My plan was to install engineered hardwood floors in my basement over top of a subfloor system such as DriCore.com or Subflor.com

Every set of instructions I've seen for installing these type of floors in a basement call for a vapor barrier to be installed over top of the concrete. But doing this creates a "mold factory" between the concrete and the barrier as any moisture coming up thru the concrete is trapped there.

So the question is ... can an engineered hardwood floor be successful in a basement without the vapor barrier?? What if the floor was covered with a sealant that was not vapor porous such as RadonSeal?

Thanks for any thoughts.

- Tim

Mold has to have something organic to grow. What is mold going to grow on? The concrete? The clean plastic?

I don't see it happening.

Sealed moisture barrier, and then the Dricore.

Wait, doesn't the Dricore state it is a moisture barrier, too??

Call DriCore and explain to them what you want to do, and have them fax you the specs for installing your finished flooring over their product and possible moisture issues.


I can only speculate, as we don't have basements here in the land of limestone, 3 feet under the soil.