Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped up
the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when the
house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as you
have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video (wickes), said
yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see would
be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles without
too many issues.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer or
with definitive fitting advice.

thanks

Vernon

Vernon coughed up some electrons that declared:

Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped
up the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when
the house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as
you have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video (wickes),
said yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see
would be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles
without too many issues.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer
or with definitive fitting advice.

thanks

Vernon

I've heard of fully floating engineered wood and I have seen some some
mention of bonding such floors down with a special adhesive.

In the former case, I would say leaving the tiles is fine.

Try googling for "engineered oak" or "engineered wood floor" - I think
that's how I found some interesting info.

If I come across anything I post back.

Cheers

Tim

"Tim S" wrote in message
...
Vernon coughed up some electrons that declared:

Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room,
and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped
up the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when
the house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as
you have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video (wickes),
said yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see
would be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles
without too many issues.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask
for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer
or with definitive fitting advice.

thanks

Vernon

I've heard of fully floating engineered wood

Done that, works fine - make sure it can move. Don't get any points at which
the wood is hard up against an edge - the floor shifts slightly and the bond
between the planks can break as one part is free to move but the other part
hits a bit of wall and gets left behind.

--
PeterMcC

If you feel that any of the above is incorrect,
inappropriate or offensive in any way,
please ignore it and accept my apologies.

Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living
room, and she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not
engineered wood, but solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas,
no whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has
ripped up the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about
6-8 inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete
floor when the house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete,
as you have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video
(wickes), said yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use
an underlay.

Generally *NO* - to lay oak flooring to any reasonable finish it either has
to be secret nailed through any tongues, or in the case of wood block, stuck
down with the proper adhesive - in either case, the tiles will have to be
removed

She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see
would be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the
tiles without too many issues.

If you want even a halfway decent job, then then see the comments above.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm
planks 130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the
manufacturer to ask for advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the
manufacturer or with definitive fitting advice.

Is this what you are referring to? http://www.ffco.co.uk/gallery.php

Vernon, to lay a 'proper' wood floor to a decent standard requires a fair
bit of preparation, effort and knowledge of laying and finishing
techniques - along with a fairly large bank balance - and I would suggest
that you either dissuade the 'other half' from having it done or contract it
out to a flooring specialist.

To give you some idea, it would almost certainly require that the existing
screed be ripped up and possibly a bit of the concrete floor slab as well.
You will then have to lay a new screed with timber battens inserted into it
[1] and the boards nailed to these (this is to keep the floor at the same
level to avoid having to cut doors etc to fit).

Or as above, without the timber battens [2]

[1] Presuming the floor is boarded and nailed
[2] Presuming it is a block floor that is to be stuck down.

Oh, and if you start now, it is unlkely to be finished until the new year -
happy Xmas. Lol

Cash

On Dec 8, 12:06*pm, "Vernon" wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped up
the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when the
house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as you
have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video (wickes), said
yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see would
be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles without
too many issues.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer or
with definitive fitting advice.

thanks

Vernon

Is it ground floor, dirt is under concrete, if so moisture could ruin
it. If concrete is over dirt it should be tested for moisture.

Oh, and if you start now, it is unlkely to be finished until the new
year - happy Xmas. Lol

Cash


That's why i tried to dissuade her! I just cannot justify the expense of all
that, I am working on her, explaining the difference, and trying to tell her
that no one will know if it is solid oak or engineered oak. But you know
what women are like! Hopefully she will be happy to go with engineered, in
that case, I presume I fit an underlay, then glue the boards together.

Any recommendations for underlay, I did see one that was self adhesive to
hold the floor together, not sure about that.

thanks

Vernon

Is it ground floor, dirt is under concrete, if so moisture could ruin
it. If concrete is over dirt it should be tested for moisture.

It is the ground floor yes, but as I said initially, it looks like the
concrete slab was covered with lino tiles, during the initial build, they
are certainly not what I could imagine anyone buying and putting down!

Cash coughed up some electrons that declared:

Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living
room, and she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not
engineered wood, but solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas,
no whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has
ripped up the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about
6-8 inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete
floor when the house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete,
as you have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video
(wickes), said yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use
an underlay.

Generally *NO* - to lay oak flooring to any reasonable finish it either
has to be secret nailed through any tongues, or in the case of wood block,
stuck down with the proper adhesive - in either case, the tiles will have
to be removed

She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see
would be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the
tiles without too many issues.

If you want even a halfway decent job, then then see the comments above.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm
planks 130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the
manufacturer to ask for advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the
manufacturer or with definitive fitting advice.

Is this what you are referring to? http://www.ffco.co.uk/gallery.php

Vernon, to lay a 'proper' wood floor to a decent standard requires a fair
bit of preparation, effort and knowledge of laying and finishing
techniques - along with a fairly large bank balance - and I would suggest
that you either dissuade the 'other half' from having it done or contract
it out to a flooring specialist.

To give you some idea, it would almost certainly require that the existing
screed be ripped up and possibly a bit of the concrete floor slab as well.
You will then have to lay a new screed with timber battens inserted into
it
[1] and the boards nailed to these (this is to keep the floor at the same
level to avoid having to cut doors etc to fit).

