Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 May 25, 2008 11:06 pm Im not sure whether I should post here or in the building section. My apologises if I was supposed to post this somewhere else. I did a search and couldnt find anything of help with regards my question.
I am planning on building a house when my land settles early next year. But i thought i would do my research now. I really love the look of solid timber floors. We want to do the floor after the landover because it would be heaps cheaper to do it with our own subbie as i work in the construction industry. However, i heard that if you want solid timber floors, and you want it to sit flush with the carpet or tilings of the house, you need to have the concrete slab set down in the areas were you want the timber floors. Can those of you who have solid timber floors please let me know what the process it? It would be greatly appreciated. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 2May 25, 2008 11:22 pm Hi,
This is NOT my area of expertise, but I think it depends on which method of installation is chosen, (direct stick, plank-on-ply, etc) The total thickness of the intended installation should be determined, and this taken into account, so yes, if the timber floor thickness is 25mm, and carpets are 13mm, a 12mm dif in sub-floor would be ideal. Have fun! Ash. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 3May 25, 2008 11:35 pm Thanks Ash
Althought, i read somewhere that carpet plus it's underfloor layer is around 20mm? I also ready that the best way to lay timber floor is to use battens as it's the most durable and safe method? Any one can correct me tho as i'm only going by what i read on the internet and you all know how accurate some of the stuff on there are! Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 4May 26, 2008 1:26 am Dimensions I quoted were only an example (relative height difference). You'd have to nut out what timber installation you want, and what height it may be, and then carpets & other floors, and work out the differences to be incorporated into your slab.
Otherwise, if the slab is all one level, you have to ramp all the timber edges to meet other floors. I think with battens, you'd have say about 36mm thickness, and average carpet and underlay would be about 20mm., but many cheaper carpets are thinner, so it depends on all of your choices. Ash. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 5May 26, 2008 7:20 pm Battens is the cheapest way to lay over concrete though sheet ply flooring is the best method. Fixing over battens can give a 'drummy' type sound underfoot. The thickness using battens would be 38mm ( 19mm floor with 19mm battens) Using ply flooring you can use the 12mm overlay flooring with 15mm ply giving a total thickness of 27mm. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 6May 26, 2008 8:03 pm One of our neighbours used the 12mm ply under their solid boards and it is extremely high. They have a BIG difference to the lower level of their tiling. We chose against doing it that way after seeing their house.
BUT, is it possible therefore to have the tiling raised to accomodate and be as close as possible to the expected level of the timber flooring? Can they lay the tiles on FC style sheets or something like that to "raise" the tiling's height perhaps? That would have to be cheaper than getting the builder to raise or lower the height of the slab in certain parts and in fact getting it all spot on?? Just a thought?? Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 7May 26, 2008 8:21 pm Thanks for all the advice guys.
dukekamaya, I was wondering how much more expensive is it to get the 12mm ply underneath? It would be cheaper to get the other flooring to meet with the timber floor, however, most of the rooms that dont have timber floors would be the bathroom which has tiles. Phoenix, did you end up getting timber flooring? Which method did you go with? If you dont mind, how much did it cost you for your floors? Ash, would i be able to raise the carpet underlay for it to be higher? Hrmz, not sure what to do, might speak to the builder (when i decide on a house) to get a quote of how much it would cost to get a setdown. Has anyone done this before and what was the cost involved? Thanks all!! Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 8May 26, 2008 8:35 pm wonderland Phoenix, did you end up getting timber flooring? Which method did you go with? If you dont mind, how much did it cost you for your floors? Hi Wonderland, we ended up going with 80mm 1 strip Boral Silkwood flooring in Spotted Gum. There is about a 2 mm difference between our tiles and the timber floor levels. The timber is 15mm in height plus the minimal height of the underlay of course. We have purchased our timber and per m2 it's costing us just under $89m2 laid. I have to say I shopped around and the price was pretty good. But everyone is different. We had solid grey ironbark layed in our last house....loved it but it wouldn't suit the new one. I hope it works out for you, there are always options, just shop around and see what the shops think and what's available to you and then when you find a builder see what they say. Keep your options open. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 9May 26, 2008 9:15 pm Hi wonderland,
We have used 12mm solid timber flooring, direct stick to concrete slab. Height should match up well with our carpet. Here is the link with a few photo's: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?p=66342#66342 Jo Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 10May 27, 2008 6:30 pm You really need 15mm ply, not 12mm. The overlay solid timber flooring is 12mm. 12mm ply isn't thick enough for the secret-nail to be fixed in to.
