Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Glueless hardwood floor
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : Glueless hardwood floor
Binary Bob
09-29-03, 08:06 PM
I have a family room and hallway "on grade" with a cement floor. Apparently, a "glueless" hardwood floor would be my option for this room. Sounds appealing but I'm new to this. There seems to be a lot of brands/prices. Installation seems easy except for the stairs. What should I look for? Any tips, tricks, warnings, advice ? Thanks!
DIMMike
09-29-03, 08:36 PM
Stairs are trickier than nice square floor. They are always firmly attached. Personally I like a real solid one-piece surface.
ie solid wood if you can afford it, It can be stained to match or contrast.
DO not buy on price alone...major mistake...;ile buying the cheapest beef that might be all fat and little meat.
Quality is frequently reflected in things that you will not see until you install. Like nice straight board or low scraooage
Rules 1...always acclimate the material.
2. ALWAYS follow manufacturers instructions to the letter.
3. PLAN, PLAN, and PLAN. May take longer than you thought but it will be right.
4 If you are considering a shortcut think it over 20 times, by then you will give up and do it the right way.
5. Your odds of getting the correct answer from a clerk in a store are about as good as your odds of getting the right answer on the phone from a government employee at 5 oclock on Friday.
6 There are things the pros can do that you can't overwhelmingly better than you and the cost might surprise you.
7 The low bid is usually the expensive one.
8 Do research in proprtion to criticallity. Cheating on some requirement may cost you 100% of what you did spend + your time.
9 Renting the right tool beat the cr*p out of the wrong tool in your garage that free.
10 ALWAYS do several practices with an unfamiliar tool AND BE SAFE.
ie solid wood if you can afford it, It can be stained to match or contrast.
DO not buy on price alone...major mistake...;ile buying the cheapest beef that might be all fat and little meat.
Quality is frequently reflected in things that you will not see until you install. Like nice straight board or low scraooage
Rules 1...always acclimate the material.
2. ALWAYS follow manufacturers instructions to the letter.
3. PLAN, PLAN, and PLAN. May take longer than you thought but it will be right.
4 If you are considering a shortcut think it over 20 times, by then you will give up and do it the right way.
5. Your odds of getting the correct answer from a clerk in a store are about as good as your odds of getting the right answer on the phone from a government employee at 5 oclock on Friday.
6 There are things the pros can do that you can't overwhelmingly better than you and the cost might surprise you.
7 The low bid is usually the expensive one.
8 Do research in proprtion to criticallity. Cheating on some requirement may cost you 100% of what you did spend + your time.
9 Renting the right tool beat the cr*p out of the wrong tool in your garage that free.
10 ALWAYS do several practices with an unfamiliar tool AND BE SAFE.
Binary Bob
09-29-03, 09:32 PM
thanks Mike.
I must apologize for the cardinal forum sin - not searching previous posts before asking my question! There is a ton of good stuff on this. However now I'm even more confused. Even though I'm on a cement slab with no apparent moisture problem, the moisture I'm concerned about is from dripping feet entering in the house from the pool, and water from the adjacent laundry room. This seems to rule out laminate? Can solid hardwood be installed floating? Or should I put plywood underlayment down on the cement? How thick? Wouldn't the height be a problem for butting against carpet (bedroom) and linolium (laundry room)? I'm looking at 330 sf.
I must apologize for the cardinal forum sin - not searching previous posts before asking my question! There is a ton of good stuff on this. However now I'm even more confused. Even though I'm on a cement slab with no apparent moisture problem, the moisture I'm concerned about is from dripping feet entering in the house from the pool, and water from the adjacent laundry room. This seems to rule out laminate? Can solid hardwood be installed floating? Or should I put plywood underlayment down on the cement? How thick? Wouldn't the height be a problem for butting against carpet (bedroom) and linolium (laundry room)? I'm looking at 330 sf.