The Flooring Expert

Q: I am building a screened-in "porch" over a pre-existing patio. The patio has a cement floor and I want to install a wood floor over it. Sleepers will raise the new floor about 5 inches above the cement slab, but will not be ventilated. The room will have a roof, but the screens will allow for some weather. I had considered using Mahogany decking, but planned to install without any spacing. I am now afraid this will buckle with changes in humidity and have changed my thinking to a tongue and groove porch decking material. I am not sure of what would be best in this situation. Do you have any recommendations?

A: When exposing wood to uncontrolled climate, such as the great outdoors, it is key to keep in mind you must use product suited for this application. Although this patio will have a ceiling, it is best to treat it as you would a deck. Using a tongue and groove decking material for your patio should work, but keep in mind you will want to leave room for expansion similar to installing any hardwood floor. This should help alleviate worry of buckling issues you might run into. You will also want to acclimate your product so that the wood's moisture content is within 2-3% of the subfloor of your patio. Keep in mind, this can take awhile as the environment you are installing in is not controlled like the interior of your home and if this area has some open air below the decking without having ventilation your could run into issues with moisture accumulation beneath the floor.

Beyond patience in allowing for acclimation and account for some expansion room to ensure the floor does not buckle, treat this similar to a deck by ensuring proper weather sealing is on the floor decking. Do not use residential flooring for a project like this, as it is not suited for the uncontrolled outdoor environments. I hope this helps you out for your project.

Follow-up: After some review by a co-worker of mine, I realized that I forgot to mention a good product to take a look at for this would be slat decking such as the ones iFLOOR.com carries by Vifah. Vifah's snap together plank decking is very easy to install, is well suited for a deck or outdoor porch, and its a great looking product. Now if your specifically after a single plank look rather than the slated look of Vifah's deck planking, you will want to ensure the planks you purchase are made for outdoor use, such as decking and make sure its properly water sealed.

Q: We had some water damage in our kitchen, which has caused some of the boards to pop up (a 3 ft by 5 ft section). Several floor installers have come by to see the floor, and they all have been telling us that the entire floor needs to come up. The Harris Tarkett floating floor (natural oak finish) is in our kitchen and continues in the family room.

Best Regards,
Jenna G

A: Water damage is always something tough when it comes to wood floors. Without examining the floor directly I know there are a few issues. First off, this will depend on how long you have owned this floor. Engineered floors tend to see minor changes as often as once per year or so. These small changes, which can be in plank dimensions, locking mechanism, etc., can make new planks and old flooring incompatible. Without knowing, lets examine a few possibilities.

If this floor is relatively new and still in production (or older, but still being produced), replacing this portion could be possible dependent on the location of of the damage. If this is closer to an edge or wall, it can make things easier. The other issue you may run into is that the color of the wood will not match what is already laid down. It may compliment, but wood will naturally darken over time, so it could very well stick out like a sore thumb.

If it will be required to replace more than just the affected area you can replace only the kitchen and use a transition to your other room, which will help on the time side of this case you have. However, if you prefer to keep the look of a floor which flows room to room without seeing transition pieces, such as T-molding, you could very well have an honest opinion in regards to replacing the entire floor.

Reply: Thank you very much for the detailed response. I love the internet! Unfortunately, I really do not know the age of the floor, since it was put in by the previous owner. However, it seems that a similar floor by the same manufacturer is available. The damage is by a sliding glass door and pantry door. Therefore, it is bound on 2 sides by walls. The color could be the largest issue, although I think the existing pieces may be able to be used again. They do not appear to be warped as they have popped at the seams. The previous owner installed this floor right over a parquet floor which is also damaged. I think that once they get in there, they could take out the damaged parquet, put in a filler or something, and put the longstrip right back.

Thanks again,
Jenna G

A: If the subfloor is damaged that could be why the installers you have spoken to have suggested replacing the entire floor. The helpful part of this is that this is near an edge rather than the center of the floor.

Color difference can be major especially when your selling a home. If the planks can be reused, which I would consult one of the installers, then its a matter of fixing the subfloor, being the parquet in your case, which could be relatively easy although without directly examining the extent of the damage I can't give a definite judgment call.

I would suggest contacting one of your previous installers, or even taking some of the planks from the damaged area in to specialist to make sure they are usable. If so, ask one of the contractors if they can fill the parquet area and reinstall the old Tarkett® flooring.

Follow-Up: After a quick conversation with Ryan W., our product specialist here at iFLOOR.com, he suggested one final approach which should prove the easiest course of action here. This Tarkett® floor has a wear layer (species layer) that is as thick as many 3/4" solid hardwood floors, so sanding and refinishing is a great option. This will be far more economical than replacing the entire floor.

As long as your subfloor is an easy fix, there should be no need to replace the entire floor as the sand and refinish should remove any wear layer warping and smooth everything out.

Good Luck!

Q: We are planning on a new solid hardwood floor. In order to eliminate a height difference between rooms the new hardwood will be installed over a new sub floor (13/16") on top of the existing plywood. We "live on the water", in southwestern Ontario. There is a heated/AC crawl space under this floor. During the winter the house is empty, with the heat set at approx:55 degrees.

Jack

A: First of all I suggest using an engineered product. Engineered products are naturally far more stable, and the more plies the better. Stability is key when trying to combat movement in your floor. Wood being a natural product will expand and contract due to temperature and moisture which can cause nasty things like buckling, gapping or warping when proper expansion room and installation procedure is not observed. Bellefloor is an excellent example of a great engineered product that would be great for your project and will still look and feel great. Also, engineered floors are more common in wide plank appearance.

