Laying solid wooden floors

alanbucko

All,

I can get solid floors for a good price, just a little more than semi solid so I am really thinking about going for solid.

Will be laying then myself and haven't done solid floors before. Guy in the shop said it must be laid on battons or ply. The solid planks are 18 mm so with ply it will probably be close to 25 mm deep. The problem is that this will leave a noticeable step when put down beside the semi solid in the hall.

Is it possible to lay the solid floor on normal foam? Guy in the shop said no - the floor should be nailed down. However I know other poeple who have put solid down on foam on top of concrete floor with no probs. Will the solid floor warp if not nailed down?

Appreciate any advice!!

aaronm13

I would strongly advise against laying straight onto just foam.A solid floor has to be nailed for best results and ease of laying.I had to float 2 solid floors before and I swore I would never do it again,it broke my heart.A solid floor will have a lot more movement than laminates and semi solids and are a lot trickier to lay.Your best bet is to get 18mm plywood and rip it into 2 inch strips,nail onto your concrete floor then lay your solid floor onto them.Plywood is better than a 2x1 baton as the nails get a much better grip so are less likely to pop over time.If heights is going to be a problem as you will be looking at about 36mm you could go with Junkers solid flooring.This can go down without batons as it is clipped onto the concrete floor.It is a great system but very expensive.

Avns1s

Well, I have laid over 100 sq. metres of solid oak in my own house directly on foam, i.e. floating. Provided the wood is suitable for it and you leave enough clearance at the edges, I'd go for it. I have had no problems whatever over a year later.

Jnealon

You can lay it on this. I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks

alanbucko

Jnealon wrote:

You can lay it on this. I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks

How much does it cost (per roll or sq m)? I've never heard of this stuff before, can you get it in Dublin?

SoBe

Jnealon wrote:

You can lay it on this. I will be doing this in the next couple of weeks

looks like this is your best option,i have layed a few floors with this,not sure how much it costs but i do know that brooks normally stock it.

its a good bit slower to lay a floor on this but in your situation i think its the best route

Avns1s

Mine was laid on just the ordinary foam underlay that presumably would be used if you were laying laminate. Prob a lot cheaper but this stuff might give a more cushioned effect, not that I think its necessary. As I said before, no problems at all.

the chippie

you can get in doors and floors for about 12 euro a sqyard or try wholesale floors .ie for 10 euro a sqyard in cork . i did 100 sqyards of walnut just before xmas with it and the builder could not get how solid and strong it kept the boards together and how comforable to walk on and he said it felt like walking on a floor that was nailed the down .
regards the chippie

Jnealon

I paid 10 per yd. Doors and floors do it but shop around. There is a nice video on the site, makes it lookeasy. It also comes in various thicknesses

aaronm13

Wow that's a new one on me,it looks the business,I really have to look into

misty floyd

That elastilon stuff comes in 25 or 50msq rolls. I came across it today in tubs n tiles and they quoted €290 for the 25m roll (€11.60 per msq).

Could I ask, is there a disadvantage to narrower planks other than the amount of extra work it takes to lay them? Thats probably a stupid question but the missus has her eyes on these ones and I'd like an excuse to get her to pick wider planks;) . Cheers

the chippie

i did 190 mm walnut board before xmas and was a bit harder to do .as most of the other floors i did it with were 120-150mm boards and much more easy to do due to the fact the peel-back part of the underlay is more easy to pull with smaller boards .