Hardwood flooring and subfloor construction on wood subfloors or concrete basements
Posted on June 18, 2015 at 10:45 AM
Hardwood floors can be installed on any level of your home and are available in multiple constructions to allow for flexible installations over different types of subfloors and to mitigate moisture. It is important to take moisture into consideration when installing hardwood flooring since changes in moisture can create issues such as warping and gapping.
For more information about the damage moisture can cause to hardwood flooring check out our repairs project post.
At the base of nearly every finished floor, such as tile, hardwood, laminate, vinyl, cork—is a subfloor. Understanding and installing the correct type of subfloor is key to a healthy and floor that will last decades. When you look at a completely installed floor, it is really a "sandwich" composed of many different layers. These likely include:
Joists - Joists are the bottom most layer that hold up the entire floor. A joist can be a 2" x 10" piece of timber or it might be an I-beam made of engineered wood. Not all floors will have joists. Concrete floors do not require joists and also require the use of different materials to install both hardwood and tile floors.
The Primary Subfloor layer - A structurally-sound layer, usually plywood and the like. In older homes the subfloor might be a series of tongue and groove wood planks, usually pine run on a diagonal.
The Secondary Subfloor - Thin layer of plywood, cement fiberboard, or cement board to smooth out the subfloor and provide a flat and level surface for the finish floor. We offer waterproofing and various vapor barriers when installing tile. These systems add the life and longevity most homeowners expect in areas such as kitchens, tile back splashes and especially when remodeling bathrooms and showers.
The Finished Floor - The decorative floor that you walk on, such as tile, hardwood, or vinyl or cork. This is the surface area that guests see and that receives most daily foot traffic.
The use of the word Subfloor has become a general term, referring to everything from foam padding (better known as the underlayment for ”floating floors”) to the 1/2" to 3/4" plywood that is nailed or screwed down to the joists or can refer to cement boards, waterproofing and vapor barriers or even a slab of concrete can be referred to as “the subfloor.”
There are three primary subfloors over which we can install hardwood flooring: Basement or concrete below grade, concrete at grade and plywood subfloor at or above grade. We offer three constructions of hardwood floors to address each primary type of subfloor: 3/4-inch solid, engineered and floating. We carry a number of species of prefinished and unfinished 3/4-inch solid, engineered and floating floor options in various widths, stains and finishes.
When selecting the type of hardwood, tile or combination of both you want installed in your home, it is cruccial for the contractor you select to provide you with material options based on the type of subfloors you have in your home. If your flooring contractor does not bother to ask, verify on the estimate and test for moisture in basement areas, than you should reconsider and look for other contractors and estimates.
One Stop. One Estimate. One Check
We are not happy until you are. The quality and craftsmanship of our work has delivered hundreds of repeat customers and recommendations. In many cases, we are the only contractor many of our customers continue to use for their flooring needs. No matter what the job is, if it involves flooring, tile of any sort, or completely renovating your bathroom, we are your one stop shop. We live by the motto of One Stop. One Estimate. One Check.