not going to be a "hazard" (which was stated to be the concern in the original post). So I suggest that the issue to be addressed is final cleanup.
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Leather is the most 'recognizable' pattern for cork (other than the ground up cork board look). When it is laid it looks like hardwood flooring using 'shorts'. It has a bit of a brick look to it. Ignore the 'pink' in the samples. The pink is the very first colour to fade away. It takes a few months for the pink to disappear but once it is gone the cork (Leather and Logan) will look more like oak in tone (yellowish with some hints of green and some gray). It is a 'directional pattern' which means it has a 'linear' sense to it. The Logan is the most expensive cork pattern you can get. The slices of pattern are random. They are hand cut and hand laid. It takes *roughly an hour for 1 person to arrange 10sf of the pattern. It is STUNNING. It looks more like stone. It is random...did I mention the pattern is random? Leather and Logan can have the extra 2 coats of the Loba 2K Supra AT = super tough. The Latte is a FANTASTICLY tough finish. It has the polypropylene finish on it. This is the 'non-vinyl' product Cancork sells. It is tough....right after that it is SUPER TOUGH. And then for good measure, it is TOUGH!!! For a Rental property, the Latte is a product I would recommend. It does NOT need the Loba product. That means you save $1.50/sf RIGHT AWAY. It can handle 3mm or 6mm cork underlay. If you are looking for temperature control, then I like the 6mm underneath...but CHECK your door heights, etc. All you need to do is take your floor sample and the underlay sample they sent you (their supposed to do that...sigh) and see if it 'slips' underneath the doors in your home. It is that simple. I hope that helps... As for the Tacoma...I'm guessing you are looking at KILOGRAMS (700 kg) as your weight limit = 1540 lbs. The weight of a standard skid of cork flooring = 1000sf (ish...depends on the product) = *roughly 2000 lbs. And the skid sizes are PERFECT to fit between the wheel wells of a truck bed. I've watched this stuff get loaded into pick-up trucks for 6+ years. A forklift operator can drop that baby into your truck (so long as you do NOT have a 'cap-it') and off you go. If you only have a short way to go, the 2000 lbs won't be much of a problem...I just wouldn't do a trip to Bella Coola with it. ;-)
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User
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Narrow woods might work for that. 2”, 3”. That’s it. Nothing wide. Ever. Ever. Concrete will wick the moisture through capillary action. If any part of it is exposed to Gulf humidity, or soil, then all of it will be moist. There are very adhesives that create a moisture barrier and and here. And there are separate roll on moisture barriers plus adhesives. It will depend on the actual stable moisture readings. Which you won’t know during the very moist construction phase.

So, you’d want to do the belt plus suspenders approach of a moisture barrier plus an adhesive. Because you wouldn’t want to wait the year or do for the construction moisture to be fully removed and the home stabilized.

Or, you could just do engineered at half the effort, half the price, and a much better track record for stability.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Technically you can do anything you want so long as you throw enough money at it. Just be prepared to 'give up' on wide plank options. The glue is going to be a BIG part of your installation costs. The 'limitless moisture barrier' adhesives run $2-$3/sf. A 5 gallon buck will offer 150sf of coverage (30sf per gallon). The KNOWLEDGE of your installer MUST BE top notch (ha...flooring funny...they use notched trowels for the glue...ha).

The experience and knowledge of the installer is going to be the do-or-die limit of the floor. The EXPENSIVE subfloor work must be done (always over concrete). Be prepared to pay for that. Some slabs are bad enough to warrant $3/sf for preparation. Then you add in the $2/sf adhesive and the $3/sf labour costs of the HIGH end wood flooring installer who has done DOZENS of these jobs. And I mean DOZENS each year.

If you think 'Clem' can get-er-done then you will be very very upset with the installation (mess of removal and redoing the job).

I would stick to the narrowest plank available to you. The 2.5" strip hardwood is your best bet. You want it rift and quarter sawn for stability (more expensive that traditional hardwood).

Solid Hardwood Flooring over Concrete Slab

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G & S Floor Service

Joseph Corlett, LLC

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