Movement will occur because of the air flow with your crawl space, but more importantly because of the temperature you leave your home at during the winter. This is an issues referred to as “Empty House Syndrome” (don't get this confused with Empty Nest Syndrome, Empty House Syndrome is a flooring term), but basically when people leave a home for a specific season, and leave the home at lower temperature to save on bills, this temperature change causes the floor to contract and buckle. Your best protective measure will be to keep you home around 62 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. In regards to the crawl space the Wood Flooring Manufacturer's Association states:

NOFMA recommends that a crawlspace be kept dry. Water, mud or excessively damp earth should not be present. A good ground cover (6-mil poly or equivalent) over 100% of the crawlspace earth should be installed as an effective moisture barrier, and good cross ventilation should be present.

Now if using a solid product is your only choice, I would suggest that you use a hand scrapped to hide the movement that will occur. Mullican makes some great solid hand scrapped products which could fit this project. You can also consider Somerset's Hand Scrapped Collection. My best suggestion to help avoid cupping or warping would be to follow a few precautions.

Initially, give the wood plenty of time to acclimate. Normally acclimation is done for 3 days to a week, but in this case, make sure the wood is in the room and is allowed to acclimate for upwards of a month. Sounds like a long time I know, but it will help to ensure the wood is accustomed to the area it will be installed. Keep your indoor temperature controlled for the same temperature all year long (low to mid 60s Fahrenheit being your best bet). Ensure your crawlspace has proper moisture protection and ventilation. Going ahead with the installation use 15 lb roofing felt instead of resin paper. Specs call out for gluing and nailing 5" and wider boards, Large tubes of construction mastic, just a lazy "S" down the board or on the subfloor then set and nail, I would use 2" cleats when nailing down the solid.

Q: We have installed carpet in our basement and had flood so we remove the carpet and needs to install the new flooring, but not carpet and ceramic tile. what is the best flooring for the basement with flooding problem? Please advise.

Thank You,
Raksha

A: If you're encountering flooding issues do NOT install any new flooring of any kind. What ever is causing your flooding should be addressed before installing any new flooring. Until then I would honestly leave the concrete bare to help identify issues in the subfloor.

I had similar issues in my own home and have taken many measures to prevent flooding in my basement. Unfortunately money doesn't grow on trees, (but what interesting flooring that would make!) so my basement is still bare concrete while we have tested to see which issues have been resolved and what issues we may have missed.

Until you finish ensuring flooding will not occur, which I would suggest going through the season where you experience flooding with the concrete bare. Identify what is causing the flooding and work to resolve these issues. Once they are resolved, leave the concrete bare for at least a full year and see if any flooding or excessive moisture occurs. If so, which is what happened in my case ruining some nice new rooms I had built because I had not waited long enough (assumptions can cause a world of headaches), continue working to resolve your flooding issues. If you experience no moisture issues then you can work to find a new floor. Until you have resolved your flooding issues, do NOT install a new floor (unless of course you want to put in a new floor every time it floods).

Good luck to you as I know this process can be a pain.

Q: We just installed Pergo laminate flooring in our dining area - it looks great!! My question is - we have a 55 gallon aquarium that weighs roughly 650 lbs. when full of water - can we move our tank into the dining area safely? Will the weight hurt the floor?

Jessica

A: When it comes to any floating floor, such as your Pergo®, it is not advised to put anything that is especially heavy on one portion of your floor, such as book cases, cabinets, or aquariums. This being said, this can depend heavily on the underlayment you use as well. Dense underlayments, such as cork, can support weight better than the typical foam underlayment.

There are folks who will put heavy objects, such as pool tables, in a rec room over floating cork or laminate and have success with it. Being an aquarium keeper myself, I would be curious to know what type of tank you have and what type of base you used for it. A longer rectangular tank would spread the weight over a larger area and perhaps be more suitable. Although I would advise putting your aquarium elsewhere since this is a floating floor.

In the end, another thing to keep in mind is wood and water do NOT mix. So should a spill occur, whether when cleaning your tank, changing water changing items in the tank, etc., you run a big risk or ruining the laminate unless many precautions are taken. I personally lay down towels around my tank before doing anything that could involve spills and my tank sits over stone tiling.

To summarize: I would generally not suggest placing something heavy, such as your aquarium, over a floating floor. Wood and water do not mix; however, this is your floor and your home so you can do anything you like – just be prepared for consequences.

Q: After pulling up the carpeting in my living room, I found red oak hardwood floors. However, they're 40 years old, and in poor condition due to water and pet stains. I was considering having them refinished, but due to logistics problems (where to put the furniture, where to live while the work is being done, etc) I think a prefinished hardwood floor would be an excellent alternative. Aesthetically, I would need to run the strips in the same direction as the current floor. I was told that it's not a good idea to nail the new flooring to flooring running in the same direction. Would it be a better idea to rip up the current floor and nail the new floor to the subfloor? How difficult would that be? Would the bumps left from the nail holes be a problem?

Mike P.

A: Nailing a new hardwood floor in the same direction of a pre-existing hardwood floor is a bad idea. The major reason behind this is a matter of stability. In this case, if you are unwilling to take the time to repair and refinish the original floor (which I would not suggest based on your mentioning of water damage) you will want to remove the existing hardwood floor and replace it with a new floor.

The pre-existing nails should be no issue after removal, although I would heavily suggest hiring a professional for this project as removing a pre-existing nailed down floor can be tedious and will take a few days. Once the old floor is removed, you will need to examine the subfloor below, check for areas where you may need to screw down areas to reduce squeaking. Afterward you can then install your new floor.

As I said before, I would suggest consulting a professional for this project, but if you take plenty of time this can be a good DIY project (although it might be a bit strenuous).

