Engineered Flooring over a Concrete Slab

Laminated wood flooring products work well applied to a concrete slab, as long as the floor is acceptably flat and a proper vapor barrier is applied first. February 5, 2007

Question
I wish to remove some old carpet in approximately 1000 sq ft of ground floor office with concrete slab and replace with an engineered wood floor. Is this feasible? If so, what should I look for with regard to brand names? Easier the install, the better!

Forum Responses
(Architectural Woodworking Forum)
From contributor J:
Float the floor over a good vapor barrier. Look for flooring that's finished on both sides.



From contributor F:
Float the engineered flooring over a 6 to 10mil polyethylene sheet. A single sheet is best and bend it up the walls behind the base. If the area requires more than one sheet, overlap your joints by 8" or more. You can add an underlayment to mitigate minor irregularities and gain some acoustic improvement. The sub-floor must be flat within the manufacturer's installation and warrantee guidelines. There are both glue together and glueless joinery floor types. Floating floors are similar in many ways, be they wood or laminate.