Direct stick is a fairly new method and most are skeptical about its use. The concrete must be very level and there are issues with the moisture-barrier protection. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 11May 27, 2008 7:53 pm Duke wrote.
Quote: Battens is the cheapest way to lay over concrete though sheet ply flooring is the best method. Fixing over battens can give a 'drummy' type sound underfoot. The thickness using battens would be 38mm ( 19mm floor with 19mm battens) Using ply flooring you can use the 12mm overlay flooring with 15mm ply giving a total thickness of 27mm Even worse whn installed on top of a timber floorboards. I looked a house for sale the other day and they'd put a floating laminate floor over th top of 20mm pine floorboards - drummy is an understatement DH's is all I could think. And no that does not mean same DH used by the women folk Steve Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 13May 29, 2008 4:58 pm Thanks you to everyone for their good advice!!
I really want 19mm solid floorboards so I dont think i will go for the 12mm ply. I'll have to talk to some flooring companies and suss out what they think is the best option for me. Many thanks once again. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 14May 29, 2008 8:57 pm wonderland Thanks you to everyone for their good advice!! I really want 19mm solid floorboards so I dont think i will go for the 12mm ply. I'll have to talk to some flooring companies and suss out what they think is the best option for me. Many thanks once again. 19mm is usually put over joists not over a slab. We used this method in our last house with solid timber jarrah. 12mm solid timber direct stick is the normal slab method in SA. Other states will usually use battons and that does increase the depth of the floor. We're using 12mm solid timber direct stick with a moisture barrier and curing process. You need to store the wood in the house for 2 weeks so that it reaches the same temp as the slab and then install it, wait two further weeks before sanding and polishing. Its fairly time intensive but the builder is working around the wood for us so we'll have it finished by handover. We organised the flooring ourselves ... its not thru the builder. Our solid timber spotted gum floors are costing around $140 installed, sanded and polished with a 3 pack finish. There is meant to be no difference in floor height between carpet, floors and tiles using this method. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 15May 29, 2008 9:43 pm I'd say 2/3 of the solid 19mm flooring we sell is laid over a concrete slab Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 16May 29, 2008 10:16 pm Dukekamaya I'd say 2/3 of the solid 19mm flooring we sell is laid over a concrete slab Dukekamaya, When you say laid over a concrete slab, do you mean direct stick? Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 17May 29, 2008 10:22 pm That method isn't generally used much in NSW. I mean over 19mm hardwood battens at 450mm centres or 15mm-17mm ply flooring. Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 18May 30, 2008 8:33 am Dukekamaya That method isn't generally used much in NSW. I mean over 19mm hardwood battens at 450mm centres or 15mm-17mm ply flooring. Thanks for the info. Is there an envirnmental reason why NSW is different or is it just "the way it's done"? Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 19Jun 11, 2008 4:12 pm Dukekamaya You really need 15mm ply, not 12mm. The overlay solid timber flooring is 12mm. 12mm ply isn't thick enough for the secret-nail to be fixed in to. Just to correct my comments - there is a 25mm flooring staple (secret nail) for use with 12mm ply but it is for use with 12mm solid overlay flooring only, not 19mm. Essentially you can use real solid timber flooring with a total height increase of only 24mm Re: Preparation for solid timber flooring 20Jun 11, 2008 5:02 pm Dukekamaya Dukekamaya Essentially you can use real solid timber flooring with a total height increase of only 24mm Duke, how would you achieve this? One of the M consultant told me that she got her timberfloors glued onto the concrete and they reasured her that it was fine this way. It would be the best way height wise but i wouldnt risk it if years down the track and problems start arising Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15884 If this is a custom build then I would expect the builder to set out the door frame closer to the wall to avoid the gap between architrave and the wall and or specify… 9 8282 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6173 |