Q: We had over 2300 square feet of hardwood installed by our builder in December of 2003. We have been fighting with our builder since then due to cracking issues, and water damage issues, due to building. We had some boards replaced and 3 inspections by builder funded inspectors. Each inspection came back in the builders favor because they didn't meet the 5% minimum replacement clause. At the time since two rooms were already slated to be replaced and they weren't added in the total square footage. This very well could have pushed us well over the 5% minimum. One of the inspectors even went so far as to say no one should live this way, with flooring like this for as long as we had to. Then his report came back exactly the same as the second report, even the same wording. He never indicated that there wasn't a problem with the flooring. The biggest problem is each came in with the expectation that the job was small. We have approximately 2400 square feet of hardwood flooring, mostly on the main level and the upper hallway. The kitchen is tile. One inspector even went so far as to say he wasn't qualified to approve a job of this size.

We are in the process of hiring a civil engineer for their expertise and the ability of their sitings to hold up in court. Our plan is to take it as far as we can go. We have had 3 inspections on our own from flooring companies that agree with our opinion that there is something wrong with the wood. Our largest problem is getting them to write a report with the particulars. Each one deals with Bruce / Armstrong flooring as a flooring provider and are hesitant to create a supplier issue with a company so large. This is why we are hiring a certified inspector. Our builder is pressuring us to sign a paper agreeing to the work they specify which does not match up to the complaints we have. They send each letter by certified mail with a response date on it. We are frustrated and concerned since we spent so much money having the hardwoods upgraded in the first place. Each time they send a letter they leave out additional work left to be done. Our hardwoods are cracking, not just a little at the edges, but huge cracks down the center. This is not normal! We have had Bruce hardwoods for over 10 years in our prior home and never had these problems. With our first inspection the inspector was marking boards to be replaced with a sharpie in red, I asked him to tape the boards instead because I wasn't sure when they would be out to do the work. The Bruce hardwood inspector was marking boards that have cracks that are minimal compared to the ones I am complaining about. I have been diligent in marking only board that exceed the cracking from the initial report. Now those initial cracks they say are within the tolerance level. This was not the case during the first inspection. Our builder thinks we are trying to extend our warranty, this is not the case. The floors are under their own warranty and far exceed the minimum for replacement. I know we are heading for arbitration with our builder as well as the installers and Bruce themselves. The company where the wood came from even went so far as to install two different lots in the same room at the same time, the builders had me take pictures for them so they could assign the blame to them, the color differentiation was that great. Now all is stalled, and no one will respond to us. They blame us for stalling and all they are doing is creating a time reference that would indicate just this. They are angry we have copies of work orders where it's stated that defective boards were installed and need to be removed. Now the builders refuse to acknowledge these at all. Since this has been going on for 2-3 years we are at a loss as to what to do after the civil engineer examines our home.

Kathy

A: Kathy, I'd first like to say that I personally can not offer advice in the realm of what to do legally at this point. What I can do is offer some advice as to a few actions I would take.

Based on the issue you describe with cracking boards, This leads me to question two very important things. As a preface, cracking boards is most commonly cause by a moisture related issue. Since Bruce's Kennedale Strip is a solid hardwood, I'm lead to wonder if proper acclimation time was allowed. Solid hardwood floors should be acclimated longer than any other floor and I would personally suggest letting them sit in the room to be installed in for a week or longer just to ensure the wood gets plenty of time to acclimate. If the floor was not given proper time to acclimate, its own natural moisture content compared to the moisture content of your subfloor could cause this. Secondly, without knowing the environment for your home (what temperature and humidity it stays at, climate control used, etc.), I question how much of an expansion gap was left for the floors.

In regards to the water damage issues, I question how this water got to the floor. Also, where your floor has been installed is a key concern along with how it was installed. (like if this home is split level, has a concrete subfloor, etc.)

What duties beyond the floor was your builder responsible for? Was there anything that was needed to be done to the subfloor or is the subfloor new? (I know, I've got a lot of questions, but without seeing the floor its all I can do)

You also mention some flooring companies inspecting the floor. I will warn you, if these people are from local flooring retailers, their observations or opinions can not be taken as expert opinion. Although I have faith in the immense knowledge the folks who work in the stores here at iFLOOR.com have, they can not speak for issues in a floor to a legal level like a certified inspector.

Here is what I would suggest doing. Get a certified third party inspector to come out and look over the floor. Make sure you verify the inspector's qualifications. Make sure to have plenty of photos taken of the floor and present any documentation you have for the floor to the inspector to ensure they have plenty of information.

From this point, I would then get any other area of the home inspected by an appropriate inspector to ensure any other work done is up to code and satisfactory. Should this go to a legal standpoint, at that time you would want to consult an appropriate legal professional (sadly, I'm not one) to further your case.

The issue you may run into is that from a product claim perspective, this claim will most likely be denied. The reason being that a moisture issue is not a product defect and by that reason, the product can be determined to be working to its expectations.

Follow-up: I've spoken back and forth with Kathy over a few emails and even our very own Steve Simonson has pitched in a few bits of advice.

Steve suggested that it is good practice to file a product claim with Bruce, regardless of how the damage was caused. In the mean time, the civil engineer that will be inspecting will be key. Ensuring the c.e. takes plenty of time to inspect the home and documents all of the damages. Also, asking the c.e. questions as to what actions should be taken is a good idea. I suggested asking if any other inspectors should be brought out and what advice the c.e. has to proceed. Also, the c.e. should know the local laws a bit better and should be able to give some insight on that subject.

In the end, we hope the best for Kathy as this is one of the few stories where a beautiful floor goes bad, and hopefully Kathy can get everything back to being great looking. Below are several pictures sent to me by Kathy to show the various damages that have occurred.

In the above photos you can see a couple different cracks from the moisture damage to Kathy's floor.

In the below photo you can see how beautiful this floor would be without damage to it. (and then you can see the tape marked areas with how spread the damage is)

This extra post comes from a member of iFLOOR.com's great Sales team, Aaron C.

After noticing a co-worker helping a customer with some info about mold and mildew with their cork floors, Aaron followed up to give a great bit of advice to help our customer out (this is the type of service Steve is always stressing to us, so Kudos Aaron). He sent it my way asking if we'd seen a similar question, as he has had it a few times in the time he has been here.

