Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Nov 11, 2012 7:05 pm Hi all I have tried searching but could not find the exact answer I am looking for. We are building a house in SE QLD and are would like to know what sort of hardwood timber floors we should be going with. We do not want laminate and I have heard that solid hardwood on a concrete slab is difficult but achievable with a sub floor of ply. Was Advised that on concrete a floating floor is better so we thought that a floating engineered hardwood floor would be the best option for us. We have been quoted in our new build for solid glued/nailed down but I am concerned that there may be issues down the track or that the floor height will not match with the tiles and carpet in the other areas of the house. Please help. What should we do. Many thanks Re: Engineered v solid hardwood floors 2Nov 12, 2012 7:41 am Several things to consider Firstly, there are several advantages of engineered.
You need to be aware that you can only resurface hardwood boards at most 1 more time than engineered. Engineered boards average 3-5mm of timber over 10-12mm of multi layers of ply and most hardwood boards have a 6mm rebate to the tongue. And in any case is greatly dependant on the quality of your resurfacer. The disadvantages are they can be more expensive per m2 and can be prone to puncture damage from pointy objects (ie stilettos). Hardwood boards are laid in one of 3 manners. Direct stick - boards are glued to the concrete. This requires the slab to be dry or an impervious membrane laid as well as having the slab very level (grinding and/or levelling agents). Will match your existing carpet/tile heights. On ply - ply is stuck as per direct stick above but the floor does not need to be as level. Boards are then nailed to the ply. Depending on the thickness of the ply, you may only be able to top nail rather than blind nail. On battens - random length battens are nailed to the concrete and then the boards nailed (either method) to the battens. This gives a more traditional feel as the boards have a slight spring. You can also add insulation between the battens and being on battens, reduces the chance of slab moisture affecting the boards. The downside is that you need the slab rebated at construction time to have it match the carpet/tile floor levels. Which ever way you go, try to ensure your slab is dry and also have the boards sit in the rooms they will be laid in for several weeks to acclimatise. Regards RiH Re: Engineered v solid hardwood floors 3Nov 12, 2012 5:49 pm Thanks very much I will be sure to discuss all those options with the builder/flooring contractor. Just one question, do the boards need to be laid for a few weeks before they have the polish applied or just stored in the house prior to laying? Re: Engineered v solid hardwood floors 4Nov 12, 2012 8:16 pm Storing them in the house prior to laying allows them to adjust to the humidity in the house. Timber expands in all directions (mostly length ways and at different rates depending on the timber species but that is a whole other conversation) when exposed to moisture (air or surface) and to some extent, air temperature. Having them in the house rather than in an air-conditioned show room or some tin warehouse means the boards will be at a normalised size for your house conditions at that time of year! That last comment is particularly important to you as you are in QLD and subject to much more humidity than say me in Melbourne. Your boards will be be bigger in summer than in winter. Ideally you should lay your boards in winter so that when they expand in the summer, the gaps between the boards get smaller. If laid in summer, you may have gaps between the boards in winter. If your boards are top coated on site in summer, you may have cracking in the coating in winter. "may" because it is dependant on timber species, how they were laid, what top coat was used, exposure to UV via windows, how much/often the air-con runs among others. The comment 'timber expands mostly length ways' is why you need an expansion gap all the way around the edge of your timber floor, including up against any fixed cabinetry. You may also need an interim expansion joint in the middle of the floor if your timber floor area is exceptionally large. This expansion gap is covered by the skirting boards, cabinet baseboards and special trims in door ways. Regards RiH Re: Engineered v solid hardwood floors 5Nov 25, 2012 10:32 pm If you can, go solid hardwood. We had floating floors engineered (Boral sydney blue gum), but the finish was quite smooth and slippery with socks on... The house we have now was all tasmanian oak, we repolished and replaced a small section of rreally old rotted different species in the hallway, and they have come up a treat. they will last a lot logner and are less prone to scratching than the engineered boards.. Good luck! Mega expensive. Our hallway alone cost $3000, but this is because they had to be laid onto a wooden subfloor which takes more time I believe than a concrete slab. They were also secret nailed which looks amazing! Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15907 Hi All. I'm currently resurfacing the hardwood floors and when removing the old layers that there's a long dark line running across the boards. Does anyone know what or… 0 12770 Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6141 |