Subfloor
Subfloor for Resilient (Vinyl) Flooring
Resilient flooring seems like one giant piece of duct tape: it will stick to anything. Well, it can’t. And that’s why choosing the right subfloor is pretty important before laying resilient flooring. In case you didn’t know–and why should you?–resilient flooring is the oh-so-sensitive term nowadays for the more hated term, vinyl flooring. Got that? ... »
Soundproofing for Laminate and Resilient Flooring
If there’s one thing that laminate flooring and resilient flooring can’t do, it cannot deaden sound very well. Carpeting dulls sound (especially in conjunction with a nice, thick pad). Solid hardwood does a great job of quieting things down. Engineered wood flooring, too. But laminate flooring is so thin and built on such a worthless base,... »
Install Plywood Subfloor to Concrete Slab?
Q: I’m wondering if I can install plywood subfloor right on concrete slab. A: It is likely that you can install plywood subfloor or underlayment directly on concrete, but it depends on your slab. If the concrete slab remains high and dry all the time, and is perfectly smooth and stable, you can install the plywood... »
Fixing Concrete Slab Prior to Installing Flooring
If you’re going to install flooring directly on concrete, then that concrete has got to be perfect. You have no more flooring layers available to smooth out things before your finish flooring goes down. So, you need to deal with cracks, depressions, and high spots. And keep in mind that we’re not even talking about... »
Is the Concrete Slab is Ready for Flooring?
If you’ve got a concrete slab, you’re in luck. In a best case scenario, concrete slabs provide a (relatively) glass-smooth surface for flooring and are so stable that you should never have squeaks. But one thing to keep in mind with installing flooring directly on concrete is that concrete has a lot of moisture…and... »
Fix High and Low Spots in Subfloor
Dealing with bumps and depressions in your subfloor is your last chance to smooth things out (both figuratively and literally) before laying down the finish floor. I like to talk a lot about the benefits of layering and how layering can save your butt (in other words, if you mess up this layer, there will... »
Should I Use Subfloor Adhesive?
Q: I’m laying down subfloor and everything I read says to use adhesive with the subfloor. Now, I don’t remember this from years past. Is this a new-fangled thing that completely blows…or should I consider doing this? A: Nice, but not necessary. Call me lazy, call me cheap, but I think you can get by... »
Why Stagger End Joints on Subflooring?
Subflooring goes directly on top of your floor joists. It is pretty much a no-brainer. Or is it? Well, one thing to keep in mind is that your end joints–or corners–need to have a certain staggered pattern. I’ve never one for doing unnecessary work. For one, I hate the idea of applying subfloor adhesive (nice... »
How Thick Should Wood Floor Underlayment Be?
An underlayment is the “meat” in the wood flooring sandwich. Top is the finish flooring; that is, the wood flooring that you see and walk on. Very bottom is the subfloor (okay, well the floor joists are at the very very bottom…). Between the subfloor and finish floor is the underlayment. How... »