A: Cork has a unique material called suberin, which is naturally inherent in the cork bark. It resists insects and various forms of mildew or mold.

It is very possible that the subfloor got wet as well as the cork. You may have a mold or mildew issue. But, I believe you will find that it's affecting the sub-floor and not the cork itself. A de-humidifer may prove to be the first possible resolution. Your contractor should be able to assist you with renting one. If that does not solve the problem, removing the cork in that area to inspect the subfloor may be necessary. Do keep in mind that if the subfloor absorbed a large amount of water, you should notice a swelling of your floor in most cases.

Q: I have a screened in porch with a 5/4" cedar floor. The cedar floor boards are spaced about 1/8" apart and nailed directly into the 2x10 PT joists. We want to carpet over the cedar floor but are afraid the carpeting will eventually be sucked into the cracks between the cedar boards.

Bill N.

A: When installing carpet over concrete, especially in an outdoor setting, you will want to glue the carpet down to the concrete. This being said, you will not be using a pad unless the carpet you purchase is one that has some padding attached. I would suggest getting an outdoor carpet as indoor carpets are not built to take the continual exposure to the elements.

Although I understand your wish to soften the floor some with padding, when it comes to anything exposed to the forces of nature, even screened-in porches, you end up sacrificing a bit to ensure the floor can stand the test of time.

Q: I've been Googling in a search for waterproof flooring that's not tile. I found one company, Foresta Waterproof Flooring, which makes fake wood out of PVC but they have no distributor in Florida. I need only about 700 square feet, so a wholesaler isn't going to be too interested.

Marilyn S.

A: My first bit of advice is do NOT install wood flooring or carpet, as both are susceptible to water especially wood floors. Wood and water do not mix! I will mention I do not prefer installing any flooring when there are continual moisture issues, but at the same time I understand your plight and since the area in question is not a basement, you have some room to work here.

The floor I would suggest looking at for this particular project is Mannington's iCORE. Before we get into talking about this product I will warn you that all of my vendors for this product get this as a special order only, which means they don't allow returns on it. What does this mean for you? It could be very difficult to find a decent display of this product locally.

iCORE itself is similar to laminate, but with a composite core rather than wood. iCORE has a rather tedious install process, but once done it is a great product. For iCORE, you will need to use splines and an adhesive to connect each plank to the next plank, but in doing this you get a great stable core. The only issue you could run into with iCORE is it is meant to be floated over an underlayment; however, you could glue this product down to ensure nothing in your floor will get moisture damage. Since the flooding issues you are encountering are not considered “normal use” any warranty you have would be voided by a flood.

The good news is, this floor was designed for higher moisture environments, like a bathroom. So if your looking for a floor that can handle some water, iCORE is a good one to take a look at.

Q: We have a Mannington m-lock 8mm Canterbury oak floor installed 2-1/2 years ago in Venice, FL (not by you). The panels are raising at the seams (not buckling) randomly across the floor. Underlayment is a plastic-backed foam on concrete slab. I lifted a section, and there is no evidence of water under the floor. We have maintained the floor using composite floor cleaner per instructions. It appears the proper space is provided at the wall edges. What can cause failure at the seams in this fashion? Could it be expansion pressure? Mfg defect? The home builder, installer and manufacturer are all claiming no-fault. Our upgrade cost above carpet was $14.00 per square foot, and we feel we should have a durable floor at $150 to $200 per square yard. Any info you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Sanford Y.

A: A majority of the time when issue like this occur it is due to some moisture issue. I spoke with Tad A., Director of iFLOOR.com's Installation Program, and my good friend Gene D. who both mentioned that this is a common occurrence when too much liquid cleaner is being used without using a dry towel or dry mop afterward to make sure no liquid is left standing.

This is only one reason though, as other causes could be a pet leaving their mark, so to speak, or excessive moisture in the air within the home.

On some follow-up I got a great bit of information from San about his subfloor and the install along with some pictures. He also mentioned:

"We have the "tubes-in-the-walls" pest control from Home Team Pest Defense. Over the past 2-1/2 years they have injected approximately 24 gallons of nasty pest control chemicals into the walls of our house. The construction configuration is concrete block walls on a slab, with furring strips and dry wall. With the baseboard/quarter-round installation and a gap for the flooring, the chemicals can very easily migrate beneath the floor. My guess is that one or more of the chemicals is attacking the laminate where the fumigants seep up through the seams.

This could be the case, which would relate back to a moisture issue.

The best suggestion is to either 1) hire a licensed inspector to come out and examine the floor to determine the cause (iFLOOR.com uses a 3rd party service to help our customers) or 2) get a long pin tester and test the moisture at the seams of the floor since there was a good deal of testing done with the sub floor.

Here you will see the underlayment and moisture barrier installed. Neither of which appear to have moisture issues happening below the floor.

Here are a couple of pictures where you can see the problem Sanford is describing.

Q: I plan to install one of your floating cork floors in our living room and possibly into the kitchen, but I've come across a few snags. First, there are some obvious recommendations against the kitchen; no doubt, if there is ever a plumbing failure, it will ruin the floor. I understand that. Otherwise, if we immediately wipe up the occasional spill, will we have a problem in the kitchen? Like most modern houses, it is completely open to the living room, so any extra water vapor due to cooking will spread through the entire area.

Second, If I do both areas, the floor will span about 35 ft in its longest dimension (this includes going through a 4 ft opening between kitchen and LR). Will I need an expansion joint somewhere in there? If it makes any difference, the house is air conditioned in summer and we use a humidifier in winter. I can't specify the average humidity, but it's probably around 40%. Again if it makes a difference, I can also very easily run the flooring at 45deg, in which case the longest tile-spanwise or tile-lengthwise run will be about 30-32ft.
Thanks in advance for the help,
Dean M.

