Laying Oak Flooring On Concrete
5th Aug 2015
When laying oak flooring, more and more are looking to lay over a concrete subfloor. With concrete, comes a number of different points that should always be considered.
The first point to consider is how long the concrete has been down for. It is imperative that the concrete has a moisture content of below 4%, regardless of the wood flooring chosen. Failure to properly dry out the concrete before fitting, will mean that the concrete will complete its drying process once the flooring has been laid. The moisture will rise, causing problems to your new oak flooring.
With the concrete dried to an appropriate level, the next point is how you intend to fit your oak flooring. The method of fitting chosen can influence what type of oak flooring is most suitable for your situation.
The most commonly used method over concrete is the glueing method. This involves using an adhesive for full adhesion to the concrete. For this method solid oak flooring can be used, but we would not recommend glueing a board which is wider than 120mm. Generally with this method, we would recommend engineered oak flooring. An engineered board brings added stability, making it much more suitable for glueing. It is important that an appropriate adhesive is used. For this, we recommend our MS Polymer Wood Flooring Adhesive. This will provide firm adhesion, whilst also being flexible enough to allow for some natural movement in the wood.
Another option which is available to you over a concrete subfloor is to float the oak flooring. The floating floor method involves glueing the tongue and grooves of each board together, with no direct fixing to the subfloor. This method should only be used for engineered oak flooring. You should never float a solid oak floor.
With a concrete subfloor, you also have the option to lay sufficient battens and fit your oak flooring over the top. These boards can then be fitted using the screwing/nailing method.
If you would like to discuss laying oak flooring on your concrete subfloor, give us a call on 01538 304584.
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