Q: I am going to install an engineered wood floor (Kahrs-Woodloc Original Collection - 15mm) in my basement. I understand some self leveling compound can be used if needed in certain areas to ensure the floor is flat, but my question is how to handle the "crack control joints" that are cut into the floor. In certain areas, the joint will be perpendicular to the floor boards and I'm not as concerned, but in other areas the joint will be parallel to the boards and I'm wondering whether I may run into future problems if one of the flooring board joints lies over a concrete joint providing less support. The concrete is 9 years old and overall in excellent shape. The control joints are around 1/4" wide, but the edges are rounded over making them appear ~1/2" wide at the top surface.
Thanks for your advice.
Scott Roehrborn
A: As long as you account for these control joints in the concrete you should be fine to install the Kahrs floor floating over the top. If possible, try to ensure that the gaps run along the center of a plank rather than very close to the locking area of the planks. Luckily the Kahrs woodloc features nice wide planks, so you should have little issue here.
If you are concerned about particular joints which run parallel to the planks, you can use a piece of shim or some self leveler to fill these gaps. Depending on the underlayment you are using, you should have little worry about these control gaps as the concrete is fairly new. If you are using a relatively dense underlayment like cork or sound 6, you should have no issues at all here.