advice re solid wood floors needed from chippie

[poppy1]

Hi

Our oak floors are nearly down in the upstairs bedrooms. When i bought the solid oak I was also sold a layer of foam for underneath them. But because they are doing down on ply wood, our chippie says we do not need the underlay.
Also, downstairs we are putting down batons, then ply, then solid oak, would we need the underlay then?

Thanks

 

[xt40]

im not sure your chippie sounds very competent . he should have used the underlay upstairs .the reason the shop sold it to you is that it helps with sound transmission and makes the floor feel softer underfoot. also the floor should ideally be glued not nailed as nailing is not spillproof, loosens over time and makes it very awkward to take up afterwards
battens plus ply plus floor = 2 inches off all your doors and possibly cutting the seal off the bottom off of your hall door and a ramp down into your kitchen.
for a fuller explanation why i think battens are a very bad idea read here to see why
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=67919

 

[xt40]

just noticed that you had initiated the other thread. i think ill give up on this

 

[davidoco]

Hi

Our oak floors are nearly down in the upstairs bedrooms. When i bought the solid oak I was also sold a layer of foam for underneath them. But because they are doing down on ply wood, our chippie says we do not need the underlay.
Also, downstairs we are putting down batons, then ply, then solid oak, would we need the underlay then?

Thanks

Batons, then ply, then solid oak nailed down would be a good job but for the sake of €20 a roll there is no harm is putting in a vapour barrier either under battens, over battens or even just use 3mm foam over the over ply.

From the other thread - if you "poured 4 inches on the 01/10/07" there is a risk that the floor is not dry enough. Sick a piece of clear polyethylene (A4 cover sheet) to the slab with duck tape all round. If condensation collects under the sheet within 48 hours you may have to wait.

It's all about taste, some people love a dead floor, no give or bounce, some people think it just doesn't feel right. Your not going to have a dead floor with the battens.

In summer of 2006 I put down vapour barrier, 20mm ply expressed nailed to concrete, then 3mm foam, then nailed 5" oak. Since gone through the various seasons and it looks as good as the day it went down save for a few scratches.

Foam upstairs would be a must, otherwise every single foot step will be heard clearly downstairs (unless you have concrete 1st floors)

 

[poppy1]

xt40, thanks for your replies. hubbie has decided to go with battens, so there is no changing his mind. i agree, the chippie should have used foam but there isnt a whole lot i can do about it now, by the way he has a very good reputation in our area, so must be doing something right???

 

[Optimistic]

im not sure your chippie sounds very competent . he should have used the underlay upstairs .the reason the shop sold it to you is that it helps with sound transmission and makes the floor feel softer underfoot. also the floor should ideally be glued not nailed as nailing is not spillproof, loosens over time and makes it very awkward to take up afterwards
battens plus ply plus floor = 2 inches off all your doors and possibly cutting the seal off the bottom off of your hall door and a ramp down into your kitchen.
for a fuller explanation why i think battens are a very bad idea read here to see why
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=67919

Hi xt40. Just to ask you and any others who can advise. We are laying an ash floor (hopefully before Christmas!) on concrete floor with UFH. It is 14 by 18 feet. The heating has been running for 15 months so the floor is well dried. If we lay on foam, is there the risk of the boards warping/twisting? Can we do anything to combat this risk? What glue would you recommend to glue the tongue and grooves together as I think we prefer the floating floor aspect. How about laying it on to elastilon as stated in previous threads?
Any advise is really appreciated.