2nd Bedroom, best combo of subfloor prep, underlay and engineered wood. Roughly 30mm height to use

Discussion in 'Subfloor Preparation' started by kristian, Feb 21, 2017.

  1. kristian

    kristian New Member

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    Hi

    This is my first project laying an engineered hardwood flooring. I am going for a standard brusher/oiled oak and hopefully a relatively simple fitting approach. I am happy to make compromises to achieve a good, but not perfect result as it is a bedroom with low traffic.

    Room : see pics at the bottom IMG_20170221_170855.jpg IMG_20170221_164949.jpg IMG_20170221_163859.jpg IMG_20170221_163700.jpg IMG_20170221_163358.jpg IMG_20170221_163232.jpg IMG_20170221_162300.jpg for threshold and floorboard deviations 2-3mm at worst. You'll see me wedging up to 2 credit cards in the gaps of the pics. Dimensions of 2.1 meter across and 3.4m down the length with the floorboards running that direction. Semi detached, built 1991. Stud walls on the internal walls. Adjacent rooms are an office and the bathroom, located above the kitchen and not adjacent to the connecting wall with next door. One of the joist has a squeak and the same joist squeaks in the adjacent office which I will try to stabilise with some wood blocks under the floorboards. I will try to sand off the cupping and secure any loose floor boards. The door opens into the room and currently sits on top of a metal carpet gripper transition. If all goes well, I might lay down engineered wood in the remaining rooms and the landing, possibly thicker and higher quality than this job. I might just pay someone to do that.
    The compromise : I'm conscious of the elevation change creating a step up from the landing and requiring a significant cut off the bottom of the one of those cheap wooden frame/cardboard filled doors. I think I'll be happy to cut another 10mm off the door with a multi tool.
    Note : I want to lay the flooring in the same direction as the floor boards and I will be laying under the skirting boards for neatness.
    So what combination of subfloor prep, underlay and engineered hardwood would you recommend? Here are my thoughts. Feel free to edit one.
    All options :
    1. Sand down the uneven floorboards and screw them down
    2. Lay the boards in the same direction as the floorboards
    3. Use either tongue and groove with PVA glue or just a clicking system
    Option 1 (floating, no plywood subfloor):
    1. 5mm fibreboard underlay
    2. 14mm or 18mm engineered wood, of which 3mm top layer
    3. Presumably another 3 or 4 mm for the transition, under the door
    Total : Between 22 and 27mm
    Option 2 (floating, with thin plywood subfloor):
    1. Screw down 3.6mm of ply to the floorboards (GENERAL PURPOSE PLYWOOD 2440 X 1220 X 3.6MM B/BB CE4 E1 EN636-2)
    2. 5mm fibreboard underlay
    3. 14mm engineered wood, of which 3mm top layer
    4. Presumably another 3 or 4 mm for the threshold, under the door
    Total 26/27mm.
    Option 3 (floating, with a thicker plywood subfloor)
    1. Screw down 5.5mm of ply (GENERAL PURPOSE PLYWOOD 2440 X1220 X 5.5MM B/BB CE4 E1 EN636-2)
    2. 5mm fibreboard underlay
    3. Move threshold in front of the door and onto the landing to save the elevation.
    Total 25mm ish
    Option 4 (glued down, no underlay with an even thicker plywood subfloor, not sure I want to try this for my first attempt)
    1. Screw down 9mm of ply (General Purpose Plywood 2440 X 1220 X 9MM B/BB CE2+ E1 EN636-2)
    2. Glue 14mm or 18mm of engineered wood to the 9mm ply.
    (No insulation, over kitchen, not adjacent to neighbours wall)
    3. Move threshold in front of the door and onto the landing to save the elevation.
    Total 23 to 27mm.
    Thanks in advance
    Kristian

    IMG_20170221_170855.jpg IMG_20170221_164949.jpg IMG_20170221_163859.jpg IMG_20170221_163700.jpg
     
  2. kristian

    kristian New Member

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    Oops. I posted the pics twice and can't seem to edit the post after submitting it.
     

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