A: The easy answer to both of your questions would be “no,” but lets go into a bit more detail.

In regards to moisture, cork is naturally resistant to moisture (hence why we use it as bottle stoppers). As long as you are cleaning up spills quickly and not leaving any standing water or have any excessive humidity in the air you should have no issues. Also keep in mind, making sure your floor is properly installed is key here.

For your second question about dimensions, floating cork flooring is built similar to laminate. You will have a high-density fiberboard core between a cork back and species/top layer which will help to keep the floor stable. With how these floors are designed, just ensure you keep an expansion gap along your walls of about 3/8” and you should encounter no issues.

I have seen several cork floors in bathrooms and kitchens that worked successfully (although not recommended because wood and water do not mix). With a floating floor in a kitchen, I would look into using a 3mm cork underlayment to give a bit of extra support beyond the thing cork backing on the tiles and use a moisture barrier just as a precaution.

Q: I do not want hard tile in my bathroom. What do you suggest in vinyl? Non-slip flooring is very important!

Esther D.

A: Flooring in bathrooms or similar high moisture areas can be difficult, but vinyl is a great option. Congoleum makes some great vinyl products that will fit your bathroom project. The Forum Plank and Regal Plank collections are great products which will give you a great wood look, but all the benefits of vinyl and Steve actually suggests these as one of his top picks for DIY friendly floors.

When you are installing this product, there are a few tips to keep in mind. Don't install over a previous tile surface without plenty of prep work. If this will be installed directly to your subfloor here's a great tip from Gene D.: use a roll on adhesive, then let it dry to help ensure you get great adhesion from the self-stick backing of the Congoleum planks. Keep in mind, a clean and flat subfloor is your best friend when gluing down any product and follow the instructions of your adhesive to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Q: I have been to ifloor and you guys carry a great line of products to choose from. I have had a 3/8'' hardwood cherry floor put down on my lower level of my house. The person laid i glued it down onto the subfloor(concrete) no vapor barrier was used there is some moisture present when the weather gets hot and humid. Presently the floor is cupped really bad due to the moisture what can I do to fix this problem or what type of product would you recommend from your line to solve this with no future cupping.

A: There are a couple reasons why a floor will begin cupping, and most of the time this is a moisture related issue. The first thing I would do is have a certified inspector come in to check the floor and ensure this moisture is not coming from your subfloor. Occasionally if the glue is not done right, this can cause a problem where the moisture seal the glue creates will not hold. If this is the case, it would be an installer error, but only an inspector would be able to determine this.

If the cupping is due to relative humidity in the air, then you will want to get a dehumidifier ASAP to remove this excess moisture. After time, the boards will begin retuning to their normal state and if caught early enough they will return fully to their state as of the day of installation. It would be good practice to get a dehumidifier going early then get the inspector in there to check the floor out.

Wood floors perform best when in the same “comfortable” climate as humans. This is normally around 65 degrees Fahrenheit and with 50% relative humidity. Any climate which deviates away from this can cause various problems, such as cupping, in your floor.

Q: Hello. I need some advice. About a year ago we installed a bamboo floor (glue down) with no moisture barrier directly on our cement slab. It completely warped. We then had a flooring expert tell us that we have 5% moisture in our floors and that our only choice was to remove the bamboo and install carpet.

We are looking into a french drain for our lot as we have a hillside behind our house and apparently a lot of moisture comes through the ground and into our cement slab. However, we are stubborn and are looking for a possibilty other than carpet. We are willing to have our cement resealed and use any type of moisture barrier necessary.

Could you recommend an alternative type of flooring that would be more resistant to moisture and an installation method that would work. We were considering engineered flooring, cork, etc.

Thank you, Audrey

A: Based on the description of your installation and the problem that occurred I would normally question a few things about the install process and time allowed for the bamboo to acclimate. In a glue down application, the adhesive itself acts as a moisture barrier so in that sense you should have been protected. The amount of moisture in your flooring does matter somewhat, but 5% is not very high. What is most important is the moisture content of your flooring versus the content of the subfloor before installation. Typically the difference between these two, regardless of installation type, should be 1 - 3% and I tend to recommend a 2% or less difference. This becomes a matter of acclimation time, giving your flooring plenty of time to acclimate to the environment of the room it is to be installed in is KEY.

I have had some personal experiences with moisture issues in my own basement to the point of getting a French drain system and various other issues with the concrete looked into, so I feel your pain here.

After you have your concrete cleaned, sealed and prepped for a floor, I would look into either a floating or glue down application. Floating would be the easier choice here as far as labor is concerned and you have lower risk of failure. Sadly glue down installations have the highest rate of failure because they must be done perfectly, for lack of a better term, to succeed.

As far as floors are concerned, I suggest looking into laminate or cork. Both of these types of flooring are a bit more water resistant that hardwood, but keep in mind no floor is water proof. Cork could very well be your best bet here as it is featured in both glue down tiles and floating planks. Cork is naturally water resistant, but keep in mind you still need to follow the rules here that wood and water do NOT mix. Ensure to clean up spills as soon as possible and ensure not water is left standing on the floor.

In the case of a floating floor ensure you use a moisture barrier (6mil polyethylene) then install your underlayment and then the floor. For a glue down application with cork, use a contact cement like Fastbond 30. My good friend Gene D. suggests using a contact cement over standard trowel adhesives as the cement performs better.

Once you choose and order your floor, give it plenty of time to acclimate. This means stacking the boxes in a lincoln log fashion to get maximum air flow around the boxes of product. This process can take time, so be prepared to give it a week or more. Pick up a moisture meter and test the subfloor and the product and make sure to record these numbers. For the subfloor, check each corner and the center. Once the floor is within 2% of the subfloor you should be ok to install. At this point, just make sure you give ample room at the edges of the floor for expansion and cover with appropriate trims and you should be golden.

