Installing Engineered Hardwood On Subfloor

Jeff hosking a flooring consultant for this old house first began laying floors 35 years ago back then 90 percent of his work was installing solid wood strips with nails.

Installing engineered hardwood on subfloor.

Engineered hardwood floors may be installed over wood subfloors using staples or flooring cleats. If you ve decided to install engineered hardwoods there are four possible installation methods depending on the subfloor. Whichever method you use for an additional subfloor allow 3 4 inch expansion space at the walls and vertical obstructions. Of course each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

If you re installing laminate or engineered flooring that snaps together and floats over the subfloor without nails you need underlayment even more. It goes down easily over concrete plywood osb and underlayment grade particle board. Most engineered wood floors are milled with. Without this support the boards can buckle when you walk on them and the seams may separate.

The hardwood flooring must be installed crossing the subfloor boards 90 degree angle. When installing engineered wood planks or strips by nailing or stapling it is necessary to use the proper type of flooring stapler or nailer made for the thickness of the engineered wood flooring that is being installed. Made from layers of real wood compressed together engineered hardwood floors are better able to handle changes in moisture and humidity than solid hardwood. These pros and cons should be considered when deciding which floor is best for your home and what will be the best long term outcome for your home.

Or you can install it on top of existing floor coverings such as vinyl terrazzo ceramic cork or existing wood flooring. Besides all the other benefits underlay helps support a floating floor. Solid strip or plank can be laid directly over a sleeper system but engineered wood flooring less than 3 4 inch thick or solid plank wider than 4 inches requires a wood subfloor over the sleepers. But now half of the flooring he installs is engineered made of thin sheets of wood glued together like plywood.

Engineered wood can be glued nailed stapled and some can even be floated depending on the subfloor. Engineered solid wood or floating wood flooring that are less than 1 2 thick can be installed over a wood plank subfloor as long as the 3 4 plank subfloor is flat. One of the greatest returns on investment a homeowner can get is to upgrade the flooring to hardwood. Engineered wood flooring can be installed by a few different methods.