Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Wood Floor install questions

We are considering replacing our carpeting with either wood, wood laminate or engineered flooring.
We will install on a concrete slab foundation. I see where Pergo requires a pad underneath, and 3/4" oak strips seems to require a plywood subfloor. Any thoughts on which would be easier for a wood flooring virgin to install.
How well do the laminates hold up?
If I use the oak strips how will I handle the height transition from the adjoining floors (carpet on one end and vinyl on the other)?

We will have to abut the flooring to a curved brick hearth. How do we fill or cover the gaps made by the irregularities of the brick/mortar edges there?

Any experienced input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan:

You would be better off with a floating engineered hardwood floor. There are several transition types you can use from the area to carpet and vinyl. They would be an "end cap" and an "overlap threshold." I'll have to add some of those examples to my site when I get the time.

As far as the hearth is concerned it would be best to scribe the pieces that will be in that area, but do not BUTT it...leave proper expansion. The process is a hard one to explain but I'm sure you can get some ideas by using the search google.com unless someone else can chime in on this one.

Good Luck:)

i have put an engineered, pre-finished wood floor on concrete... did a floating install over a layer of foam/moisture barrier

floating install is easy, and engineered wood looks superior to laminate for not much more money...

the transition from carpet to the new floor can be fairly easily done with a strip designed for that. when you buy the flooring, ask about a reducer or transition strip to match the flooring you buy...

i think you would want to cut your flooring around the hearth to leave a 1/4 or 1/2 inch gap, then perhaps use some decorative molding to cover the edge?

tip: they shoe molding they sell with the flooring is expensive. i used stock shoe molding and painted to match the baseboard...

hth! good luck!

Ostuni,
Am I understanding that you put the foam/moisture barrier down on the concrete? Does it need to be glued or fastened in any way?
The flooring you used just interlocked and was not fastened to the foam??
Would you mind telling me what flooring product you used and approx cost per foot?
I appreciate your response.

Daniel

right. i did a floating install on a concrete floor at grade level (the mb)....

i pulled up the wtw carpet, removed the strips, and cleaned up all dust, debris, etc.. make sure the floor is in good shape. if you have any reason to think moisture might be an issue, you should test the floor, but as this is a relatively new home and i saw no evidence of that i did not bother...

per the home depot guy's recommendation, i used underlayment that is like 2-ply: a thin moisture barrier bonded to a layer of foam... just lay it out on the floor, don't overlap seams, no glue, tape, etc..

the flooring i used is made by harris-tarkett... called oak wheat, comes in planks about 4 ft. long x 7.5 in. wide... the top thin layer is nice, finished wood, the rest of the board (about 5/8 in thick?) is stock...

the floor boards go on the underlayment - it is a floating install, so you do not glue or nail the boards down onto the subfloor. all you do is fit them together tongue/groove by putting a bead of glue in each groove and snapping together... when the floor was covered, put shoe molding around perimeter of floor to cover gap between new floor and the base board and done and done...

like the product, and the floor looks nice. got the flooring on clearance at home depot b/c harris tarkett discontinued the oak wheat and replaced it with what is essentially the same stuff with one big difference: the boards come pre-glued...

paid $35 per case (1 case = 14.75 sf)... i think the regular price was $58 per case?

hth!

You did not tape the foam pad to the ground nor did you tape the foam pieces together?

Watch out for some of that preglued stuff. I spent some time in a HD the other day. Noticed some good sized sawdust chunks that weren't cleaned out when they applied the adhesive. Good recipe for gapping.

Ken Fisher