Flooring

[S.Rao]

Hi Guys

Just need to find out from you experts if I can lay a laminate flooring over oak wood flooring in my lounge.

The problem I have is that large gaps began appearing in my oak wood floor which is laid over concrete. Invited couple of builders to give me a quote. One of them suggested laminate over solid wood will be OK and the other says never to install one flooring over another, instead either to remove and re-fix the current flooring or for a brand new flooring. The builder reckons the previous guy who laid wood flooring did not glue it onto the floor and so they are moving.

But taking off flooring will incur extra expense so I was wondering if I can get laminate installed over solid wood.

What do you guys suggest?. Appreciate your help.

Regards

 

[Notch7]

Is the current floor solid oak and fitted as a floating floor over screed?

Was the screed floor recent?

I seems to me, if the existing floor has shrunk significantly and is a floating solid floor, then it is not going to make a stable sub floor.

 

[S.Rao]

Is the current floor solid oak and fitted as a floating floor over screed?

Was the screed floor recent?

I seems to me, if the existing floor has shrunk significantly and is a floating solid floor, then it is not going to make a stable sub floor.

Thank you for your reply.

The floor hasn't shrunk too much, only a few mm some planks. But the moving of wood is what's causing the issue.

It's a concrete floor. The house was built in 1960, I think and I bought it in 2013.

Yes, the current floor is solid oak and the builders who I invited are convinced that it's just a floating floor, the guys who laid the floor did not glue it to the concrete and that's why there are gaps it seems. The largest gap is I guess around 1cm but it's running across the floor in a straight line. Some planks tounge appear as if they are not glued at all or they didn't glue it enough.

Most of the gaps appear towards the skirtings and very few in the middle.

 

[Doggit]

It may be that they've put more glue on the edges under the skirting board than they did on the tongues. So as it's shrunk, it's pulled away from the edges; but it could be that there just wan't enough glue on that bit. Or is there heavy furniture anchoring it in place. I reckon that even with a 1cm gap, you could put the laminate on top of it, but I'd be inclined to see if you can lift it easily, and replay it properly. Once it's up, you can re-assess any damage as to whether you can replay it properly, or go for the laminate if it can't.

 

[S.Rao]

It may be that they've put more glue on the edges under the skirting board than they did on the tongues. So as it's shrunk, it's pulled away from the edges; but it could be that there just wan't enough glue on that bit. Or is there heavy furniture anchoring it in place. I reckon that even with a 1cm gap, you could put the laminate on top of it, but I'd be inclined to see if you can lift it easily, and replay it properly. Once it's up, you can re-assess any damage as to whether you can replay it properly, or go for the laminate if it can't.

Hi, I have considered that option but as there are a lot of gaps i will have to get the whole floor uplifted and my worry is If the tongues gets broken then it's going to be a bigger problem as the company I bought the flooring from are out of business. So I don't know if it s worth going down that route. I actually wanted to get rid of the whole floor itself but again someone suggested the existing floor could work as insulation and also it would save me a bit of money for hiring a skip and labour. It's around 42 square meters all together. Other suggested that as it's solid oak it needs room to breathe else because of moisture the floor may push up?, and damage any new flooring laid on top. Tricky situation i am in, don't know how to proceed.

 

[dazlight]

There won’t be a damp proof membrane under the concrete I’d guess.
What type of underlay did the fitter use ?

Only thing you can lay over that really is carpet with a breathable underlay.

 

[Doggit]

at 42Sq mtrs, what's the actual dimensions. It could be that you've exceeded the limit for expansion and contraction, and if it's anchored somewhere, this could why it's splitting apart. If You can get a similar sized planks for the T&G, then you could do a design around the room to handle any lost planks. The danger you have with that sized room, is that you could get similar problems on the laminate, and maybe the oak should have been glued down to reduce any movement.

 

[S.Rao]

There won’t be a damp proof membrane under the concrete I’d guess.
What type of underlay did the fitter use ?

Only thing you can lay over that really is carpet with a breathable underlay.

I have no idea about the damp proof membrane but I will try to find out. The underlay Fitters used was the regular green coloured (square) ones but were a bit thicker than the regular ones because of concrete floors. Carpets is a no go for me due to dust allergies.

at 42Sq mtrs, what's the actual dimensions. It could be that you've exceeded the limit for expansion and contraction, and if it's anchored somewhere, this could why it's splitting apart. If You can get a similar sized planks for the T&G, then you could do a design around the room to handle any lost planks. The danger you have with that sized room, is that you could get similar problems on the laminate, and maybe the oak should have been glued down to reduce any movement.

Sorry I should have been a bit more clear about this. The flooring is a continuous run for whole of down stairs, starting from the entrance. The planks have not been glued for sure as per the guys who came down to give me the quotes.

So you guys reckon it's not worth installing laminate over the current flooring?.

 

[Doggit]

Post some pictures showing the layout, and where the cracks are, and that'll help.

I think you're going to have the same issues with Laminate, plus it'll be colder than the wood. I'd look to find where the real problems are with the wood, and then resolve them.