Useful Tips For Installing Hardwood Flooring On Different Grades
Admit it: hardwood floors look great in a house and if maintained properly, they can last a lifetime. You can install them without any problems over concrete slab in the entire house: below grade, on grade or above grade.
It takes a bit of industry knowledge to properly install solid wood flooring at home in Coral Springs, Parkland, and Plantation. So if you’re not an expert in hardwood flooring it is advised to contact a professional solid wood flooring company in your area.
Understanding your home’s architecture
If you own a house with one or two floors plus basement, then there are three grades / levels in the house:
– Below level – includes the rooms that are situated beneath the ground level; most often this is the basement, but a lot of people transform their basement into living rooms or dormitories nowadays
– The ground level is known as “On Grade” – this term is used to define the first floor of your house
– Then there are the “Above Grade” levels, or the floors that are situated above the ground level.
For each of these grades there are different instructions on how to install hardwood flooring. Concrete slabs allow the installation of hardwood flooring for each of these grades, but professional workers will have to pay attention to the way they manage moisture; they also need to take into consideration hardwood expansion and contraction.
Each grade level is subject to different precautions. For example, the humidity in the Below Grade area can threaten the quality of hardwood flooring. All concrete slabs from every grade level must be dry and clean before starting the hardwood installation project. Also, flooring must be acclimated before installation; it should be stored in the rooms where it is going to be installed, so the moisture difference between the wood and the subfloor material is balanced.