Q: I am in a dilemma with some laminate flooring I recently installed in my home. I am not happy with the joints after a week of living on the floor. I have contacted the manufacturer, who without seeing it, is claiming that I must have installed it poorly. I take some offense to that considering I installed Pergo brand laminate in my other home and have not had any problems after nearly 5 years.

Thank you so much for your time,
Roz

A: Red resin paper (also called rosin paper) is a relatively common underlayment for solid and engineered wood floors. Tad A., iFLOOR.com's Director of Install, mentioned that the "old guys" in the industry used to use only the red resin paper because it was a standard until they found out the black paper was a bit more cost efficient.

Unfortunately resin paper is NOT a moisture barrier, it is a moisture inhibitor. This means it will slow the amount of moisture which transfers through it, but it will not prevent moisture from passing through. The red paper is impregnated with resin or rosin whereas the black paper is impregnated with an oil.

This being said, you are more than likely dealing with a slight moisture issue. Unfortunately this will more than likely have voided your warranty since the resin paper is not a true moisture barrier. However I would suggest you contact BHK to make sure.

There is a slight possibility that this could be a defect; however, you would have encountered problems right away if this was a defect. Normally when problems occur over time (with exception to delamination) it is due to problems in the environment of the home or use. In this case, you are more than likely encountering minor amounts of moisture.

Here's a tip that might help. Try running a dehumidifier to pull some of the moisture out of the boards. I would also suggest replacing the resin paper with a 6 mil plastic moisture barrier ASAP.

Q: What can be put on top of a concrete patio to stop the sweating. We thought about brick pavers with plastic under the brick. Will this work? Is there anything else that will work?

Thanks,
Terri

A: Based on what you are describing it sounds like you have ground water coming up through the concrete. Most likely you happen to be on a higher water table and the original waterproofing membrane has either failed or it may not have been properly installed.

You will want to clean the concrete, typically by a process similar to sand blasting where you will lightly abrade the concrete and then seal it. One thing to keep in mind here would be the color of the sweating you are having. If the patio is sweating white tinged water, that means it contains calcium (pulled out from the concrete). If this is occurring you will want to use a bit of bleach over the concrete, as this will remove and calcium residue on the concrete.

What you will want to do is get a roll out waterproofing membrane (naturally you want to get one that is meant to be load bearing). This is assuming you wish to do the brick pavers, if you want to keep the concrete as is, get a concrete sealer and spread out two coats. One running North to South and the other running East to West. There are several sealers, both in colors and clear which can give you all sorts of nice appearances.

To sum up here: clean the concrete then seal it. If you want to use brick pavers as your final look, install a load bearing waterproofing membrane (rolled out per the instructions of the membrane), then install your brick pavers and you should be all set.

Q: Of the laminate floor products you carry, which do you recommend for a basement area. I have heard Formica brand is the only true "water proof" material available. Our basement is not wet or damp but there always it the potential for a sump pump failure or water/drain line break.

Lance

A: For a truly waterproof flooring solution look into Mannington's iCORE. iCORE is made from a composite rather than a fiberboard style core, so it is truly waterproof. There is some small difference in the installation method with iCORE as you will be using an adhesive and spline set up to connect plank to plank, but this is part of what makes the product tough. Even in the event of flooding from a pump backing up or a line breaking you should be set with one of these floors.

Beyond iCORE no wood based laminate (or any wood based product for that matter) can be truly waterproof. Some may be a bit more water resistant, but if standing water is left in place it will inevitably ruin the floor.

Q: Can hardwood be put in a Master Bathroom with a Tub and/or Shower?

Anna

A: You could install a wood floor into a bathroom, but I would advise against it. With any wood floor, they are susceptible to expansion and contraction from moisture and temperature changes. In a place like a bathroom where you will have hot water vapor in the air this can be devastating to a hardwood floor.

I have seen cork floors work in bathrooms quite well, but your best bet in any moisture rich environment would be linoleum, vinyl, or stone and tile. Now if you want the softer look of wood compared to stone or linoleum, I would suggest looking into cork. As Steve recently wrote about in his blog, cork when carefully installed can not only work well, but look great in bathrooms. The nice thing about cork is that it is naturally resistant to moisture (no wonder we use it as a bottle stopper) and its warmer under foot than stone because it is a natural insulator.

The key to making any wood floor work in a moisture heavy environment like a bathroom is to wipe up any spills immediately and to not leave any wet clothing or towels on the floor. Also, use a good place mat at the edge of bath tubs or showers to catch water and prevent it from getting into the seams of the flooring.

If you look into a wood floor, cork being your best bet here, look into a product you can glue down or add a bit of adhesive into the locking mechanism or tongue and grooves of the floor to act as an extra bit of moisture protection, especially if your floor is floating.

Q: I have the first floor kitchen, living room & corridors oak. It is glued to the concrete slab. I have 2 other rooms on the floor with a wall-to-wall carpet on the concrete slab. All of this is on the first floor. What are the important steps to replace all of this with new engineered hard wood floors? How should the old floor be removed, how will the old glue be scraped off & should there be leveling?

Thanks

A: Removing any flooring which has been glued in place is one of the toughest jobs out there, but with a bit of patience and time, you will get the job done. Before we get too in-depth on what you will need to do, let's first talk about time and tools. On average, removing a glue down hardwood floor will go at a rate of roughly 10sf per hour. This includes time required to scrape away the adhesive from the subfloor. With that timing in mind, I would advise looking into some temporary labor to help you out in the removal process. This could be anything from temp labor to convincing a few friends to help out in exchange for a well deserved meal from the local pizza joint.

