Hi,

New to the forum; I'm looking at installing hardwood in place of my wall-to-wall carpet on the second floor of my house, about 850sq ft. My house was built about 8 years ago.

Upon pulling back my carpet I've found my builder installed 1/2" thick Homasote under all the carpet, and the material is glued down. The Homasote is not labeled or marked in any way, so I do not know if it is the brand name product, or a cheaper knock-off. The sub-floor is 3/4" plywood (tongue and groove I suspect but can't verify.)

Looking at the manufacturer's information on Homasote, they say it can be used as a direct underlayment for hardwood; just nail right on top of it. I would need to use 2" fasteners to ensure at least 1/2" penetration of the fastener into the subfloor.

I contacted one flooring manufacturer and they had no position on the issue. My concern is the Homasote being too soft, allowing the floor to move and getting squeaks.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with installing nail down hardwood over Homasote? I'm currently deciding between solid 3/4" or engineered; so I'd be open to using either if it made a difference.

Thanks!

John

ITs no problem to install wood over Homasote.

I installed approx 40,000 sf+ over it on a condo project in Edgewater NJ

James,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

How long has that project been finished? Any issues?

My main concern is the Homasote compressing over time and the floor squeaking.

John

Just thought I'd post an update.

The Homasote was installed with drywall screws. I removed them and the panel was stuck fast, so I assumed adhesive, which is what the manufacturer recommends for installing the product. I decided to try to pull up a panel in a closet, just to see how bad a job it would be.

Turns out they put it in with 1 1/2" x 1/4" crown staples, not glue. It comes up, but all the staples tear through and stay in the sub-floor. I think they had a monkey on the staple gun, because they have to have used about 6 dozen staples per sheet. Talk about overkill.

Anyway, I'm pulling it out myself. Slowly. I'm guessing it will take about 25 hours to pull up all the carpet, padding, tackless strip, and Homasote for 850 sq ft.

I also talked to three hardwood manufacturers; Appalachian had no position, but would not warrant any subfloor related issues. Mullican said do not install on top of Homasote, and would also not warrant any sub-floor related issues. Muskoka said they were not familiar with the product, and thus could not recommend installing over it.

John