Engineered wood flooring

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75
Location
New Jersey
I would like to remove some carpeting which is laying on plywood & then put wood flooring over the plywood which is in turn on top of concrete. I posted earlier asking about Pergo but found out I'd have to remove the plywood on the floor, I don't want to do this . It was suggested that I use "engineered" wood for the floors. Does anyone know if I can put this over the plywood? Is this a job a relatively handy person can do or should I hire a professional to do it?
Thanks
Dennis
 
If there's concrete under the plywood then that kinda rules out nailing the engineered flooring down and leaves you with gluing it down.

Generally, engineered flooring will require a fairly flat surface, usually about 1/8" or less over a ten foot span. If there is much more variation than that (whether you nail it or glue it), you will get voids under the flooring and you can/will have problems.

I wouldn't use anything less than 1/2" material and would recommend using 3/4" thick flooring. This will be pricier but it will also (usually) give you better floor.


hth
 
Chris
Both the pergo instructions & a call to Pergo said if you have plywood over concrete you have to remove the plywood & lay the Pergo on the padding over concrete, doesn't make sense to me but Pergo must know what they're doing
Dennis
 
The only thing I can think of is it may trap moisture in the plywood & cause it to swell. Do you know if there is a vapor barrier between the plywood & concrete? Have you checked other brands of flooring?
 
Dennis,
I'm puzzled. :huh: I put Pergo over ply with no problems. I know others who have Pergo right over the concrete (with the Pergo brand foam underneath. Only thing I can figure is there might be trouble if one sheet of ply is considerably higher than its neighbor...

By the way, I wouldn't worry about the stuff moving either. The stuff is heavy. I tried to reposition a few rows one time and had to take it apart to move it.
 
Jesse
The problem appears to be putting Pergo over plywood which is over concrete, for this type installation Pergo says you have to remove the plywood (which I don't plan to do)
Dennis
 
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