Help! Did I make a mistake buying parquet?

Discussion in 'Wood' started by phasedandconfused, Apr 18, 2022.

  1. phasedandconfused

    phasedandconfused New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I’ve been a bit silly. I bought some real oak parquet for my flat and some fibre underlay because I am on the top floor and it needed sound proofing (I thought if it’s compatible with laminate then it would also be for wood).

    I have had a plywood subfloor laid down and the person that was meant to do all this flooring said that they would nail the parquet through the underlay at an angle (invisible nail) with a nail gun. They have since been too busy to actually start any of this work and I now regret buying the parquet in the first place. The more I’ve read the more it seems like it’s not possible to use parquet in my home with any kind of underlay and it should have gone straight onto the floor boards (which I can’t do because of potential noise to neighbours)

    I’ve already opened half of the packs to let them acclimatise so I can only return half (at my expense) and probably the worst part of all of this aside from the money I may have lost is that it was a kerbside delivery so I had to carry 720kg of parquet up to the 4th floor. I have no experience in this area, I just wanted a nice floor for my kids :’( but I wish I had stuck to carpet now.

    What is a normal price for installation of parquet flooring without a border per m2?

    Can parquet be laid over underlay to offer some sound proofing or is it a lost cause? It is 20mm thick fyi.

    Thanks for reading.
     
  2. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    You could ply over a thin soundproofing matting and then bond the wood to that
    That way you have used a soundproofing for your records


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  3. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    You can’t float solid wood on underlay
    It has to be stuck to concrete or glued and nailed to timber. I’m not sure on the thickness you will need. You would need to check with the flooring manufacturer and the plywood manufacturer. Parquet doesn’t move much but in the wrong conditions it will expand and contract and I’m not sure any plywood veneer will be strong enough to hold it.
    Does your flat have any climate control?
    Also if the floor in your flat is a floated subfloor you can’t bond solid wood to it full stop


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  4. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    If you have the conditions right in your flat you might be able to glue and nail over a regupol underlay. You could contact them for your requirements.


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  5. phasedandconfused

    phasedandconfused New Member

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    Thanks so much for your advice.

    The subfloor is not floating, it’s fixed down to the floorboards. What do you mean by climate control- as in can I set the temperature? yes and it’s overall quite a warm flat.

    So if it’s possible to glue/nail through regapol undermay then can I nail through the fibre underlay instead? (Since I already have that). Good to know that I can at the least take up the subfloor and lay the underlay under that- at least it means nothing is going to waste. I was having severe stress not knowing what I was going to do and at the prospect of taking it all back down the stairs - to who knows where.

    Can you give any idea how much is normal to charge for laying parquet down onto a subfloor? I am not sure if the quote I got was standard or not and I am out of my depth a bit.

    many thanks
     
  6. merit

    merit Well-Known Member

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    No you can’t nail over the fibre board. It’s too soft
    Parquet fitting prices are all over the place. Anything between £30-£50 per m2 I would imagine


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