LESLIE: Russell in Texas is on the line with a flooring question. How can we help you today?
RUSSELL: Hi. We’re doing a remodel of about 35-year-old house with a slab floor. And we’ve noticed the current flooring, we have moisture problems underneath our bed, where we store plastic boxes and wooden foot lockers. Moisture will accumulate on the bottom of those things and deteriorates the carpet.
TOM: OK.
RUSSELL: Also, the kitchen and bathrooms, the linoleum will show some discoloration, like there’s moisture coming up. So we wanted to know, before we put down some nice, wood – engineered wood flooring on our slab, what should we do to prevent the moisture from coming up? Is that a right approach?
TOM: Yeah. Well, a couple things come to mind.
First of all, in terms of reducing the amount of moisture the slab is subjected to, that’s going to start outside the house. So I want you to make absolutely certain that you have continuous gutters at all of the roof eaves so that you’re collecting the water that’s coming off the roof. And I want you to also make sure that that – that those downspouts are discharging at least 6 feet from the house.
Because the idea here is that if we can keep the area right around the foundation perimeter as dry as possible, that first 4 feet or so away from the house, that’s going to mean you’re going to have a lot less water that gets pulled in through that slab. Because the slabs are very hydroscopic. They’re like magnets. They suck that water in and it just sort of wicks its way up through the concrete and can end up even in the middle of the house, under the floor, and causing these sorts of issues. So we do want to see you dry out as much as possible.
In terms of flooring choices, since you do have these humidity issues and these moisture issues, I would suggest, perhaps, a different direction than engineered floor. Certainly, engineered floor is OK in damp locations but you might want to look at some of the new vinyl products that are out there. And I know you’re thinking, “Ah, vinyl. You know, I really don’t want vinyl. Vinyl is what I grew up with. That’s my grandmother’s vinyl.” It’s not like that anymore. It’s absolutely gorgeous and it looks just like the hardwood that you are trying to accomplish.
There’s two types of vinyl: one’s called LVP – luxury vinyl plank – and the other one’s called EVP or engineered vinyl plank. You’ll find that the engineered plank pretty much works anywhere. It’s a bit stiffer than the luxury vinyl plank.
LESLIE: Well, it’s built like an engineered hardwood would be.
TOM: Right. It’s like engineered hardwood but it’s a vinyl surface.
RUSSELL: Yeah, we’ve looked at that. Mm-hmm.
TOM: Yeah. It’s really durable stuff. And if you have these kinds of moisture issues, I think it would be, really, a good option for you to look at.
Pretty affordable, pretty easy to install. And it’ll have – the dampness and the humidity will have absolutely no effect on it.
RUSSELL: OK. Well, we’ve checked out some of the vinyl and we’re open to that. I mean I certainly don’t want to put down a wood floor that’s going to be ruined by this, so we want to put down the right flooring. But it seems like there’s two – they’ve offered us two options. You can either have a floating floor with a little pad underneath or you can have it glued down.
TOM: Yep.
RUSSELL: Now, I think I prefer the glued down because you don’t hear that little – you kind of hear the hollow of the floor as you walk across it when it’s floating and I don’t like that. But I’m concerned – but I want to make sure that I can seal that floor to keep the adhesive from coming up if moisture gets up in there.
TOM: Right.
RUSSELL: What do you think of that?
TOM: Well, I would rely on the manufacturer’s recommended adhesives for this because, certainly, they’re used to working with the concrete. I would be concerned that if I put down a standard concrete sealer, that it would have an adverse effect with whatever adhesive is being recommended by the manufacturer. So, I would trust them on that.
If it was a floating floor and you wanted to reduce moisture, then I wouldn’t have any issue with you putting down a concrete sealer first just to kind of stop some of that evaporation up. But since you want to glue the planking to it and – then I definitely think you should rely on the product that’s provided by the manufacturer to do that. Because you’re talking about chemistry here and you don’t know what’s going to happen when you mix sealer in with the adhesive. It may affect its bond and that’s what – that would be a big issue.
RUSSELL: Right. OK. So before we completely throw in the towel on the wood flooring, are there any wood-floor options, you think, that remain open to us?
TOM: No, you’ve got it. The engineered wood floor is the only wood-flooring product that you could put against concrete slabs. And look, it might be fine, it might not. But I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Yeah, I really think that if you get some of these new vinyls down – there’s one other option, by the way, that’s more expensive and incredibly durable and also very good-looking. And that’s called “wood-look porcelain tile.” And that can be glued directly to the concrete slab and it’s absolutely the most durable, wood-look product that’s out there. So, take a look at that, as well. And if you have the budget, that’s another option for you, OK?
RUSSELL: OK. Well, I appreciate your opinion and letting us know our options.
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