Flooring on concrete advise please

[coggy]

Hi all
Right i know Wickes is a swear word so im sorry in advance. We are thinking of laying a flooring product from Wickes called solid Bordeaux Pine, which is pine floor boards 1200 long, 200mm wide and 22mm thick. They are tongue and grooved all the way round including ends. You buy them in packs of 4. We fancy this as a stronger option than Laminate and want a natural look. They will then of course be Varnished

Right i want to lay them on my kitchen floor which has the rubber tiles(dont know what there called) layed on a concrete floor. I would really like to be able to secret nail them because the floor will obviously not be painted or covered.
Could i screw battens on the existing floor and nail into them ????

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks
Coggy

 

[masona]

Hi all
Could i screw battens on the existing floor and nail into them ????

You could but the floor level will be a lot higher.The other thing you could do is to put down floor insulation sheet as you do with laminated flooring and glue solid Bordeaux Pine together as a floating flooring but it won't be easy.I have fitted Bordeaux Pine in my lounge but onto to floor joists nailed and using floor cramp to tighten them up.The solid Bordeaux Pine is ideally for floor joists unless you don't mind having a higher floor level.

 

[coggy]

Thanks Masona
I think i will go for the floating floor method. If it is a problem i will try and use a couple of flooring straps to cramp the joints up. I could do a few rows at a time as the flooring is at home and i can do it in stages. It is not for a customer.

Did you get your flooring from Wickes ??
If you did was it good quality and was the moisture good ie did it move much ??
Also what did you use for the finish please ???

Thanks Masona
Coggy

 

[masona]

Did you get your flooring from Wickes ??

Yes

If you did was it good quality and was the moisture good ie did it move much ??

Very good quality,been in my lounge over 18 months and no movement yet but to be fair I use floor cramp to tighten it up with secret nails machine hired from the Tools shop.

Also what did you use for the finish please ???

I can't remember the name but it was a tough floor wearing water base paint type from H/base.

Also make sure your floor is level with no bumps as the flooring might end up being a see-saw effect.Might be best to lay floor levelling compound.

 

[coggy]

Hi again Masona

One of the rooms im thinking of laying this flooring is in the kitchen. Do you think it will be ok to lightly mop ? and what varnish do you recommend ??

I have been advised to lay plwood down and screw this to the floor which i could then secret nail the flooring to the plywood, What are your thoughts about this method please ?

and what thickness ply would you/or anyone else recommend.

Im interested in your opinion Masona as you have this flooring yourself.

Thanks
Coggy

 

[masona]

One of the rooms im thinking of laying this flooring is in the kitchen. Do you think it will be ok to lightly mop ? and what varnish do you recommend ??

There many good quality brands that's design as 'Hard Wearing Floor Paint' and have lightly mop wet floor with no problem.

I have been advised to lay plwood down and screw this to the floor which i could then secret nail the flooring to the plywood, What are your thoughts about this method please ?

The problem using plywood,your floor level will be a lot higher,22mm plus the thickness of the plywood meaning you will have a step thru' via door way causing trip hazard.I know you're keen using Bordeaux Pine flooring but it's really for fixing onto floor joists.If it was me I would get real wood laminated flooring as a floating floor which is no difference then varnish or stain whatever.This would be a lot easier and trouble free.

 

[coggy]

Thanks Masona

The thickness wont be a problem as the complete ground floor will be covered. Will take a look at different systems of flooring,

One more thing with the bordeaux being s/wood, does it dent easy ???

Thanks Coggy

 

[masona]

The thickness wont be a problem as the complete ground floor will be covered. Will take a look at different systems of flooring,

Might be best to look at wood blocks flooring type which use bitumen bonding agent,this would be more suitable and trouble free.I'm not saying you can't use Bordeaux Pine this way but it's going to be hard work,patient and not really suitable but can be done.

One more thing with the bordeaux being s/wood, does it dent easy ???

Yes ! I have dents all over the place but looks quite nice

ps;there're some laminated flooring that looks like real wood and would have to have sharp eye to noticed the difference.