Or as above, without the timber battens [2]

[1] Presuming the floor is boarded and nailed
[2] Presuming it is a block floor that is to be stuck down.

Oh, and if you start now, it is unlkely to be finished until the new year
- happy Xmas. Lol

Cash

Here's the adhesive I came across, which claims to be for engineered wood.

It does however emphasise a strong dry sound substrate.

Cheers

Tim

In article ,
Vernon wrote:
That's why i tried to dissuade her! I just cannot justify the expense of
all that, I am working on her, explaining the difference, and trying to
tell her that no one will know if it is solid oak or engineered oak.
But you know what women are like! Hopefully she will be happy to go
with engineered, in that case, I presume I fit an underlay, then glue
the boards together.

Think the boards you described are too short to be a true solid oak floor
- an original would have had much longer ones.

I've got what I think is a engineered one - rectangles of solid oak glued
together into T&G planks which when assembled correctly don't show the
plank joins - and it looks gorgeous. It's on a wood floor with heating
pipes running underneath in places but hasn't moved at all.

--
*Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 8 Dec, 21:09, "Cash" wrote:
Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living
room, and she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not
engineered wood, but solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas,
no whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has
ripped up the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about
6-8 inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete
floor when the house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete,
as you have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video
(wickes), said yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use
an underlay.

Generally *NO* - to lay oak flooring to any reasonable finish it either has
to be secret nailed through any tongues, or in the case of wood block, stuck
down with the proper adhesive - in either case, the tiles will have to be
removed

She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see
would be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the
tiles without too many issues.

If you want even a halfway decent job, then then see the comments above.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm
planks 130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the
manufacturer to ask for advice, they are labelled up as Forester.
Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the
manufacturer or with definitive fitting advice.

Is this what you are referring to? *http://www.ffco.co.uk/gallery.php

Vernon, to lay a 'proper' wood floor to a decent standard requires a fair
bit of preparation, effort and knowledge of laying and finishing
techniques - along with a fairly large bank balance - and I would suggest
that you either dissuade the 'other half' from having it done or contract it
out to a flooring specialist.

To give you some idea, it would almost certainly require that the existing
screed be ripped up and possibly a bit of the concrete floor slab as well..
You will then have to lay a new screed with timber battens inserted into it
[1] and the boards nailed to these (this is to keep the floor at the same
level to avoid having to cut doors etc to fit).

Or as above, without the timber battens [2]

[1] * *Presuming the floor is boarded and nailed
[2] * *Presuming it is a block floor that is to be stuck down.

Oh, and if you start now, it is unlkely to be finished until the new year -
happy Xmas. Lol

Cash

Cash is quite right on all counts
Chris

I've got what I think is a engineered one - rectangles of solid oak glued
together into T&G planks which when assembled correctly don't show the
plank joins - and it looks gorgeous. It's on a wood floor with heating
pipes running underneath in places but hasn't moved at all.


Is that small rectangles like a parquet floor? sounds interesting if it is.

In message , Vernon
writes


Oh, and if you start now, it is unlkely to be finished until the new
year - happy Xmas. Lol

Cash


That's why i tried to dissuade her! I just cannot justify the expense of all
that, I am working on her, explaining the difference, and trying to tell her
that no one will know if it is solid oak or engineered oak. But you know
what women are like! Hopefully she will be happy to go with engineered, in
that case, I presume I fit an underlay, then glue the boards together.

Any recommendations for underlay, I did see one that was self adhesive to
hold the floor together, not sure about that.


Have a look at www.junckers.co.uk. It is engineered flooring, but solid
wood, no laminates etc. It can be laid as a floating floor.

They also advise on and supply the underlays to use in various
environments.

Hth
Someone

In article ,
Vernon wrote:
I've got what I think is a engineered one - rectangles of solid oak
glued together into T&G planks which when assembled correctly don't
show the plank joins - and it looks gorgeous. It's on a wood floor
with heating pipes running underneath in places but hasn't moved at
all.


Is that small rectangles like a parquet floor? sounds interesting if it
is.

Similar. The 'strips' are all 2" wide and the 'planks' 4". The plank
lengths are all the same at just over a metre but the strip lengths within
them appear random - but non shorter than about 9"
The T&G - both at the sides and ends - is such that if tightly clamped
when fitting the joins don't show, so the whole looks like it was made out
of one sheet of those strips.

It was on special offer at Wicks - but even then not cheap. About 25 quid
a sq. metre.

--
*Never miss a good chance to shut up *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped up
the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when the
house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles?

I would probably rather not.

I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as you
have to nail the boards down)

No, you don't. You can lay on a glue. It needs to be flexible..but it
can be done.


but some, including one video (wickes), said
yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see would
be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles without
too many issues.

I don't like the idea of a glued floating floor o an underaly. That is
going to sound 'clacky'.



The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer or
with definitive fitting advice.


I would be tempted to rip the tiles up and use something like 'no more
nails' to glue the floor down.

BUT the reason we us carpets,is that solid concrete floors without
insulation are fecking cold.

