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I am looking at a house that has all of the bedrooms and 2 bathrooms below ground level...technically not a "basement" but about 3 feet below ground level so they have the concrete foundation under the carpet. Is it possible to install wood or cork over concrete?
Yes- you can get glue-down systems in wood or cork. Two concerns to consider:
1. If the floor isn't perfectly flat, any humps or depressions will show in the new flooring. This isn't readily visible with carpet, but will be with wood or cork. If the irregularities are big enough, they'll need to be filled or ground down, or the flooring won't lay right.
2. Any moisture problems need to be dealt with before you do the install. Even though you're only 3' below grade, there can still be moisture problems that aren't apparent with the carpet, but will cause problems with wood or cork.
Yes. I have done so with a cork floating floor. You need a moisture barrier. It is also a good idea to use a product like dricore to avoid mosture problems and allo a pocket of insultating air (prevents ice cold floors in the winter).
If memory serves me correctly, there was an upcharge (not much, but some) for a specific type adhesive for gluing the engineered hardwood to a cement slab. The job looked great and has held up very well.
You put wood, laminated, or cork flooring down over concrete with a floating moisture barrier. You do not want to glue the wood to the concrete. The wood moves with the varying temperature and humidity in the room and gluing them down will create a warping disaster.
If memory serves me correctly, there was an upcharge (not much, but some) for a specific type adhesive for gluing the engineered hardwood to a cement slab. The job looked great and has held up very well.
All I can tell you is this job was done this way by a good sized flooring/carpeting business that has been around for 20 some odd years and has a great reputation in the area.
We have a place in MN and all the contractors (7) we interviewed said not to glue the floor down and the contractor we chose didn't when he laid the floor. They used a thin moisture barrier under the wood as they said the floor will move with the humidity changes. Our house in AZ was the same situation and we had a wood floor installed exactly that same way years ago.
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