I've a concrete floor and want to fit real wood floorboards.i dont want to use glue.how do i fit it?

Question

new build house.level concrete floor

Answer 1

Even tho you mentioned you do not want to use glue...I would use a "floating floor" system. This means the individual pieces are glued to each other, rather than being nailed or glued to the floor. But I mention a couple of other possibilites here too.

As mentioned in some of the other answers, you need to put down a vapor barrier...this is simply a layer of plastic cheeting... '6 mil' thickness would work just fine (you can get this by the roll, at most hardware stores... its a heavy plastic, either clear, or black) Overlap the plastic sheeting by about a foot, and tape the seams together too. Its surprising how much moisture will come up thru a concrete floor, or if outside, how much will come up thru the ground. You can secure the vapor barrier to the concrete floor with some tape, either double sided, or just regular tape, and make a loop out of it. I would use a heavy duct tape myself, like the "Gorilla" brand duct tape. Professionally, I had access to a heavy tape like this, that you cannot find at most hardware stores... this particular brand is the closest Ive found available on the general market.

After you have the vapor barrier down, you should consider putting down a very heavy felt, or thin foam pad (not carpet padding). This will allow for sound absorption, and movement of the floor.

As for the floor itself, you have some options.... you comment you want 'real wood' -- to different people this means different things.... Here is a link to a question recently asked about the different types of flooring... take a couple of minutes to read thru it please.... http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aot_ROyMx8Si977KsqUWIvLsy6IX?qid=20060614090935AAW7c9p

"Real wood" to me (my career has been in the furniture industry, and when I owned my own business, it was servicing new homes)... means literally... wood... it can be either laminated wood (as in the case of some flooring or parquet systems), or solid... that is, each piece is a solid piece of wood.... it may be fingerjointed together to make up longer spans, or it may be solid, single pieces of wood, in varying lengths and widths. It may be finished or unfinished. If youve read that link I provided, you can see some of the advantages of each.

So, youve got some options here...as to which kind of flooring you want to use, solid wood, laminated wood, etc. Most 'wood' floor systems are designed to be glued together at the joints (tongue and groove). You have stated that you do not want to use glue... period.... so... if you are not going to use glue to hold the boards together, then you need an alternative... this means either nailing the boards down, or finding a brand that uses a 'snap-lock' groove. Snap-lock flooring is usually, only found in the laminated floors....which come in a variety of styles... everything from looking like wood, to looking like tile... but... its not 'real wood. You may have to find a moulding company to make this 'snap-lock' joint for you, on the wood of your choice. You can check with your local Home Builders Association for a list of companies that might do this for you. They may even be able to pre-finish the flooring for you, saving you time and money, in the long run.

The other option you have for a 'glue-less' floor system, is to nail the flooring down. You are NOT going to be able to use the normal nails for wood floors to attach it to concrete. You can use a concrete nail set.... (this would be a very expensive option, and may actually damage the wood flooring)...to attach the wood planks directly to the concrete floor (with the vapor barrier and felt between them, of course). The next best option you have, would be to install some furring strips...nailing them to the concrete, with the concrete nails, or even screws... and then nailing the wood flooring to the furring strips. I would place the furring strips at about 1 ft intervals (do not spread them any further, or your floor will noticably sink between them, if you decided on a thinner plank. If your floor planks are 3/4" thick, or thicker, then a 1ft spacing will work out just fine.... and .. for added sound absorbtion.... you may want to drop some carpet pad remnants in between the furring strips. To nail the wood flooring to the furring strips (or sub-floor), you can use an angled 'nail gun', that sets its 'nose' into the groove of the wood flooring, and puts the nail in at an angle into the surface below. This type of nailer comes as the kind you hit the top with a hammer (slow, but it does work)... or there is a pneumatic version, where you simply pull the trigger.... either model can be rented, if it is not offered for free, by the retailer. DO NOT nail thru the TOP of the flooring!! (Yes, Ive seen it done lol... I had to rip it out... the nails had raised, from the floor buckling, and the homeowner and his family were cutting their feet on the raised nail heads!)

Ask your local retailer, for some tips on how to install the flooring, too.

Have Fun, and Good Luck =D

Answer 2

First of all, you are going to have to install a vapor barrier over the concrete! Moisture from concrete will ruin any wood floor placed over it. A free floating wood floor must be either clipped together or glued at the tongue and grooves to stay together...this is a nasty job, for wood strips are not always straight. If you are laying parquet, glue each piece to the next with a Wood Flooring mastic (DO NOT USE WOOD GLUE!) clean off any 'squeeze ups" with mineral spirits. Keep wood floor away from walls about 1/2-3/4" as this floor will swell and shrink with humidity...that is why you HAVE to use wood floor mastic to bond the pieces together...stays flexible and has memory. Finish off the floor with quarter round to hide the space at the walls. IF you install tight to the wall, you will loose the floor to buckling when the humidity rises. You may want to install a 1/4" foam layer under the floor for sound absorbtion. Good luck

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
I've a concrete floor and want to fit real wood floorboards.i dont want to use glue.how do i fit it?
new build house.level concrete floor

Answer 4

You'll need to lay some visqueen on the floor and then fit battens across the floor in the opposite direction that you will want to lay the flooring.
You then have to decide how much traffic that floor is going to get, and the quality of the flooring that you are going to put down.

16 inch centres are the norm for British houses using standard floorboards. depending on the size of the house/room I would consider getting a Hilti nail gun to fix the battens and nail the boards direct.
Hide the expansion gaps around the room with the skirting boards. Beading looks cheap.
put roof insulation between the gaps to keep heat in and the noise down.

Chris

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Rent or buy a ramset nail gun. Lay 30lb. felt over floor, then shoot 3/4" firring strips to concrete perpendicular to direction of flooring to be installed. Fasten the new floor to firring strips. firring should be 16" on center min. for 3/4" hardwood flooring. 12" o.c. for pine. You will lose ceiling height. If this is an issue, (refer to local building codes), Consider a "fake" laminate floating floor system.

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