My house current has engineering hardwood floor glue down on the concrete. Since the existing floor has many scratch, so we want to change it. Other than that the existing floor is in good condition.

The existing hardwood layer is too thin. We cannot sand it. The thickest of the existing engineering hardwood is 3/8.

One of the sale told us we can nail the solid hardwood on the existing flooring. The new flooring will be install 90 degree against the existing hardwood floor.

I want to know will it work? What is Pros and cons?

Thank You!

No don't do it and I would go somewhere other then to the person that said yes.

Agreed with Jeff.

Pretty darned unusual suggestion. What were they planning on nailing it with?

Agreed with the nailing no-no. Theres not enough thickness to nail to.

I also wonder if this is the same person who said you cannot refinish it? Depending on the depth of the scratch, and your expectations, you may be able to refinish with an abrader.

http://www.clarkeus.com/clarkerental/~/ ... D1BFA.ashx

Yes, I would agree with above comments. You need 3/4" to nail into for solid hardwood. Anything else will be a disaster.


Now, if the engineered hardwood is in tact/good condition physically (I don't mean visually), then I suppose you could leave it there and then add plywood on top to for strength and structure (at least 1/2"), but you would probably need hilties since concrete under. And, at this point, you almost might be better off ripping up the wood and then adding full 3/4" plywood.

And, yes, as others have mentioned, if the scratches are on the surface and not through the color, you might be able to get away with a screen and recoat.

Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester County

Everyone is missing the point. If you nail to a glued down product when they expand and contract separately the floor will rip off the concrete. I have seen it happen.

TheFlooringGirl

"add plywood on top to for strength and structure (at least 1/2"), but you would probably need hilties since concrete under. "

May I know what is hilties?

Other than ripping up the existing floor. Will Glue down another layer of engineering wood work?

Thank You for all of your input.

Nothing is better than starting from scratch. If it was my house I would demo it. To many complications going over it. So many I dont even want to think about typing them all.

Hilties are special nails used over concrete. Regular nails won't work. You would need this regardless of whether you add 1/2" plywood or if you ripped up and added 3/4". Personally, if you're going to go this route, I would probably rip it up and start from scratch. The difference in price between 1/2" and 3/4" plywood is insignificant. But, having a stronger base/structure is critical.

Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester County, NY

Or just go with a quality floating engineered floor some of them have a wear layer almost equal to solid.

Great point, Jeff, provided that engineered floor is flat/level & stable. Armstrong Performance plus is a great one, BTW.

I wouldn't go so far as saying great, but it does offer an alternative because it is acrylic impregnated making it quite durable, but it will still scratch. I wonder what the transitions will look like, if there are any. Increased height (with underlayment) can also pose problems with appliances, bi fold closet and other doors, sliders etc.

Here's another issue that is often times not addressed. Depending on the adhesive used and the quality of the install you may have planks that seem pretty well adhered to the concrete substrate. Then you go and cover it up and they become stressed out by trapped moisture vapor emissions that are now venting in a very low amount. More moisture becomes trapped under the new floor and POW, the whole floor is jacked up. Now you get to replace two floors.

Since they are talking about putting 3/4 solid down over the existing floor I assume height is not a problem, engineered would be lower.

I had same reaction as Jeff..engineered is lower height than solid.

Nonetheless, regardless of what you do, make sure you check height - doors, door casings, cabinets, etc. Since this salesperson already gave you some bad advice, I wouldn't be surprised if he neglected to point out the other issues.

If there are wood doors/casings, those can be shaved. If you have a metal door, that is much more of problem.

And, yes, the engineered floating floors can scratch too. In fact, all wood can/will scratch eventually.

Debbie Gartner aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester County NY