Best underlay for solid wood on concrete?

[HitItWithaHammer]

Hi,

First time on so hear goes.

Was going to use laminate on cost basis but have bought a load of solid oak T&G boards in a sale for the hall and dinning room. Have concrete floor which being 60 years old I hope has dried out. Floors pretty level throughout.

Have been to local DIY store to look at underlay options. Seems to be 3 main options.

1. Green Fiberboard (do I need to lay a waterproof membrane??)

2. Some Silver combi membrane/foam stuff that looks a bit like those sun reflectors people put in their car windscreens in the summer. Might be worth it if waterproofing is required.

3. Some 'new'(?) rubber/foam stuff that is adhesive on top and the boards stick to - says it prevents the need for glueing (does it work?)

Gut feeling - currently favour 1. but not sure if waterproofing required.

Any views on the above welcomed. Or other better options if there are any.

Cheers.

HIWAH

 

[WoodYouLike]

lets starts with the measurements of the Solid T&G boards you bought: random length? say 18 x 125 x 300-1200mm?

Have you checked how many short lengths there are? If so, only option is to glue the floor down with flexible adhesive like Mapei P990

 

[HitItWithaHammer]

WYL,

Sorry - been away for a day.

The boards were bought from Homebase and I think they are 12mm thick - I afraid I'm not at home at the moment to look - they are all the same size and although I'm not sure what the dimensions are exactly, they are the standard DIY shop 'boards in a pack' sort of size).

Does any of this make any difference to your recommendation below? i.e. your assumption that they might be 50% thicker?

Why is the gluing to the concrete option better than the others? Does this not result in a more noisey 'harder' floor?

Cheers.

HIWAH.

 

[WoodYouLike]

The most important issue here is the random length of standard DIY-shed solid offers. Most boxes contain loads of short lengths, creating too many hinges (joints) that will make your floor unstable when installed floating.

If that's the case, then glueing down in the best option.
This will not result in more noise, the flexible adhesive works as sound insulation too

 

[HitItWithaHammer]

I have opend 3 (of the 30) packs so far and within a few mm all boards are so far the same length which I'm guessing is about 1100mm. I have not as yet notices any which I would describe as 'short lengths'.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Well, that's good news. You can now either install floating on combi-underlayment and glueing all T&G's correctly or still glue it down.
We have a comprehensive installation guide if you like

 

[HitItWithaHammer]

WYL,

many thanks.

Is the 'combi-underlayment' you refer to the same as my original option 2? i.e. 'Some Silver combi membrane/foam stuff that looks a bit like those sun reflectors people put in their car windscreens in the summer. Might be worth it if waterproofing is required' If not what is a good one?

I must admit I didn't know there was an incorrect way to glue the T&Gs - you've got me worried now - what is 'the correct way' does it refer to the type of adhesive or the application or what?

HIWAH

 

[WoodYouLike]

Nah, option 2 is mostly rubbish, more suited for laminated flooring.
3mm foam and attached DPM would be better

There are plenty of ways to glue incorrectly, drip and drop one of the most common among them. Read our article on the correct way.