BDU Hardwood College™

More than What You See: The Importance of Your Subfloor to Solid Hardwood Flooring

What you will learn: how solid hardwood flooring is installed on a subfloor; unsuitable subfloors for solid hardwood flooring; installation "grades" (on grade, above grade, below grade); engineered hardwood as an alternative to solid hardwood.

The look of solid hardwood lends elegance to any space. But one of the most important things to consider before this type of quality flooring is installed is what’s underneath it. Actually, this is not just a mere consideration – it is crucial…

A solid hardwood floor is a superior choice in flooring and a great potential investment overall. But like any investment, it needs protecting, and you need to judge whether or not you’re making the right decision to maximize your investment. Solid hardwood certainly has that potential. But before the decision is made, you should arm yourself with the knowledge that a solid hardwood floor is only as good as its subfloor. A proper subfloor will be the unsung hero of your solid hardwood investment; but the wrong subfloor will surely be the villain.

The way a solid hardwood floor is installed is by means of nailing or stapling the boards directly to the subfloor. As such, it is important that the subfloor be made of a material that will hold a nail or a staple for the life of the solid hardwood floor. Substrates like vinyl, glued-down carpet, concrete or ceramic tile are not suitable for the installation of solid hardwood flooring! When doing an on-grade installation – at the level of the ground outside the space – it is important to consider not only the subfloor, but also the ventilation quality of any crawlspaces or basements underneath. Hardwood flooring will be affected by moisture underneath the floor as well as on the top surface – that is the nature of solid wood. For an above-grade installation, meaning that the space is above ground level, it is important to consider whether the rigidity of the substrate is at adequate to support the solid hardwood floor being installed.

For below-grade installations, for example an installation in a basement, it is important to know that moisture levels are usually higher in these circumstances. A good rule of thumb to follow is to eliminate the solid hardwood flooring option when you are looking to install below grade; overt moisture is an obvious sign of danger in any space considered for solid hardwood. Excessive amounts of moisture can mean disaster for solid hardwood floors, causing them to warp and swell. However, if you have your mind set on a hardwood floor in this kind of space, there is an excellent solution: an engineered hardwood floor. An engineered hardwood floor is a good alternative for any installation on a concrete subfloor because engineered flooring can be floated, or directly glued to the concrete without having to consider the issue of expansion due to humidity, or other environmental factors which affect below grade installations.

A solid hardwood floor can add real value to your property, both in terms of it aesthetic effect and financial consideration that solid hardwood can contribute to your property’s market value. Making sure you have the right environment for your solid hardwood floor is not only a way to extend the life your floor, but also a way to nurture your investment.

©2008 by BuildDirect.com Technologies Inc. (BuildDirect™). All rights reserved.