Can You Install Real Hardwood On Concrete

This helps to ensure that the moisture difference between the flooring and the subfloor material isn t too high.

Can you install real hardwood on concrete.

Whether you re planning on renting out your home or looking to increase its value using concrete as a base is a great idea. If you have a concrete then you have choices to make 1. You can install either an engineered hardwood floor this is real hardwood done in layers or a laminate floor this is fake floor that looks like hardwood on top of cement. This will result in buckling.

You don t want to try and glue it down either. Most flooring manufacturers say you should not install hardwood over concrete if the tests show the moisture emission rate is over 3 pounds. We had a topic earlier on the community regarding the do s and don ts of installing solid hardwood floors over concrete. Follow these steps with care to safely complete the installation yourself.

Read manufacturer s directions before installation to maintain warranty coverage. Hardwood type there is no way to install standard 3 4 hardwood on concrete. As i wrote in the post you can go with other options such as engineered or click lock real wood flooring. Laminate will cost less.

But it s considerably more difficult to install a 3 4 in. Since humidity causes natural wood to expand and contract your flooring won t be able to move. The fact that your home is built on a concrete slabs does not preclude installing hardwood floors but several considerations apply not least of which is subfloor preparation. When you install hardwood floors concrete is one of the best bases to work from there are only a few steps to take.

Before installing hardwood floors on a concrete slab the flooring should be acclimated to the installation site. Anytime you are installing real wood over concrete regardless of what thickness or material it is you will need to do some preemptive steps to ensure your wood floors will not cause any issues after they are installed. You ll first have to install 3 4 in. With dry concrete and the right subfloors and vapor retarders solid hardwood floors can be installed on slabs that are either on grade at ground level or above grade above ground level.

If you love solid wood floors and your home rests on a concrete slab you re not out of luck. Your concrete floor or slab must be flat when installing a basement hardwood floor the concrete must be flat so the tongue and grooves of the hardwood meet and connect.