Planning on a Hickory engineered floor

[Sonyman]

Ok we have more or less decided on a Hickory engineered wood floor for our lounge, and I have a couple of questions.
As the new floor is going over the top of an existing wooden floor (floorboards), do I need to lay anything down before the new floor is laid.

Also, the hickory boards we saw in the shop were 15mm thick with 4mm of real wood?? like a top layer. What is best for the finish, lacquered or oiled?

The room would be subject to high heels, normal? flat shoes and slippers,as well as the furniture.

Thanks

 

[MHTILER]

hi,with your flooring you can either have it as a floating floor,i would recommend usind an underlay,no dpm needed if you are going onto a wooden floor,either foam on a roll is the cheapest option around £10 per 10 sqmtrs,or felt underlay,around £19 per 9.9 sqmtrs.
the other option is to secret nail it straight onto a wooden floor with no underlay.be sure all nails are below surface,also leave the right axpansion gaps around the perimeter.
both floors will need to be treated in the future,but be aware you can only do this so many times and the top layer will get pitted with use.
hope this helps.

 

[Sonyman]

Yes I realised later about using some sort of underlay, but then someone told me that if the existing floorboards are uneven, ie not level all the way through, then I would need to put down hardboard or plywood first.

Also, again which type is best, lacquered or oiled?

Thanks

 

[MHTILER]

hi,it is right to say if your floor is uneven it is best to level it out otherwise the floor could be to bouncy,as for oiled or lacquered it is down to personal choice,i prefer the lacquered.

 

[WoodYouLike]

If your new boards are going to be installed in the same direction as your existing floorboards you have to install hardboard or plywood first (always - even if the existing boards are level).

As Mhtiler says: it's a personal choice. Ours and most of our clients' choice is oil

 

[Sonyman]

Ok thanks, but what thickness of plywood or hardboard: 3mm, 4mm or 6mm, and does it matter if its hardboard or plywood?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Thickness depends on how level or unlevel you existing boards are:
level = 3mm hardboard,
somewhat unlevel = 6mm plywood
very unlevel = 12mm plywood