Fitting solid hardwood flooring

[ianmorrison]

Hi,

I have recently purchased solid hardwood flooring from B&Q and want to know what method i am best using to install this.

The subfloor is concrete, however it has floorboards laid directly onto it, these did not seem to be secured to the concrete, so i have spent time drilling and plugging/screwing the floorboards down so that there is no movement in these boards now.

What method is going to be best for installing? The floorboards are pretty level, maybe a slight discrepancy in places, will i need a membrane and underlay? Then will i be best glueing, nailing, floating or using a self adhesive underlay.

I will be doing the work myself and am pretty competant DIYer and will be able to get help from a joiner etc, but i have never laid flooring before. I just want to use the method that is going to give me the best and most professional finish?

Any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[mac391]

Idealy you should secret nail to floorboards or DPM and glue to concrete.

Your trouble is, the sub-floor is concrete (with an overlay of flooroards).

Some people float solid floors on DPM underlay on top of concrete but you shouldn't use DPM underlay on top of floorboards.

Best i could suggest is to use Novia building paper on top of well screwed & plugged floorboards and secret nail. One trouble though, secret nailing nails are 50mm and your sub-floor is only 20mm (ish).

I would never recommend to float a solid floor but it is another option i suppose and maye your best one.

 

[WoodYouLike]

If your B&Q Solid floor is at all suitable to use the floating installation see here:
Solid Floors - what to note

 

[ianmorrison]

The installation guide does state that floating the floor is acceptable, however i am a bit dubious of this and would not be my preffered method, unless it is the only option available. If i was to float it, would i need an underlay or boards of some sort underneath and would this get over the slight highs and low points across the room etc.

I may have to raise the height of the wood floor to match that of the tiles we are fitting in the new kitchen diner we've created as the heigh of this is going to come up approx 25/30mm with the ufh we are fitting and then tiling. Would i be best laying down some plywood to bring the height of the wood flooring up to match the height of the kitchen floor. Would this also allow me to level the floor appropriately before secret nailing. Also can you not get a smaller size nail for secret nailing (35mm) or are they all standard sizing.

Why do they say not to float a solid wood floor also, am i going to have problems with this if i do fit it this way and if so what are they likely to be?!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Also can you not get a smaller size nail for secret nailing (35mm) or are they all standard sizing.

Any shorter and the nail would not pin down the floor properly.

You can either level the floor new height of kitchen floor including tiles, but you'll have to leave an expansion gap between kitchen floor and wood floor anyway. Which means using a threshold, they come in various type from Ends to sloping ramps. In need be you could even create a step.

Solid wooden floors can be floated, but only if the boards themselves are wide enough (but not too wide) and the majority of the boards are long. Plus then it depends also on the situation (like your floor is next to a kitchen where there will be more moist, so more risk of higher humidity which means a solid floor - no matter how installed - will react quicker and more than wood-engineered floors would).

 

[ianmorrison]

I forgot about the need for a threshold strip, although would prefer not to have a step up.

I have just read about the self adhesive underlay, would this be suitable, because i could self level the whole floor and then lay the underlay directly onto this, or would this not work?!!

also the flooring is coming from the hallway and then into the lounge, but what would i need to finish the floor off at the front door?