Domestic wood floor project

Hello all

Hoping for some help on a small domestic wood floor 'project'.

The area is the hall through into the porch - pics below.



I got the carpet up, and in the hall were marley tiles, but a few round the edge came away quite easily, so I've pinged the rest up (didn't take long) for a uniformed flat area.
My first question -
this bituminous layer underneath - is just an adhesive or can this take the role of a DPM also? Looks like a screed underneath it.

I'd like to put down an engineered wood floor, (floating?) on top of a suitable underlay.
For the wood, was thinking engineered this as
(i) area subject to temperature variation, possible wet shoes coming in etc.
(ii) Perhaps easier fitting for a DIY
(iii) cost - slightly

Had a look round the usual DIY sheds and even with discounts, the prices are v high and mostly offer only solid wood or laminate alternatives.

I got some samples from one website and are aiming for a dark-ish oak - one we liked the look of is http://www.flooringsupplies.co.uk/r...innea_oak_cognac_engineered_oak_wood_flooring

for the underlay, was thinking of one reasonably thick with good insulation properties, expected life etc.
Are underlays with an integral DPM better or is it something you should get separately?

Any tips/suggestions - esp any links to good suppliers of eng wood or underlay appreciated

Thanks in advance

the underlay, was thinking of one reasonably thick with good insulation properties,

Click to expand...

You can forget that. It is not possible to achieve any reasonable degree of insulation with material that is 6 mm or 10 mm thick. Anywhere else 50 mm is regarded as very little and there are no special materials reserved solely for use in underlays

Well, finally finished, so thought I'd put the 'after' pics up.
Quite pleased with it for a first attempt.


Summary:
Floating floor - engineered wood 14mm thick, with 3mm veneer. Loc joints.
4mm underlay with built in DPM.

Looks very nice, hope you enjoy it.

What is the facing wood and did you treat it or is that it out of the packet ?

mointainwalker said:

What is the facing wood and did you treat it or is that it out of the packet ?

Click to expand...

Oak. Straight out of the packet. It is a matt, lacquered finish.
I checked the link in my earlier post, and seems to have gone obsolete now and points to something different.
('Cognac Brosse' it said on the box, made by Kahrs).

Looks good. The divider between the rooms works well (you've lined the floors up nicely).

WoodYouLike said:

Looks good. The divider between the rooms works well (you've lined the floors up nicely).

Click to expand...

Thanks. I tried to start the row to line them up exactly, but that would have meant starting with a strip 2cm wide, which I thought would be a bit thin!

Originally I was going to run them right through from the hall, but after reading posts on the forum about dividing between different rooms, I reconsidered. The porch gets quite cool in winter (not heated) and I thought it would minimise any expansion/contraction problems.

Also - glad the wood was only 14mm thick. After putting down the 4mm underlay & wood, not much clearance left for the front door mat. Just about fits, but had completely missed that one


This flooring forum has been very useful in avoiding some big mistakes and providing a lot of useful tips. Big thanks & keep it up!