How to Install Engineered Flooring on a Slab
Engineered wood flooring is made from layers of wood, with finished wood on top and plywood or particleboard under that. Good engineered flooring looks as fine as real hardwood once installed, is thinner and easier to work with, and has some other advantages—including the ability to be installed with adhesive instead of nails. This is ideal for covering a concrete slab floor with a wood floor. Make sure the flooring you buy is rated for glue-down installation. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Flooring adhesive
- Adhesive trowel
- 1/2-inch wood shims
- Miter saw
- Table saw
Instructions
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1
Spread adhesive on the floor alongside one wall with the adhesive trowel, coming out from the wall by about 2 feet and running the full length. Start on a wall that doesn't have the entryway to the room.
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2
Press the first course of engineered floorboards into the adhesive, connecting them end to end and setting them with the grooved sides toward the wall. Set 1/2-inch wood shims between the boards and the wall, to leave a gap there so the wood can expand with climate changes (you'll cover the gap with floor trim after the floor is installed). Cut the end piece on your miter saw if necessary to get it to fit.
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3
Set the next courses in place, pressing the pressing the tongue and groove sides together. Work your way across the room, laying more adhesive and boards as needed. Stop laying flooring when you run out of room to work near the far wall. Let the adhesive set for a day.
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4
Lay the final section of flooring in the same manner, standing on the previously laid section to do it. Cut the final course of boards lengthwise with a table saw so there's a 1/2-inch gap left by the wall. Let the final section set for a day. The floor is now ready for floor trim.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear eye goggles when cutting the engineered boards.
