Do You Need Plastic Between Engineered Hardwood Floors

Hi ryan thanks for the question.

Do you need plastic between engineered hardwood floors.

Although laminate may win the laminate vs. If you re installing laminate or engineered flooring that snaps together and floats over the subfloor without nails you need underlayment even more. Depending on the thickness of the veneer that tops the flooring the quality of flooring used and how well you maintain your floors engineered hardwood can last a lifetime. Engineered hardwood flooring runs 3 to 10 per square foot.

Expansion breaks allow heavy floating floors collective and seasonal expansion thereby reducing the occurrence of buckling of the floor. They offer soundproofing insulation a moisture barrier and added comfort while also helping to level out the subfloor. Breaks can be placed in doorways between rooms or hallways and can be hidden or maintained by using basic t type expansion moldings. If you use one it is no harm but you don t really need it.

Plastic foam felt cork and rubber are common choices. If you choose to glue down your engineered hardwood flooring using a cork underlayment underneath you would need to glue the cork down securely to the subfloor and then you can glue the. Engineered hardwood toughness challenge engineered hardwood can be refinished two or three times over its lifespan. Some floor installers would say that 2 3 days is enough for the wood floors to acclimate fully.

Without this support the boards can buckle when you walk on them and the seams may separate. And then simply install the floating floor on top. Besides all the other benefits underlay helps support a floating floor. The felt paper is a good option for hardwood but since you re nailing the hardwood down you do not need a foam underlayment.

Laminate flooring and engineered wood flooring are two obvious choices if you want a flooring that looks like solid hardwood but at a more affordable price. Engineered flooring is typically between 3 8 to 3 4 thick whereas solid hardwood is 1 2 to 3 4 thick. I love engineered hardwood but as with everything else you need to do your homework. You only need to worry about the moisture barrier when it comes to a concrete subfloor so you do not need one in this case.

Underlayments for hardwood floors provide multiple benefits depending on the material that you choose. Engineered hardwood also provides a better value point if you should decide to sell your house. How long will an engineered wood floor last. For floating installs you can either float the cork underlayment or you can tack it down to the subfloor.