My REAL solution would be to get the old screed up, and then either go
suspended or insulated + screed and THEN lay the floor..probably ona
wooden frame.

Or, if you can afford the loss of room height, screw 2x2 on the floor,
insulate between, and screw timber over.





thanks

Vernon

On 9 Dec, 13:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped up
the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when the
house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles?

I would probably rather not.

I have looked for

information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as you
have to nail the boards down)

No, you don't. You can lay on a glue. It needs to be flexible..but it
can be done.

but some, including one video (wickes), said
yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see would
be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles without
too many issues.

I don't like the idea of a glued floating floor o an underaly. That is
going to sound 'clacky'.



The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer or
with definitive fitting advice.

I would be tempted to rip the tiles up and use something like 'no more
nails' to glue the floor down.

BUT the reason we us carpets,is that solid concrete floors without
insulation are fecking cold.

My REAL solution would be to get the old screed up, and then either go
suspended or insulated + screed and THEN lay the floor..probably ona
wooden frame.

Or, if you can afford the loss of room height, screw 2x2 on the floor,
insulate between, and screw timber over.

thanks

Vernon

Another option: the stretchy sticky underlay called Elastilon.
Google it.
Simon.

Vernon wrote:
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.
I said ok lets think about it do some research and do it after Xmas, no
whilst I was out at the weekend (queuing at the local tip) she has ripped up
the old carpet and underlay.
As a result the living room now has what look like lino tiles about 6-8
inches square, presumably fitted on top of original concrete floor when the
house was built (1968).
Can we fit solid oak flooring on top of these tiles? I have looked for
information on the web, and most sites say no, (well no to concrete, as you
have to nail the boards down) but some, including one video (wickes), said
yes so long as the floor is glued together, and I use an underlay.
She does not want an engineered wood floor, which as far as I can see would
be the ideal solution, as I assume it could be glued to the tiles without
too many issues.

The flooring she has seen and likes is sold in Costco, 300-1200mm planks
130mm wide 18mm thick. But I am unable to find the manufacturer to ask for
advice, they are labelled up as Forester.

Can anyone help me out, either with a contact number for the manufacturer or
with definitive fitting advice.

thanks

Vernon


We recently had an oak floor laid in a hall+extension. The flooring
came from B&Q at around 45GBP per sq M. It came as T&G in a range of
lengths and was laid in the recommended self-adhesive underlay (beware -
if you put anything on the adhesive you cant remove it). the flor was
laid floating and the edge gaps covered with Oak skirting. The effect
is very good and now that it has settled (4 months in) there is very
little movement when walking on it.

Malcolm

BUT the reason we us carpets,is that solid concrete floors without
insulation are fecking cold.

My REAL solution would be to get the old screed up, and then either go
suspended or insulated + screed and THEN lay the floor..probably ona
wooden frame.

Or, if you can afford the loss of room height, screw 2x2 on the floor,
insulate between, and screw timber over.




We cannot afford to lose height in the room, so that rules out the last
option, equally digging up the screed is IMO a no go.

I am not adverse to taking up the existing tiles, but just not certain if it
wouldn't open up more problems with the moisture content of the concrete
floor underneath etc etc.

I guess it will have to be an engineered wood floor, there still seem to be
various ways to fit those, including glue to floor, glue together over
underlay, don't glue but use sticky underlay.

ggrrr why can't we have carpet like everyone else!

Tim S coughed up some electrons that declared:


Here's the adhesive I came across, which claims to be for engineered wood.

It does however emphasise a strong dry sound substrate.

Cheers

Tim

Ow - forgot the link - google for "Laybond"

http://www.bostik.co.uk/professional...ond/category/6


I'm considering this as I'll be exactly the same position as the OP WRT a
couple of rooms. As it happens, half the ground floor will be tiled
(kitchen, hall, bathroom, utility) and a couple of rooms are slated for
wood - so all the levels are coming up by a not dissimilar amount. I have
no intention of removing any more screed, so doing this is conditional on
sticking something down to the existing layer.

My only gotcha is no DPC under the floor, which is notionally dry but
probably not bone dry, but if I can work an adhesive together with a paint
on membrane, I expect it will work OK. OTOH neither thin wood stick
on "parquet", not cemented quarry tiles nor vinyl have had any issues in
the last 10 years. The "parquet" was the dodgiest but the floor was
lumpy[1] and the adhesive was laid a bit thin and probably not the best
type IMO.

[1] That floor is getting ground and latex screeded by builders in short
course.

Cheers

Tim

"Vernon" wrote in message
...
Er indoors has decided she doesn't like the carpet in the living room, and
she wants a nice wooden floor, not laminate and not engineered wood, but
solid oak floor.



Probably not what you want to hear ... but I would use a quality engineered
floor with 7mm veneer, so will re-sand as much as solid wood .... and apply
fully glued at joints, but laid over thin closed cell insulation as a
floating floor.

If tiles and & floor are good and level enough a 2mm closed cell insulation
would do.

I have laminate upstairs and engineered on all ground floor rooms .. all
laid fully floating.