New Build floors

14 days ago

Three questions. Relatively new to the wonderful, but humid south, from dry west. Our current home has 3/4” beautiful solid oak floors on raised foundation. In the past jt had moisture issues. We had to have them sanded and re-stained, added dehumidifier and encapsulated crawl space. Been great for 2 years. Now am building a new build but but hubby would like to go back to slab.

My reading seems to indicate solid wood floors are not the best for that. Need plywood subfloor. Thick and expensive. Agree?
if going with a nice, thicker wear layer engineered floor, any brand/line suggestions?
can the engineered be floated on the underlayment, or should it be glued? (We spent days tearing out some from our daughter’s townhome…not fun job)

Thank you so much!

Featured Answer

Tish

11 days ago

The 40 year industry standard in the South has always been polyurethane glue down engineered on slab. It is still the gold standard for stability and moisture resistance. Solid is still a stability issue, without a huge amount of expensive moisture barriers being applied. And then the wood glued down. With perfect, zoned, non oversized, HVAC. Oversized HVAC does not remove enough moisture from the home in low delta conditions.

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Comments (8)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
14 days ago
A solid wood floor glued to a slab with proper modern adhesives isn't going anywhere, believe me. I did a repair a decade or so ago, so I know first-hand.
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PRO
G & S Floor Service
10 days ago
Glue down Engineered hardwood flooring will be best choice. You will want to do 1 or 2 coats of moisture retarder/barrier, along with a moisture barrier rated adhesive and trowel. Your exterior and slab will need a good continuos tight air seal. Hopefully you're using Zip sheathings for your exterior.
dan1888
10 days ago
A slab gets a 10mm or 6mm vinyl sheet moisture barrier put down before the pour. Engineered hardwood flooring allows a wider 7-12" plank to show off the beauty of wood. 3,4, 6mm top layer with multilayer hardwood core.
PRO
Minardi
10 days ago
Glue down engineered is the standard for many reasons.
David Cary
9 days ago
last modified: 9 days ago
We have nailed engineered wide plank on slab with plywood subfloor.

When you say humid south, there is quite the variety and it is usually proximity to water that is the difference. Coastal is significantly more humid than inland but both consider themselves humid. You rarely see solid hard woods near the coast (in my area) and you also rarely see slabs in my coastal area.

In Florida, you see slabs on the coast. So, there are significant dynamics involved and I would suggest being more specific.

I wouldn't want to do what wasn't typical for the area although my slab wasn't typical which is probably why I have a plywood subfloor.

My house is incredibly dry in the summer. Zipwalls and foam in tough areas.

Our beach rental home consistently had humidity over 70% - ouch. I blame the packed conditions with lots of showers/wet towels and clothes from the beach. We had monitors on the windows and doors and that was not the usual problem.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
9 days ago
The issue you may experience with a nailed down subfloor over slab is condensation can creep up the fasteners and cause moisture issues. Your floors may not cup but, you can see rust marks from the fasteners.
Kathleen Boyd
Original Author
9 days ago
Thank you all! We are currently on the marsh in Charleston, 3/4” solid oak floors on encapsulated crawl space with dehumidifier system. Moving to Aiken, SC and going with slab, and clearly, engineered!