Hi, I am going to lay reclaimed pine floor boards (T&G) on a concrete floor. The concrete is old (one corner has been relaid 2 months ago) and has a dpm underneath and the wood will be in the room for 3 weeks to acclimatise. My initial plan was to put 25x40mm battens at 400mm centres on top of a dpm on the concrete. Put insulation between the battens and then secret nail the t&g. All this I have garnered from the internet and this forum. The guy who will be laying this suggests not putting plastic sheeting on the concrete but laying a vapour barrier membrane on top of the battens and insulation. He says this protects moisture from the room accumulating on top of the concrete saying that the dpm under the concrete should be enough. Any light shed on this would be really appreciated.
What RH% readings did your installer get when he did a moisture test on the concrete ? Why not apply a liquid dpm direct to the concrete ?
I would " tank" the concrete allowing the sheeting to come up the wall at least the heigh of the joists, all joints taped. Set the joists down into this taking care not to tear or hole it, lay your insulation. Another layer of poly sheeting over this on top of the joists would do no harm as its cleaner to work on and saves scratching because of airborne fibers.
No moisture test. Apart from repaired part the floor has been down for 20years + and always been dry. Will do a test. Will also look up liquid DPM By 'joists', do you mean the 'battens' we will lay for the flooring. I am twitchy about damp so this seems like a 'belt and braces approach which seems right. Thanks
Can't stand timber on battens...The floors always sound hollow/clacky and they often creak...Glue it down, you'll be far happier
