Solid oak on parquet/concrete

[swimfan]

Hi,

Have seen some good advice on here about laying wood flooring on parquet and concrete, but none that quite matches my situation.

I have purchased 50sqm of solid oak flooring (20 x 150 x 600-2000) to go over a mainly parquet on concrete subfloor, but with a several areas of new concrete (levelled to the parquet) where a fireplace was removed from along one wall, and where pipes have been dug in around the outside walls.

From reading previous posts I'm thinking that a non DPM foam based underlay is the way to go. However, the manufacturer's instructions specify glueing or nailing to the existing subfloor or batons.

Any advice on the way to go much appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

 

[749s]

My BiL floated a large area of solid oak onto a screeded floor - 10 years on and it still looks fantastic and no probs. Worht considering.

 

[swimfan]

Thanks - but from what I have read screeding is not an option over parquet...

 

[AronSearle]

A lot of manufacturers prefer solid boards to be physically fixed rather than floated or glued, as it allows for more movement in each individual board (floating floors can be restricted by heavy furniture, and with glue installations the glue can get into the T&G), also a nail fixing will somewhat help restrain cupping (obviously floating provides no restraint against the upward pull from cupping, and whilst glues provide "some" restraint, they also make individual board replacement virtually impossible).

However whilst I also recommend solid boards should be fixed, many are floated and glued without any issue. Providing it is a typical room (and not say a conservatory that will experience large changes in temperature), and providing the timber is properly dried, floating the floor is relativity safe.

But as always, if you don't follow the manufacturers instructions, they will tend to wash their hands of it "if" something goes wrong, no matter why it went wrong.