To many hardwood flooring contractors, putting in hardwood flooring over concrete could be a little bit of a puzzle. The next is a information to assist alleviate any considerations or worries about putting in hardwood flooring over concrete.
The key behind a profitable set up over concrete is to deal with 5 key areas: Situation of slab, kind of concrete, location of slab, flatness, and moisture.
Learn on for in-depth particulars on these 5 key areas:
CONDITION OF THE CONCRETE SLAB
One of many best and most helpful steps to take is to rigorously look at the situation of the concrete slab. Check out the slab and be aware any cracks, spalling, or curling at enlargement joints.
That is additionally the time to notice any excessive or low spots within the concrete. At present the Nationwide Wooden Flooring Affiliation (NWFA) recommends 1/8″ to three/16″ in a 10FT radius. You’ll have to grind down the ground or use a self-leveling compound to even out the slab. Store our number of subfloor leveling merchandise.
In case you take the time to look at the concrete and set about to repair any potential issues, you’ll save your self time and power afterward. In any case, if concrete slab is in poor situation, your hardwood flooring usually tend to fail.
MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE SLAB
Checking the moisture ranking of a concrete slab is arguably a very powerful check to carry out when assessing a concrete slab. Moisture is claimed to trigger upwards of 90% of hardwood flooring failures.
WATCH: Methods to Check the Relative Humidity of a Concrete Slab utilizing the Wagner Fast RH
In terms of moisture and concrete slabs the 2 most acknowledged checks are calcium chloride and relative humidity. Click on right here to be taught extra about these two checks, and the way they evaluate.
Understanding the moisture content material of a concrete slab and taking the mandatory steps to fight moisture will assist immensely in efficiently putting in hardwood flooring over concrete.
TYPE OF CONCRETE
We all know that there are various various kinds of hardwood that carry out in another way. We take note of the kind of wooden and work with it in a technique to get the very best set up. The identical is true with concrete.
There can be info (supplied by architects, builders, and engineers) that offers particular details about the concrete slab in query. This info will embrace figures like PSI, CSP (Concrete Floor Profile), and Flatness (FL, FF, & F-min). Typically you’ll discover the concrete is definitely a light-weight concrete. In that specific state of affairs, you’ll need to take extra steps earlier than putting in the hardwood flooring. In case you didn’t know a concrete slab was light-weight concrete, you may need incorrectly put in the hardwood flooring.
Gathering the knowledge on the concrete will assist you throughout the set up. You’ll be on the trail to appropriately set up the hardwood flooring on the required concrete.
LOCATION OF SLAB
Picture credit score www.hardwoodinfo.com
This step is perhaps the best to find out. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless issues it is advisable to pay attention to. When figuring out the situation of the slab what you’re in search of is whether or not the slab is at, above, or beneath grade.
Irrespective of the place the concrete slab is positioned, you have to know learn how to cope with it. Slabs above grade have much less moisture than below-grade slabs. Nonetheless, slabs above grade may additionally have a weight restrict. For instance in a condominium you may not have the ability to put down leveling compound due to the load it could add to the concrete slab. In a beneath grade set up, there may be extra moisture and normally which means including moisture/vapor obstacles.
FLATNESS
In most eventualities when a concrete slab is poured, the concrete is poured and screeded right into a pre-made kind. The professionals pouring the concrete will certainly make the slab appear degree and flat, however that doesn’t essentially imply the concrete is flat sufficient to put in hardwood flooring.
Utilizing certainly one of many alternative instruments — a straight edge, mason’s string, or a laser — can decide the true flatness of a concrete slab. Sometimes a flooring is flat when it’s 3/16″ over a ten′ radius or 1/8″ over a 6′ radius.
If the concrete slab will not be degree then you definitely both want to make use of leveling compound to fill in low spots or grind away excessive spots.
Or, if the state of affairs requires it, putting in a subfloor over the concrete slab is perhaps the most suitable choice.
In any state of affairs, ensuring the concrete is flat and degree sufficient to put in hardwood flooring over is paramount.
Hardwood flooring are put in over concrete by wooden flooring mechanics on a regular basis. When you’re educated about how concrete works and the way it interacts with hardwood flooring, you can be ready to put in an attractive flooring over concrete.
In case you’d prefer to be taught extra about getting ready a concrete slab for hardwood flooring, name us at (800) 787-1786 or electronic mail information@cityfloorsupply.com