I'm having an extension to my kitchen and have purchased some engineered oak flooring ready to be fitted. The floor will need to be glued down. How soon can I lay the wood flooring after the builders have finished the screed floor? The screed will be 70mm thick. Presumably it will need a self leveling compound so the new part and the old part are all exactly level. Do I need to wait for the screed to dry (I'm hearing 1mm per day is how fast it dries). Or can I prime and put down some sort of liquid dpm after a week or so of the screed going down? Ultimately prepared to wait if I need to but also will want the kitchen fitted at the earliest opportunity. Kitchen fitter thinks it'd be best to get the floor down ASAP then fit the kitchen. But I don't want to run the risk of the floor bowing and popping up due to trapped in moisture. Any advice from those with experience would be welcome.
How long as the new concrete been laid? With new extension concrete floors I leave for a minimum 1 month then take a moisture measurement with a hygrometer box for the duration of 3 days then figure the best route with a liquid dpm. You need to know whether it's a gypsum/anhydrite concrete they laid and to whether it'll need a surface grind to rid the laitance I wouldnt be fitting units ontop of an engineered floor personally either
It hasn't been laid yet. I will speak to the builder to see what they will be using. From what you are saying it doesn't really seem like there is any way round just waiting for it to be dry enough. The kitchen fitter wasn't planning on fitting on top of the engineered floor but wanted to get a the self leveling compound down. If he does it stright off the screed floor then he said he would need to build it up a bit to get the levels right in terms of overall height (so the kitchen does sit too low when the oak is laid).
Yeah pretty much that, you'll need to give it atleast a month before you can decide what you want to do going forward as to whether you want to speed it up and get a dpm down or wait it our. Are you having ufh? I did my own similar way, I had my kitchen fitter set my units/island 20mm higher for me to accommodate the level because I put ufh (electric) in mine so needed a double screed. I gave mine 5 weeks before using uzin dpm then screeded, kitchen fitted then I laid my parquet (lvt)
The problem with speeding the job up is that the job site is not usually ready. Wet trades and heating not on. Youll need to find out the type of screed as that can effect drying times and prep type. youll have to have some sort of dpm under the bonded floor as it is being glued down. Find out how long the screed takes to cure. Leave it the correct drying time and then use a liquid dpm that protects against a high moisture content. Its very unlikly you will get a wood floor in before a kitchen. Also weve seen a few wood floors that need ripping out on insurance and if the kitchens on top that’s all got to come out too. Not a good move in my opinion
It will be a standard cement screed as far as I can tell. That's what is specified on the drawings. In any case it sounds like I need to wait as long as possible before laying the floor. I was prepared for that but the kitchen fitter seemed so confident that it could be done so we didn't need to wait. Ultimately I don't want to risk it so will get the kitchen in, albeit built up a bit, and then get the floor done a couple of months later. But even then it sounds like it will need a dpm on top of the screed? Just for information, it is a beam and block floor with a dpm and insulation beneath the screed. Would another dpm not create a moisture trap?
No, your only slowing the rate of the evaporating moisture with a liquid dpm. It will stay in the screed and slowly dry out. It just stops the construction moisture getting into the wood. You would only get moisture trapped if you had a water leak in the screed or you covered it way too soon…like a week or two after its poured
140 days, 1mm a day up to 50mm anything more than that double the time and you always need a surface dpm for bonded wood needs to be below 65%rh not going to happen in the UK all year round. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I dont think you meed to wait 140 days before you put down a dpm? the additional 20mm would make the drying time 90 days? But you could still put down a dpm after 70 days.
Have a curing agent put into the traditional sand and cement mixed, it will be dry within 7 days, retinol or Longfloor rap7d