Now let's talk about the tools you'll need to get this job done. First off you will need a good circular saw (aka skill saw) and plenty of spare blades. Next on our list will be a pry bar and a small sledgehammer, typically a 3lbs. sledge does the trick nicely. Finally you will need some scrapers to remove the adhesive. Typically one with a 3" to 5" blade is going to be your best bet.

For the actual removal process, you will want to first cut your wood flooring into sections about 12-18 inches in width using your circular saw. Make sure that you are cutting deep enough so that the blade is just barely touching the concrete. This will ensure you cut entirely through the board which is critical. Your saw blades will dull fairly quick so be ready to replace them. Also, make sure that any adjustments you make to your saw are done with the saw unplugged (better safe then sorry).

To start, make your first cut 15-18 inches away from the wall and try to follow the seam of the flooring as best you can along the entire length of this dimension of the floor. Make one or two more cuts a similar distance from this first cut, then make perpendicular cuts about every 12-15 inches along this area. This will work as a good start point to begin the removal.

After you have cut the floor into sections, you will be getting into the hard work. From here you will be using your hammer and pry bar to remove the sections of flooring. It will take a couple of hits to get the pry bar wedged underneath the flooring, but the key here is to get the flooring to come up in small sections, not in splintered chunks. It is usually easiest if you can get the flooring from the tongue side of the plank. To locate the tongue side, go along the walls of the area and look for a row with full planks, typically this was the first row of flooring as the last row is typically cut to fit. The groove side of the plank is placed against the wall, so work from the opposite side of this wall and steadily take up flooring. After you have removed the flooring, you can move onto removing the adhesive.

When scraping, keep in mind that you should flip the blade on the scraper often in order to help keep the blade edge sharp. Blades will need to be replaced as they get dull over time and how long each blade lasts will be dependent on the adhesive used and how smooth your subfloor is. Assuming your subfloor was properly leveled before the flooring was installed it should be rather smooth and easier to work with when scraping. Scraping can be more or less difficult depending on the adhesive used (older adhesives from the 70s are a real pain) and removing the adhesive may call for use of special adhesive removal equipment, but this tends to be rare if the flooring is relatively new (within the last 5-7 years).

There are a few more solvents out there that you can use to soften up the adhesive. Several are made with a citric acid base (like the cleaners you see in stores labeled as "citrus"). There are a few others that are out there made from a soy base. The key is finding one formulated for the particular adhesive used to install your floor. With these solvents, you will need to allow them a bit of time to get into the adhesive and soften it back up, so keep this in mind when planning your removal process.

After you have removed the flooring and scraped the left over adhesive away, then you will want to check to ensure your concrete is level. If needed, level out the subfloor so that you will have a nice smooth surface to install the new floor over.

Q: Hello, recently this week we had a leak from our dishwasher which caused some water to go between our congoleum floor and the wood sub-floor. Now as a result we have a thin crease in our congoleum floor about three feet long where it appears that the subfloor has buckled somewhat. It is not hugely noticeable other than a small crease and when you walk on it you can feel a bit of a rise. I guess I am wondering if this will subside over time or will this be a permanent rise in the subflooring? Any fix suggestions without having to pull the section of flooring?

Thanks.

A: Typically when something like this has occurred it will not go away. What you could try, since this moisture issue seems to be somewhat recent, is to try putting a small dehumidifier near the area of plywood which has been affected. This could remove some of the moisture and relieve a bit of the buckle, but the crease you are seeing will most likely remain and I doubt that the buckling will go entirely away. I would do your best to get the dehumidifier in from the under the plywood (along the joists) and make sure it is on a lower setting so it does not remove too much moisture from the rest of the subfloor.

Unfortunately, the only way to ensure that this buckle is gone would be to remove those pieces of plywood in the subfloor, replace them and then reinstall or replace the Congoleum tiles onto the new subfloor.

Q: I have Quick-Step (Perspective 4) laminate (only 6 months old) installed throughout my home and we recently experienced flooding from the flat above. Water fell on to the floor from the leaking ceiling and MAY have passed through the laminate, but I cannot be sure. This happened over a week ago and the floor appears to still be perfect, flat, without any bending, warping or damage.

Gill

A: Typically you will begin to see some signs of water damage in this amount of time; however, the best way to check here would be to get a moisture meter from a local home store (should run you around $25 or so) and test at the seams of the planks. If this rating over 8% then it has a bit more moisture than is normal, if this is beyond 10% you will want to get a dehumidifier and run it to help remove some of this excessive moisture. What could be happening is that any moisture has absorbed into the wood and the floor has expanded, but as the moisture slowly exits the floor as the home returns to a normal environment the floor will lose some of that moisture and warping could then occur as the additional moisture leaves.

Again I suggest testing the moisture as it will give you a precise idea as to if potential damage may or may not occur. You could also try to pull up a plank or two at the edge of the floor to see if any moisture is underneath the floor with your underlayment.

Q: I'm finishing a basement on a concrete slab, that is about 800sq ft and I want to do a small bathroom also in the area, the home is at the beach and even though the basement is dry I'm concerned about moisture.

What product do you recommend for the floor in the basement and can I use a pergo or similar floor for a bathroom floor, my contractor suggested an engineered floating floor.

Thanks
Dr Brenner

A: With any basement installation, moisture is a concern; however, it is fairly easy to over come these issues. One important factor here will be what floor you choose. Laminate, like Pergo, and floating engineered hardwoods are good choices in a basement, but you can also look into glue down engineered floors as well.

Keep in mind the key here is to ensure you have a moisture barrier. In the case of glue down floors, the adhesive itself acts as a moisture barrier, but for floating floors you will need to install 6mil polyethelyne or visqueen moisture barrier. Ensure that all of the seams are properly taped up before laying down your underlayment and installing your floor. When installing the moisture barrier, make sure that you bring the 6mil poly (or equivalent) about two inches up the wall to protect the sides of the floor.

