It can be installed on top of concrete before hardwood flooring or another type of material is installed. One way to attach plywood to a concrete surface is to screw it into place with concrete fasteners.
Many concrete floors have a tendency to get damp, so when you are installing wood floors over a concrete slab foundation there are some important things that you need to do. Step 2: If you're performing this service for a client, be sure to manage their expectations.
Step 3: Fix it! Step 4: Use a flooring underlayment to smooth out any remaining inconsistencies. The thickness of your plywood subfloor depends on the joist spans.
Here is a very easy method for attaching that wood to concrete without using all those concrete anchors. You will need a hammer drill , 20 ounce hammer and some 16d nails. Drill through the wood and into the concrete. Two types of glue work well for gluing sill plates; all-purpose construction adhesive and two-part epoxy designed specifically for gluing wood to concrete. Epoxy glue systems are made specifically for concrete -to- wood applications and are more expensive.
Construction adhesive is cheaper, but you can use more of it. Drilling into concrete without a hammer drill can be done, but it will not be an easy task. Ideally, to drill into concrete you would want to use a hammer drill , but unfortunately not all of us have access to those kinds of drills. Use a hammer drill In some less dense materials like soft brick, you can drill pilot holes using a carbide-tipped bit in a regular drill.
But in most cases, you'll need a hammer drill. Precisely sized carbide-tipped bits are often included with packs of screws , or you can purchase one separately. Attach a concrete drill bit into a hammer drill. Because of the risk of moisture damaging the flooring, a moisture barrier should always be used. The specific type of moisture barrier depends on how the subflooring will be installed. There are different moisture barriers for the different types of installations.
Please note that some plywood, intended for use as an underlayment, may have a moisture barrier already applied to one side. In this case, no further moisture barrier is needed. These underlayments are most often used for floating floor installations. Fresh concrete is supposed to be leveled and smooth when it is poured. Unfortunately, not all contractors do this well. If the concrete has any areas which are uneven, those uneven spots need to be corrected before the plywood subfloor is installed.
Lumps and bumps of concrete will prevent the plywood from sitting level. Likewise if there is a seam in the concrete, from two separate pours , which is not smooth, even and level, it will cause the plywood subflooring to sit unevenly, ultimately causing problems with the installation of the hardwood floor. Little in the way of specialized equipment is needed and the materials are readily available at your local home improvement center. Before starting anything, you need to determine if the floor is plane and level.
Grind down the high spots with a surface grinder or planetary floor grinder, which you can rent; and a concrete grinding wheel, which you will probably have to buy. With the high spots eliminated, fill any cracks and holes with epoxy. If the cracks are too narrow to allow you to pour the epoxy in, widen them. Allow the epoxy to set, then sand or grind it level. Sweep or vacuum up any dust and particles.
Then, once the floor is dry, apply the latex bonding compound. This can be applied with a paint brush and roller, just as if you were painting the floor.
Allow it to dry. It helps to use a drywall mixer in a drill and a five-gallon bucket, so that you can get the compound smooth. Pour the compound immediately, as it dries quickly. Be sure to start in the corner farthest from the door and pour as many buckets of the compound as needed to cover the entire floor. There is a special tool for smoothing it out, but you can use a garden rake to do so, just as well.
Allow the compound a few days to dry, before installing the plywood subfloor. The plywood itself should be laid down with the long direction perpendicular to the grain direction of the hardwood floor.
This will help prevent cracks forming when the seam in the floor is directly over the seam in the plywood. Most of this gap will end up being covered by the baseboard. Please note that this expansion gap is extremely important to prevent your floor from heaving and buckling. The only place they have to go, is to go up. As they do, they will pull fasteners through the veneers of the plywood, cause delamitation and could cause the flooring to come loose from the subflooring.
If this gap is not provided, the flooring will ultimately become so wavy, that it needs to be repaired. Unfortunately, there is no way of repairing the floor, without removing it entirely and starting over. Once the plywood subflooring is installed, check the edges for any ridges caused by the sheets of plywood not laying flat or being of different thicknesses.
Any ridges found require filling with a flooring grade wood putty and then sanding to provide a smooth, continuous surface for the wood floor to be mounted to. Installation - Engineered Wood Flooring.
Installation - Solid Wood Flooring. Installation - Over Existing Floors. Hardwood Floor Acclimation. Hardwood Flooring Maintenance. Flooring Glossary Terms. How to Install a Subfloor Over Concrete.
There are several subfloor installation methods, each with its own guidelines, including: Floated subfloors Glue-down subfloors Nail-down subfloors Screen systems Follow these installation guidelines when installing a wood subfloor. How to Install a Floated Subfloor Over Concrete For above-grade applications, your flooring manufacturer should provide recommendations for installing a floated subfloor.
0コメント