Hello all I'm in the process of deciding the best solution for my situation. I have a home built in the 70's in Pensacola Florida and it's got a slab foundation. After reasearching the options I've decided engineered is probably the way to go due to the increased stability.

Total of 800SF over 6 spaces but will be starting with a small 12x10 room.

Found a 25 year finish product at the local Lowes -- Bruce Naturally Simple Engineered Hardwood by Armstrong. I think this is a very new product line for Bruce. Its 7 ply 1/2" and has a 25 year finish. It's installed glueless floating. Does anyone have experience with this product -- any thoughts on it? Any disadvantages to using the glueless floating.

When I install I know I need to use the padded underlayment/moisture barrier they recommend. I was also thinking of laying some regular 4-5 mil plastic below the underlayment just to add to the protection. Is this a bad idea? I want to make sure I do the install 100% even if it costs a little extra.

Thanks for any info/thoughts that may help.

Ron

I can appreciate your attention to details on this install, but I'm not sure what benefit you would gain with the "extra" barrier; I do know what a pain it would be working on plastic over plastic.
I think you'd be better off doing a couple of moisture tests on your slab, and getting it as flat as possible for the most trouble free install. Click floors are easy to install out in the "field", but can turn into a head scratcher when going through doorways and halls.

Why is it more difficult in doorways? Is it because you need to click lock and can't get the clearance when going under the door casement/moulding? If so, I have thought of two options. One would be to remove the moulding and baseboard altogether. The second would be to remove the locking part of the tongue and groove on the plank and just glue the joint there instead?

I may just remove the moulding in the room altogether even though replacing is a pain. Reasoning is, I would like to have the moisture barrier to go up the wall 1.5" or so on the exterior facing wall and can't think of a way to do this without removing the baseboard.

Is the taped down 2x2 plastic square in several areas a good enough moisture test or do I need to do something else?

Also the Bruce Naturally Simple instructions that I found don't say anything about acclimation before install. How long should I acclimate an engineered floor before installing?

Thanks,
Ron