Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
I'm still undecided about bamboo engineered floors or unfinished oak for an install I have coming up. Is one better than the other when installing over concrete?
What's customary for install over concrete? Is it adhesive? Can you float the flooring over concrete?
Jon K. I loved the bamboo flooring pictures from your big rental house. I can get that product here in So Cal. What was it installed over in that house?
Real Estate Investor · Lagrange, GA · Member since 2012 · 18 posts · 6 votes
14y
What is customary depends on your application and personal taste. You can install any type of hardwood over concrete that you can install on wood; however, nail down hardwood requires that you attach a nailing surface to the concrete which increases your cost. Additionally, nail down hardwood floors are more expensive than glue down or laminate flooring. Furthermore, sand and finish (unfinished) hardwoods are the most expensive subset of nail down.
Economically speaking you really only have two choices. Glue down engineered boards, or laminate flooring. The latter is more durable and installed in as a floating floor. Generally a moisture barrier is laid on top of the slab and the laminate boards interlock together on top of the barrier. Glue down engineered flooring looks more like traditional hardwood flooring imo, but will not handle the abuse laminate flooring will. Also, if your slab is uneven or the floors are installed improperly (using cheap glue is a major no no) then glue down floors will eventually loosen from the slab and will cause a popping sound when people walk across them. This is not particularly cheap to fix, and nearly impossible to match the existing boards especially in areas that receive a lot of sunlight.
Cliffnotes tldr; laminate for buy and hold, glue down for resale imo.
Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
14y
Thanks Jim, I forgot to mention that to K. Marie Poe That is exactly what I do with the 18 X 18 tiles as well, install in diamond pattern on the floor rather than square. Looks even more classy.