Installing A Floating Floor Over Concrete

To help we re re sharing our tips for installing a basement flooring over a concrete surface.

Installing a floating floor over concrete.

Laminate flooring is also fairly easy to install. If you use an underlayment without a moisture barrier it s a good idea to install a sheet of plastic below it for insurance. If you do take those precautions you may end up installing multiple flooring options and spending thousands of dollars. However many homeowners are disappointed to discover that solid wood flooring cannot be installed on a concrete slab.

Clean the floor for glue down installation. It is one of the cheapest solutions and at the time of writing it could set you back just a few hundred bucks depending on the size of the area you are covering. Although the flooring comes in a variety of forms planks are installable with a minimal amount of tools and measuring. A floating floor is simply a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the floor underneath it.

Vinyl flooring is very durable and fits over most surfaces including concrete. Sadly moisture will ruin a floor unless necessary precautions are taken. Read manufacturer s directions before installation to maintain warranty coverage. Installing hardwood flooring over concrete hardwood floors are durable low maintenance and easy to clean.

Laminate flooring is a good alternative to wood flooring in basements. Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. If you have some experience with installing flooring or are diy hobbyist it shouldn t take you more than a day to install vinyl plank flooring on concrete. Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in.

The hardest part of the job is often cleaning and leveling the concrete base. If the concrete slab is in very poor condition the best practice is to use a grinder or buffer with a concrete scraper over the entire surface before covering it with a layer of self leveling concrete. Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Installing one might appear to be a frightening task but with proper preparation and planning any home improvement diyer can do it.

Perhaps the easiest way to improve the insulation of a floating vinyl floor on concrete is to install a thermal underlayment preferably made of cork felt or a similar material.