Installing Hardwood Flooring - Comments
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We had hard wood put in on OSB subflooring. The wood is starting to come up and buckle all over. My husband thinks they did not use long enough nails when they put it down. Please give me any suggestions you have as to what happened. We will contact the flooring company this week. I am sick about it!
Shan at September 24, 2007 07:38 PM
Posted by: Shan at September 24, 2007 07:38 PMThere could be any number of things wrong with your floor. Short nails is a possibility, but not the likely candidate.
How long did you acclimate the wood before laying it? If you didn't get it used to your particular climate, it could absorb humidity, expand and buckle and cause a problem; it could also dry up, contract and split.
You could also have a moisture problem below the floor. The OSB could absorb excess moisture, start to buckle and pass the excess moisture to the hardwood flooring.
Check out these ideas with your installer. There could be a simple solution in store for you.
The Flooring Lady at September 24, 2007 10:12 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at September 24, 2007 10:12 PMDear Flooring Lady, I have a 7/16 solid I am installing over concrete. My installer wants to install it like this- 1. Asphalt mastic w 6 mil ply imbeded ontop of concrete. 2. 5/8 plywood nailed into concrete 3. 7/16 solid stapled to ply.
I have subfloor concerns- I think glueing AND nailing the ply to the concrete is better than just nailing. I know that this would require me using a sealer and glue and increasing the cost but I want a trouble free floor. What do you think will the nails alone be enough for the subfloor?
Kimberly at October 11, 2007 01:21 PM
Posted by: Kimberly at October 11, 2007 01:21 PMTrouble-free is what we're all about too. Why do you have the need to glue and nail your subfloor? The approach your installer is suggesting seems like an interesting way to go, but I don't know what your ground water/water table situation is so can't gauge just how much moisture-proofing you need.
Can you tell me more about why you want to take your approach?
The Flooring Lady at October 11, 2007 05:50 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 11, 2007 05:50 PMThe installers way is acceptable in most texts however I am wondering if glue would hold the ply better to the concrete because many other installers swear that it does. My calcium choride is currently a 2 so he is being extra careful and the mastic probably overkill but ok with me. I am not actually concerned with moisture as I allready no I need a good barrier I am concerned with floor performance and ever single installer just says the opposite as the one prior.
Kimberly at October 17, 2007 04:25 PM
Posted by: Kimberly at October 17, 2007 04:25 PMWe want to put down wood over concrete. Is a vapor barrier of plastic ok to use even if you have moisture or not? If we don't do the spot test to see if moisture is present is it ok to use plastic underlayment and feel secure that no problems will appear with moisture in the future ? We have all carpet now over concrete and without ripping up some carpet we have no place to test. Can we test another way for moisture without ripping up some carpet? Thank you! Judy
Judy at October 28, 2007 06:31 AM
Posted by: Judy at October 28, 2007 06:31 AMYou do want a vapor barrier between your concrete and wood flooring. But not just any plastic sheeting is a vapor barrier. I've used Raven Industries engineered film and been very happy with the results.
My suggestion is to not worry about testing for moisture but to act as if it's going to be a problem and use the vapor barrier regardless of where you live and your climate. Concrete absorbs moisture, and when that happens it will go into the wood flooring and cause problems. The moisture could also get trapped between the concrete and wood and mold -- you don't want that problem -- so just avoid it with a good vapor barrier.
The Flooring Lady at October 28, 2007 06:46 AM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at October 28, 2007 06:46 AMWhen installing 3/4 inch engineered wood floors over concrete using the glue method, what should be used for a moisture barrier?
Shannon at November 6, 2007 11:33 PM
Posted by: Shannon at November 6, 2007 11:33 PMI have 3/8" solid hardwood flooring and plan to install it in my Basement. After some research I have decided to first put down a concrete moisture sealant paint, the a 6mil vapor barrier, followed by a subflooring system called dricore. Dricore subflooring system is basically a plastic moisture barrier base attached to 1/2" OSB. The plastic base raises the OSB off of the concrete slab 1/4". I don't know how I should then lay my hardwood flooring to the OSB subfloor. Essentialy it is a floating floor and I would love to glue it directly to the OSB, but dricore says not to. Have you ever heard of this dricore system or have any suggestions?
Ben at November 7, 2007 04:35 PM
Posted by: Ben at November 7, 2007 04:35 PM
The answer to the vapor barrier question is just two posts above this one: Raven Industries has wonderful engineered film vapor/moisture barriers. I have it in my crawl space to control the moisture/humidity that would impact my flooring. It works very well.
I don't know about Dricore, but it sure seems like over-kill with everything else you are doing. And my go to the expense of that? Or the sealant paint either. If you have water problems, maybe you need to investigate a sump-pump in addition to the vapor-proof film.
If you live in a cold-winter climate, what are you doing about insulation? Have you considered having a slightly raised floor and using hard insulation foam board below the OSB/plywood subfloor? You could glue or nail your flooring to that. And you could also have in-floor radiant heat installed before you lay the hardwood flooring.
If Dricore says not to use glue-down with it, it seems to me you either need to nail (staple) the flooring or not use the Dricore and use a glue-down installation .
The Flooring Lady at November 7, 2007 04:52 PM
Posted by: The Flooring Lady at November 7, 2007 04:52 PMComment Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18
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