Hi folks,
I am looking for an expert in laying wooden flooring. I am really struggling to find good advice on laying a solid wood floor (reclaimed yellow pine 100mm x 25mm) over a concrete sub floor. The concrete is likely to have been down some 80 years and is very likely to not have a DPM. In addition moisture can be seen on the concrete in places where it is wicking through from the external stone walls. The concrete is quite uneven with a lump in the middle of the room some 35mm higher than the edges of the room - how do I sort this? Can I grind down the high spots then use self leveling compound? It would be too much to level up to the highest spot!
I was hoping due to height restrictions to stick the floor down using a Sikkabond or Rewmar product. The suppliers of the products both advise some sort of liquid DPM but state that depending on moisture levels the DPM may fail and blister causing the floor glue to eventually fail. The cost of these products are also more than the flooring itself!! If I buy or hire a moisture reader (also not cheap) I am afraid it will confirm the inevitable and tell me that the floor is above the recommended 60% relative humidity.
Glueing a wooden floor to concrete goes against the grain with me and the other option would be to use a polythene DPM and use wooden battens to fix to. The issue I have with this method is how to screw the battens through the DPM as surely this would create a hole for moisture to come through? Should I be floating the battens on the DPM?
Any advice on a way forward with this would be appreciated. We already have the flooring so would prefer not to revert to carpet!!!
Thanks for your help.