Solid oak floor glueing to concrete

[cure1973]

Hi all,
I did post on this subject some time ago - had a look for it but couldn't find!! This is basically what I have and what I intend on doing.
Finally(!!) chosen floor - solid oak prefinished t&g all round delivery next week.
Already bought glue for floor - Ms Polymer, flexible water based I think.
House is 22 years old, concrete floor which has been self levelled - will need patching in places I would assume (still carpeted at the moment)
Have heard differing stories regarding glue down method - I assumed this is best for engineered floor which was the original plan but ended up buying solid instead.
Anyway questions:
Will this method be ok presuming damp/ moisture levels are ok?
How can I test this? Tape some plastic over floor for 24hrs?
Is 10mm expansion ok - planning on removing/ replacing skirting.
Do I need to glue t&g as well?
Best coverage for bottom of stairs which are carpeted?
Want to cover floor in cloakroom too - has toilet and basin - not ideal I know but is only small area will this be ok?
Sorry so many questions! Thanks for help in advance.
Dan

 

[r.bartlett]

Don't think this will be much help but I was in a new build doing some air conditioning commissioning and I happened to watch a guy laying the flooring you're on about.

The floor was screeded concrete and he was just using a glue and putting them together

I did notice he was using a strap to hold them in place and I assume he sticks the first row 10mm from the wall then comes back next day when totally dry so he's pulling the flooring towards the wall rather than squeezing the whole lot towards the middle..(however I don't know for certain...)

Sorry can't help much more as he was a real miserable git and I had my own stuff to do ;-/

Cheers

Richard

 

[cure1973]

Cheers for that Rich!

Sounds to me like he was fitting a 'floating' floor - something I'm not planning on doing!! Btw whats work like in the air con field? I'm a plumber and wouldn't mind getting another thing under my belt!! Its refrigeration though isn't it? Qualifications hard to get?
Cheers!
Dan

 

[mattysupra]

first i would not use water based glue! As for levelling compound and patch repair to subfloor you want to use water based or acrylic compound. If you have a latex compound down you should scrap it up. It has a poor shear strength. Your subfloor needs to be almost spot on flat as well. Max about 2mm in a meter. For testing moister you need a hygrometer floor tester. Should read max 75%rh. Guess with age of house you should be o.k but should always test. 10mm expansion depends on size of area. Its good practice to always leave 18mm. Dont understand what you mean by coverage of bottom stair? If you mean cover expansion gap then if you under cut the bottom stair and slide wood under you wont need to cover anything! As for your cloak room you should remove toilet etc so wood goes underneath. careful how you fasten back down so floor can still move. Also break wood in door way to minimize amount of movement. And no you dont need to glue tongue and groove unless you decide to float floor. Bit of an easier method for diy person over a concrete floor.

 

[cure1973]

Thanks for that matty!
Cutting out of bottom stair!! Of course!!! Stupid of me not too think of that! Why wouldn't you use water based glue? Have you heard of the glue I have bought? I agree that this method is probably going to be more time consuming but as well as plumbing I do a lot of tiling so I assumed this method would be more natural to me?!!! Probably not though!! As you mentioned 'a break' in the floor to the cloakroom I was planning on laying the planks the same way all the way through hallway and cloaks. Would it be better to lay floor in cloaks the opposite way, or can i have a cut board (if need be) at the door threshold. Possibly I could start from this point although planks are only 75mm wide so I guess I don't want too small a piece at the edges?
Hope you can work post out!!!
Cheers,
Dan

 

[mattysupra]

water based glue is better for your health but i have still to find a good glue. Problem is the moister has to go some where. The wood likes to suck up the moister which is not a good thing but will return back to normal as when fitted. The main thing is getting it to stick. Very easy to get voids and popping sounds under the wood as it takes it time setting and the wood starting to move before it has set. And put a threshold in the door way. The main thing is to get your floor prep spot on.

 

[cure1973]

ok mate thanks for your replies. Will get all the carpet up this weekend to see what horrors lie beneath for me to prep!!
Thanks again,
Dan

 

[r.bartlett]

Cheers for that Rich!

Sounds to me like he was fitting a 'floating' floor - something I'm not planning on doing!! Btw whats work like in the air con field? I'm a plumber and wouldn't mind getting another thing under my belt!! Its refrigeration though isn't it? Qualifications hard to get?
Cheers!
Dan

Not as easy as it used to be. the g.ment is about to introduce a corgi type registration whereby only trained operatives can work on it. I would stick to plumbing it's better paid and you stay local. The legislation is about to go ballistic and those carrying reclaimed refrigerant without ALL the necessary documentation CORRECTLY filled out are liable to a huge fine. It's going to be chaos

Cheers

Richard

Cheers

Richard