hardwood floor recommendation on concrete?
i have a 3rd floor condo and want to replace the carpet with a hardwood floor of some sort. I've been leaning towards bamboo but am open to suggestions. is there trouble with bamboo installation on concrete? will it hold up? i have no pets or kids.
above ground will i need to put something between the concrete and bamboo?
You only have a couple options going over concrete and each one will work fine since your on a 3 rd floor and moisture won t be a problem.
It may or may not be a true concrete. You may have litcrete or similar product that is used in apartments, hotels and condos for noise reduction. But its the same situation.
It won t be the traditions 3/4" solid hard wood since this cannot be glued directly to the concrete.
You must go to a glue direct 3/8 to 1/2 " engineered flooring system. These are very good floors. Or go to a laminate, floating floor or a engineered locking floating floor.
These floors will hold up excellent as long as they are maintained and cleaned properly.
The only way to do a true nailed down hard wood in your situation it to attach sleepers to the concrete and then a 3/4" ply to them and then the hard wood which raises your whole floor up a total 2 1/4".
Not practical in your situation.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar.. GL
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June 18th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
We just installed bamboo floor on a concrete slab at ground level. We love it. It looks beautiful, cleans well, and has much less toxin in it than wood or laminates. If I had to do it again, I would!
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Installing hardwood floors on concrete can sometimes be a problem because of the moisture content of the concrete. Some installations use a plywood sub-floor while others glue the wood directly to the concrete. If the wood is glued to the concrete, the moisture content must be very low or it can cause the wood to expand and buckle. A plywood sub-floor can be used to prevent this problem during new construction, but adding sub-flooring to a existing room may raise the floor higher level than the adjoining rooms and may prevent doors from operating properly.
Bamboo floors require care to keep them looking good. I have seen ten year old floors that look almost newly installed with the exception of high heel marks (common with all hardwood floors) and some minor scratching. Bamboo floors will ding and scratch just as any other hardwood floor will. Natural types tend to show dirt and heel marks due to the lighter yellowish color. Cleaning and care should always be considered. Use area rugs in high traffic areas, including kitchens and entry areas.
Maybe try …………………………….Hand scraped hardwood floors are available in numerous hardwood species, appearances in the manner they are manufactured, different stains that are used, up to what finish gloss level you may prefer. There's no question these types of floors are popular. Hand Scraped hardwood floors can be confused with other varieties that have come on stream in recent years. The popularity has created other options seen further below. Some prefinished manufacturers will offer machine scraped products found more often in engineered lines. Patterns can become repetitious if your look close enough. On the flip side, there are many true hand scraped hardwoods, done entirely by hand. These are sold prefinished or unfinished if you should prefer a custom stain color.
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June 18th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
concrete floor it's most ideal flooring for hard wood installation ,just first lay one sheet of thin paper and cover all the area by it then install wood on it .
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Bamboo or other hardwood (even possibly reclaimed wood flooring) are all possibilities – depending on the company you purchase from, I would tell them your scenario and see if they have specific recommendations.
For more info on Bamboo (some is much harder than others) see:
http://www.building-your-green-home.com/bamboo-hardwood-flooring.html
More info on hardwood can be found below:
http://www.building-your-green-home.com/hardwood-flooring.html
and reclaimed info is here:
http://www.building-your-green-home.com/reclaimed-wood-floor.html
Hope this is helpful to you.
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June 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
You only have a couple options going over concrete and each one will work fine since your on a 3 rd floor and moisture won t be a problem.
It may or may not be a true concrete. You may have litcrete or similar product that is used in apartments, hotels and condos for noise reduction. But its the same situation.
It won t be the traditions 3/4" solid hard wood since this cannot be glued directly to the concrete.
You must go to a glue direct 3/8 to 1/2 " engineered flooring system. These are very good floors. Or go to a laminate, floating floor or a engineered locking floating floor.
These floors will hold up excellent as long as they are maintained and cleaned properly.
The only way to do a true nailed down hard wood in your situation it to attach sleepers to the concrete and then a 3/4" ply to them and then the hard wood which raises your whole floor up a total 2 1/4".
Not practical in your situation.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar.. GL
References :
20 years in flooring as a store owner/installer
June 18th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
well anything that can be glued wither its a bamboo floor or a hardwood floor doesn't matter as long as both of them can hold moisture and all that stuff.
References :
http://www.ifloor.com/hardwood-flooring/
June 18th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Here's bamboo flooring information:
http://www.findanyfloor.com/bamboo/BambooFlooring.xhtml
Hardwood Flooring information:
http://www.findanyfloor.com/hardwood/HardwoodFlooring.xhtml
Really great info to get here. See what suits you best. Each of these floors and all the other has installation guides, you can find what subfloor is best for what floor!
Have fun with the new floors!
*P.s* I love bamboo! Its great!
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