How to Install a Wood Floor on Concrete

You have a basement you'd like to convert to a living space. Unless you choose to lay carpet down on the concrete, you will have to install a wood floor over the concrete slab of the basement floor. With the right materials and a free weekend, you can start adding that new room to the lower level of your home.

Things You'll Need

• Polyethylene film
• Asphalt mastic
• Fine-toothed trowel
• One-inch by four-inch boards
• Masonry nails
• 3/4 inch plywood sheets
• Leveling compound

Instructions

1. Test the concrete floor for dryness. Tape several 18-inch squares of polyethylene film at various points on the concrete slab. Allow to sit for 24 to 48 hours. If there is no moisture under the film, the floor is sufficiently dry for a wood floor installation.

2. Level the concrete floor with a cement-base leveling compound. After the compound is dry, spread asphalt mastic over the entire surface of the floor with a fine-toothed trowel. Allow 2 hours to dry.

3. Press sheets of polyethylene into the asphalt mastic to create a vapor retarder. Overlap edges 4 to 6 inches and seal with sheathing tape. Puncture any air bubbles.

4. Cut one-by-fours (called sleepers) 18 inches to 48 inches long and place them so the center of the boards are 12 inches apart. Lap ends at least 4 inches. Use masonry nails to secure the sleepers to the concrete floor.

5. Nail plyood sheets to the sleepers. Install the wood flooring over the plywood by following the floor manufacturer's instructions.

Tips & Warnings

• When installing a wood floor, leave 3/4 inch at the wall line to allow for expansion.