My son wants to install Pergo hardwood flooring in his recently
purchased (30 year old) concrete slab constructed home. The forced-air
heating ducts run inside the walls so I'm pretty sure that there's no heat
or anything else coming up through the floor. I can't find any definitive
information about what, if anything, needs to be put between the flooring
and the concrete, and I'm mystified that I can't even find a mention of the
idea of including a layer of insulation. Heating a concrete slab through a
north eastern US winter can't be cheap.
I welcome any comments and ideas.
-LS

By Pergo Hardwood Flooring, I assume you mean laminate flooring. Pergo
is actually one of (and the most well known) dozens of manufacturers of
laminate flooring....people refer to laminate much the same way we
refer to a photocopy as a "xerox"

Laminate flooring is a pretty easy DIY project. All he needs to do is
put down a vapor barrier and underlayment and then float the floor on
top of it. Some laminates have underlayment attached....in that case
all you have to do is put down 6 mil plastic sheeting over the slab as
a vapor barrier. Overlap the seams by about 6 inches. If the
underlayment is not attached, you can get a combination
underlayment/vapor barrior that just lays on top of the concret. Put
the underlayment down and then float the floor on top. Any flooring
store will be able to show you how to do it.

Al

Thanks, Al.
Are there any issues re heat loss and/or recommendations for insulation
underneath the laminate? It seems to me that the concrete slab will get
pretty cold during the winter and suck heat out of the house.

"roderonner" wrote in message
oups.com...
By Pergo Hardwood Flooring, I assume you mean laminate flooring. Pergo
is actually one of (and the most well known) dozens of manufacturers of
laminate flooring....people refer to laminate much the same way we
refer to a photocopy as a "xerox"

Laminate flooring is a pretty easy DIY project. All he needs to do is
put down a vapor barrier and underlayment and then float the floor on
top of it. Some laminates have underlayment attached....in that case
all you have to do is put down 6 mil plastic sheeting over the slab as
a vapor barrier. Overlap the seams by about 6 inches. If the
underlayment is not attached, you can get a combination
underlayment/vapor barrior that just lays on top of the concret. Put
the underlayment down and then float the floor on top. Any flooring
store will be able to show you how to do it.

Al

Lew,
I can't answer your questions regarding insulation....i never really
thought about it. you can try hardwoodinstaller.com or diyflooring.com
for some answers. Or, if you go to a flooring store in your area they
may be able to answer that question. There are several different types
of underlayment ranging from foam padding to a fiber similar to felt,
to cork. The better the underlayment the better the noise insulation.
There are not many negatives to laminate, but one of them is the sound
(they sound hollow) so better underlayment helps that and its not
really that expensive.
Al

Interesting that neither site (including Pergo) makes mention of insulation.
"roderonner" wrote in message
oups.com...
Lew,
I can't answer your questions regarding insulation....i never really
thought about it. you can try hardwoodinstaller.com or diyflooring.com
for some answers. Or, if you go to a flooring store in your area they
may be able to answer that question. There are several different types
of underlayment ranging from foam padding to a fiber similar to felt,
to cork. The better the underlayment the better the noise insulation.
There are not many negatives to laminate, but one of them is the sound
(they sound hollow) so better underlayment helps that and its not
really that expensive.
Al