Hello,
Would love to hear some constructive feedback on what we are planning for our home...
We are planning using a solid strip-style hardwood floor over a radiant heat system. For the most part this would be a DIY installation (of both heating and flooring). We are considering oak or maple for durability, understanding that maple has more response to moisture changes and so could be considered more risky; hence our attempt at paying close attention to details in advance.
Our location is central NY State and our house is not air conditioned. (It gets humid but not absurdly hot).
I've been reading about some of the challenges and best practices for this kind of install and wanted to share my conclusions to see if I am way off, or on the right track, and hear any useful feedback!
Here's our plan:
Construction layers (bottom up):
1. Existing concrete slab (20+ years old)
2. Moisture barrier (polyethelyene sheet?)
3. Rigid insulation + lumber sleepers / "joists" (10" OC?)
4. Aluminum heat transfer panels accomodating recessed heating tubes (something like Warmboard). This may not neccesarily require plywood subfloor, if we recess the pipes right into the insulation.
5. Hardwood floor nailed to sleepers
6. Finish (water based poly? - specific product to be determined)
Plan of action:
1. Get the radiant heating installed and run it to dry out the sleepers, subfloor, and other materials to what should be the equilibrium moisture with the normal RH for the time of year. (Not sure when this will take place but likely late summer.) Use moisture meter to track progress.
2. Introduce the flooring to the room once most/all excess moisture is out of the room and let the wood acclimate. Track drying with moisture meter.
3. Install flooring once moisture level is sufficiently close to subfloor materials (within about 2% if possible)
4. Use washer rows to form expansion joints with frequency to be determined by moisture levels at time of install (using guidelines published by NWFA for selected wood species).
5. Start in the middle and work both ways to ensure expansion towards both parallel walls.
6. Leave expansion gap under baseboard molding.
5. Sand & finish.
One specific question is whether we should prime the 5 unseen sides of each wood strip before installing, and if so, with what. Polyurethane would seem to be a plausible choice. But I have two concerns with this approach:
1. Might risk trapping moisture in the wood, or at least cause differential drying before installation since the face would not be primed, and
2. Might affect mechanical joint between adjacent boards.
Even with all the correct details, are we still taking a risk with solid floor, maple in particular?
Critiques?
Thanks so much!
Would love to hear some constructive feedback on what we are planning for our home...
We are planning using a solid strip-style hardwood floor over a radiant heat system. For the most part this would be a DIY installation (of both heating and flooring). We are considering oak or maple for durability, understanding that maple has more response to moisture changes and so could be considered more risky; hence our attempt at paying close attention to details in advance.
Our location is central NY State and our house is not air conditioned. (It gets humid but not absurdly hot).
I've been reading about some of the challenges and best practices for this kind of install and wanted to share my conclusions to see if I am way off, or on the right track, and hear any useful feedback!
Here's our plan:
Construction layers (bottom up):
1. Existing concrete slab (20+ years old)
2. Moisture barrier (polyethelyene sheet?)
3. Rigid insulation + lumber sleepers / "joists" (10" OC?)
4. Aluminum heat transfer panels accomodating recessed heating tubes (something like Warmboard). This may not neccesarily require plywood subfloor, if we recess the pipes right into the insulation.
5. Hardwood floor nailed to sleepers
6. Finish (water based poly? - specific product to be determined)
Plan of action:
1. Get the radiant heating installed and run it to dry out the sleepers, subfloor, and other materials to what should be the equilibrium moisture with the normal RH for the time of year. (Not sure when this will take place but likely late summer.) Use moisture meter to track progress.
2. Introduce the flooring to the room once most/all excess moisture is out of the room and let the wood acclimate. Track drying with moisture meter.
3. Install flooring once moisture level is sufficiently close to subfloor materials (within about 2% if possible)
4. Use washer rows to form expansion joints with frequency to be determined by moisture levels at time of install (using guidelines published by NWFA for selected wood species).
5. Start in the middle and work both ways to ensure expansion towards both parallel walls.
6. Leave expansion gap under baseboard molding.
5. Sand & finish.
One specific question is whether we should prime the 5 unseen sides of each wood strip before installing, and if so, with what. Polyurethane would seem to be a plausible choice. But I have two concerns with this approach:
1. Might risk trapping moisture in the wood, or at least cause differential drying before installation since the face would not be primed, and
2. Might affect mechanical joint between adjacent boards.
Even with all the correct details, are we still taking a risk with solid floor, maple in particular?
Critiques?
Thanks so much!