How To Install Hardwood Floors On Concrete Using Plywood

Grinding and repairing a concrete floor can create concrete dust so be safe and wear a respirator a dust mask will not give you enough protection.

How to install hardwood floors on concrete using plywood.

Place 16 inch planks perpendicular or diagonal to direction of flooring. Watch this video to see how easy it is. Over the most recent thirty years the most popular method of installing solid 3 4 hardwood on concrete was a plywood subfloor attached to the slab illustration above. Before installing any wood floor over concrete you ll need a moisture barrier.

Typically it is sheets of plastic laid on the slab and taped at the seams with waterproof tape. It will extend up the wall for about 2 to 3 inches creating a bowl where your wood floor stays dry and protected. If your floor is concrete use a concrete grinder for large open areas or a 4 inch or 8 inch angle grinder with a cup wheel attachment made for use on concrete. Rather than tear out a wooden floor and installing concrete your wooden floor can be turned into a beautiful concrete floor with a concrete microtopping.

In many homes plywood was chosen as a flooring substrate and applying concrete over plywood gives you more options for using what you already have. Used when installing solid hardwood nail down installation is chosen due to how quickly and cost effectively it can be done. Use a minimum 3 4 inch cd exposure 1 plywood sheathing 4 foot by 8 foot sheets. Using a minimum 5 8 cdx 3 4 recommended plywood the material is installed over the same moisture barriers mastic excluded but attached by way of concrete fasteners.

Align the first board with the layout line with the tongue facing into the room. Here s how to install flooring using the nail down method. Loosely lay a nailing surface of 3 4 4 x 8 exterior plywood panels over the entire area leaving a 3 4 space at the wall line and 1 4 to 1 2 between panels. Begin by cutting sheets to 16 inches by 8 feet or smaller panels marked 3 8 of an inch deep on back and a minimum of every 12 inches across in width.