For your bathroom, you can install Pergo or similar laminate, or an engineered wood floor. Although moisture heavy areas are not great for wood floors, with proper care during installation and if you prevent water from getting on the floor (standing water, wet clothes, etc) then you should be fine. A quick tip for these areas, make sure you put a small bead of glue into the joints of the floor to act as a back up moisture seal.

As always, when installing any wood floor, especially in areas with a concrete subfloor or more moisture, give the flooring itself plenty of time to acclimate, preferably in the room it will be installed into.

Q: Is a wood floor ok for a bathroom?

A: Tough question because the answer is not simple. Yes and no both apply here, so let me dig in a bit and explain. Generally speaking you can install some wood floors in bathrooms successfully without it being a massive risk of the floor being ruined.

Assuming you don't expect standing water from splashing around, wet clothes on the floor or general spills and those using the bathroom are typically all adults of older children, than you can install some wood floors. I would not suggest 3/4" solid wood or even engineered wood floors if this bathroom has a shower or bath tub, as the risk involved with spills can be detrimental to these floors. Cork and laminate both are good choices here.

In bathrooms which do not have a bath tub or shower, engineered or even solid wood floors can be looked into, but I would highly suggest either site finishing these floors, or at the very least finding a product which is suited to glue-down or glue-together installations. The reason here is to get a small bit of glue into the tongue and groove area to help give a bit more sealing against moisture.

Even with these cases, I would still caution against solid or engineered wood floors in bathrooms because wood and water do not mix. A high-quality laminate, bamboo or cork floor is a great choice here as they are a bit better suited toward this environment when compared to traditional hardwood floors.

A great alternative for a wood looking floor would be the wood appearing vinyl floors made by Konecto or Congoleum. Konecto is a bit more user friendly when it comes to installation and durability, but both of them make great floors for environments like a bathroom while still keeping a wood look.

Q: We are refinishing our basement and I want to use a waterproof flooring material to prevent potential flood damage, yet it must be very comfortable to walk on (no ceramic tiles). What do you recommend?

Thanks!
Drew & Lauren

A: There are very few truly water-proof floors available. Your best bet considering that this is concrete would be to either install a rubber floor, such as RB Rubber's zip tiles, as these provide a bit of cushion and are water-proofed. Another option would be an epoxy floor. Simply put this would be one of the most resilient options available, but similar to tile, you will get a more solid floor.

Basically, any floor which will be water-proof is going to be a rather solid floor, such as composite floors, stone/tile, epoxy, etc. Rubber flooring is about the only floor which is water-proof that will have a bit of cushion underfoot. You could look into something like a vinyl plank flooring such as Konecto which is made to be water proof and makes a great choice.

Q: Can you use wood flooring in the bathroom, which get very wet with children? Thank you - Nancy
Click Below For The Answer!

Q: My husband and I recently purchased an older home and are remodeling. We pulled up the old carpet in the family room and discovered that a little more than half the room has the original raised, wood subfloor while the rest is a cement slab from an expansion/addition the former owners had constructed. We would like to put down real hardwood or engineered hardwood but are unsure of how to prepare the subfloor. Where the two material meet they are a bit uneven. We were considering a self-leveling compound but we fear that the wood will flex and the cement won't resulting in cracking and an uneven floor. We've also considered covering the whole floor with thin plywood or a similar material. What would you suggest for leveling a floor with two completely different types of subfloors? Thanks!

Kristin

A: Depending on which area of your subfloor is lower, will determine what method is best to do. Let's look into a few options:

First of all, I would not suggest putting plywood over the concrete. To do this you must glue it in place and unless you have done this several times, it's a pain to do and has a higher rate of failure than other options.

If the concrete portion of the subfloor is lower, than using a leveling compound is a good bet. If you have worries about it cracking because of the wood expanding more than the concrete (which does expand and contract some) make sure you use a latex additive to give the leveling compound some elasticity. Another option would be to build a slow, sloping ramp, but it's a bit less work and more reliable to simply bring the entire concrete portion level.

If the wood subfloor is lower, than using some plywood nailed in place to shim up the floor is a good bet. Follow-up with a bit of leveling compound to make sure that the concrete floor is level as well and you should be all set for installation. Remember, you want your subfloor to be flat and dry. If there is a sizeable gap between the wood and concrete portions of the subfloor, fill it like you would repair a crack in your concrete.

For the flooring itself, you will want to use an engineered or 5/16" solid hardwood floor which is approved for a glue-down installation. You could also do a floating hardwood, but you must have a moisture barrier in place over the entire floor. In the case of glue-down, the adhesive will act as your moisture barrier. Before installation, give the flooring plenty of time to acclimate and ensure to moisture test before installing. Try to make sure the flooring and subfloor's moisture content is within 4% of each other, and try for 2% if doing glue down.

Q: What do you think of laminate flooring in a bathroom? Also if you use Pergo would you still need and underlay and what type?

Thanks
Leo

A: Laminate can work in a bathroom, but if you have younger children or expect to have standing water or wet clothing on the floor relatively often, you might want to look into another flooring option. The biggest concern here is moisture getting into the seams of the laminate where it is unprotected. When this occurs, warping and buckling tend to follow. This does not mean that is impossible to have a successful laminate floor like Pergo in your bathroom - especially if your home has no younger children and you should not have wet clothing or towels sitting on the floor.

A few tips for success here. You must use an underlayment under any floating floor - so look into a underlayment which is approved by Pergo and try to get one which is denser as this will cause the floor itself to move less when walked over, reducing the chance of exposing the joints. Cork underlayment is a great option here as it supports the floor rather than cushioning it. You could put a very thin bead of glue into the seams when installing the floor to act as an additional moisture seal, but again this is not really necessary for an adult household. When installing, take you time and ensure that all of the planks are snugly fit together and you may want to put some silicone caulking into expansion gap areas near the shower and around the toilet to act as a good moisture seal.