Laying new solid wood floor..

[ferrytrip1]

We had a flood downstairs and all the laminate warped so I am going to lay solid wood this time & have a couple of questions.

The floor is concrete, I have had the old floor up for some weeks now and will not lay the new floor until I have confirmed with a damp meter that it is OK.

I have the new floor and solid floor underlay (the one with one side sticky) from B&Q.

1. There is conflicting instructions between the underlay and the floor boxes. Should I glue the joints or not. The underlay directions suggest not, the floor instruction suggest I should.

2. Do I need to use a vapour barrier? There is no indication on either that this is required for solid floor on concrete. The underslay does not seem to have one built in.

3. I have read that the joints should flow away from the windows (or light source, in my case french doors). This is fine for the dining room, but I also intend to flow the floor through an internal door into the hallway, which is at 90deg to the dining room so the joints will flow cross ways rather than length ways in the hall. A way could be to flow length ways in the hall (which has no real light source, no direct windows) but this would mean the dining room joints going cross ways. Would appreciate thoughts please.

Thanks Simon

 

[flooringman]

Simon
As you rightly say the floor does need to be checked for moisture first.

The joints on a solid floor are only glued together, usually, if the floor is laid floating. Always follow the manufacturers instructions on installation and then you will not void any warranty.

You will need to use a vapour barrier on a concrete floor (instructions should state this).

The usual direction on a concrete floor installation is in the direction of the light and against the longest wall but this is a matter of personal choice - whichever suits you better. The recommendation is for a doorbar to be fitted between all rooms and so you could run the floor in different directions if you wish.

 

[ferrytrip1]

Thanks for the advice. The floor pack says it should be glued, the underlay has a sticky side and says the floor does not need to be glued. I'll go in tomorrow and ask which is best.

The underlay also stated it has "water vapour diffusion 13m(3mm) 21m (5mm)" - what does this mean?

Take the point about the door bar, Think I will run the wood the right way in the dining room as this is the area most used and dry fit the hall to see which looks best.

Another question.

The dining room has french doors, at he base the concrete is cracked and there is a 2cm hole. I will repair this before fitting. What is the best way to stop damp coming throught this join between the concrete and the door and affecting the floor??

Thanks

Simon

 

[WoodYouLike]

Thanks for the advice. The floor pack says it should be glued, the underlay has a sticky side and says the floor does not need to be glued. I'll go in tomorrow and ask which is best.

The floor manufacturer might not know (or hasn't adjusted their instructions yet) about the self-adhesive underlayment, which in fact glues down your floor. The underlayment instructions means there is no need to also glue the T&G's.
More a 'time-lapse' of knowledge of what's around in the market than contradicting information

The original self-adhesive underlayment (Elastilon) does not have a DPM in it - some copy-cats might.