Basement conversions are becoming more common place in homes as a way of adding that extra space into your home. Naturally a basement conversion is likely to play host to problems which should always be looked at before installing oak flooring.

Typically a basement environment will suffer from changeable humidity levels which can cause serious problems to oak flooring. Before flooring is even considered in your basement, the room should first be checked to ensure there is no areas of damp, which are often common in basements.

If you plan to lay your oak flooring over the top of a concrete floor, the moisture content of this should be no higher than 4%. This level can be checked through the use of a moisture metre. As well as its moisture content, the subfloor should also be checked to ensure that it is structurally sound.

Although you may have done your best efforts to make your basement suitable for oak flooring, we still only really recommend that engineered oak flooring is used. The reason for this is because engineered oak flooring is much less susceptible to any changes in humidity, compared to a solid oak board. A solid oak board which is fitted inside a basement could suffer from problems such as cupping and warping, whereas an engineered board is less likely to encounter these problems.

Further to this, when fitting flooring in a basement we also recommend that you install a damp proof membrane. The DPM acts as a barrier between the sub floor and the oak floor, designed to stop moisture from passing from the sub floor to the oak floor.

If you would like any further information on the suitability of an oak floor in a basement, please give us a call on 01538 304584.

1 Comment

Sound advice here, well done

Natalie French January 7, 2014 at 1:34pm

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