Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Solid wood on Concrete - moisture problems

Hi,

I bought my house last year and have had problems with my floor since 15 days after moving in. The floor is Bruce solid wood glued on concrete tiles. My previous owner suspected the tiles to have asbestos. So he bought some solid wood, under the impression that he was buying engineered wood, and glued it on top of the tiles. (This house has no basement so the tiles were on concrete slab.)

In summer months, when relative humidity rises, I have terrible buckling in various areas of the house. This year it is worse than the previous year so it is getting worse every year.

In a couple of places where I had to take the wood planks out (because the bulging was too much) I can see that there was a plastic moisture barrier laid down on the tiles before the wood. I don't think that helped.

I have been educating myself about the problem but I am not sure what my choices are at this point.

I am getting a central AC installed in the hopes of getting the moisture under control. However, I don't think it is going to bring relative humidity to Winter levels (20-30%). But my neighbors have told me that even their laminate flooring had moisture problems without the AC (and I didn't know laminate flooring _could_ have moisture problems). So I think getting an AC is a crucial first step.

If the floor does not go down with the AC, what are my choices for flooring?

A. Solid wood is out. Despite Bruce recommending a glue down installation of this product (Bruce Reflections, Gunstock) and the owner using Bostiks glue recommended by the manufacturer, it hasn't worked for us.
B. Engineered wood is risky (IMHO). Going by what I have seen, there is alot of moisture and Engineered Wood may not expand and contract as much, but moisture might ruin it in other ways.
C. Laminate is an option. My neighbors are using it successfully. The only reason I don't like it is because it brings the value of my house down.
D. Should I just forget about wood and get Tiles instead?

Can someone comment?

As far as installation is concerned, should I consider a glue down or a floating install? Should I get a subfloor first? What is the "right way" (and the right product) in this setup? Bear in mind while ripping the wood, some tiles may come with it. And ripping all the tiles may not even be an option because of asbestos.

Unfortunately, the installers I have found via Yellow Pages have been very disappointing and no one knew as much as the collective wisdom of this forum.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Anyone?

I had the AC installed yesterday and I have been watching the humidity fall from 76% to about 65-70%. I would be watching the floor's reaction over the next few weeks. But anyone wants to comment on my choices after ripping out the existing floor?

An A/c unit will control and keep humidity level pretty consistent.

A moisture blocker like MVP would have solved your problems. Plastic was put down??? How? Did he float the solid wood over the plastic? :wall:

An engineered may have lived without problems with no AC, unlike any solid wood, unless control gaps are left between each row of flooring, like they did in the old days before A/C was invented.

The asbestos tiles are going to bust up upon removal of the wood, if he glued the solid to it!

Thanks Perry. A/C is keeping the relative humidity between 65-75 last two days. There is no floating involved. Plastic sheet was glued to tiles and wood was glued to the plastic sheet.

So, for the future, if someone tells me that they would install hardwood with a proper moisture barrier, should I believe them?

Can Engineered also be installed without any problems, now that I have AC? (Since you say it could have lived even without an AC)

Thanks again.

The only reason engineered flooring was invented, was because of concrete floors, and moisture issues that would ruin a solid wood, like you unfortunately found out the hard way.

Humidity should be maintained between 35-55%. Measure with hygrometer (sold where they sell thermometers). Humidifier should be of a size to accommodate the square footage of the area with the high humidity. If not, additional dehumidifier(s) may be required.

I have a slab home and was interested in putting engineered floor in the main living area. The first person I had out said they wouldn't do it because my home sits pretty much at grade. I will admit that the kitchen and bathroom floors can actually get a lot of moisture on them in the summer if I am not running the a\c and it's humid.

Is he right? Should I just give up on the wood?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Temperature and humidity should be maintained year round for proper performance of flooring. Temperature at about 70 degrees and humidity between 35-55%.