Good gosh...I don't know. This house was built in the early 50's. Certainly the slap is above 3" from the ground.

Ok, another question. When installing a "thinner" type solid which is best to use...5/16", 3/8" or 7/16"? Is thicker better and does that follow the same with engineered?

My first question...will using MVP solve the moisture problem? My installers were here today to do the rip out and they said it is not a moisture problem. There is no moisture coming thru 60 year old terrazzo. I'm going to have them hit it with a moisture stick before any new floor goes down. So again....will MVP in addition to a urethane solve the problem?

Let's put it this way. It should but if you do have a serious moisture problem, I would not warranty it. And thinner solids appear to handle minor MC flucuations better than thicker solids do. Both will cup however, from excessive moisture. And terrazzo isn't moisture proof. It will wick up ground moisture and moisture from a damp slab. All I can say is test, test, test.

Like Gary said the only way to find out for sure is test for it. Some one should stop right now and where the floor cupped, scrape clean an area and do a dome test. Thats the only way to tell unless your man has a Wagner Moisture Encounter pin-less meter. Everyone is purely speculating right now.

MVP is not a cure all, if it was Bostik would not make this http://www.bostik-us.com/TDS/TDSFiles/D261.pdf

The catch with all of these membranes is you have to start with a pretty dry slab that test 3lbs. or under at the time of application. That means (to me) that the slab may have to sit awhile uncovered and dry down before you apply something to it. Call Bostik's and let them explain it to you.

My hunch is the terrazzo has one or many coats of a sealer applied over over all these years and sealers have to be removed for a membrane or adhesive to work . That usually means bead blasting or scarifying the terrazzo.

And what should we use to remove any sealer? When we were trying to remove the 930 we were told not to use anything because of the residue it would leave. So what do we use to remove and scar up the surface?

We already used a sander with 12 grit and it didn't do much. What is a dome test? Can I purchase that Wagner gadget?

With all that said, if we go with an engineered then we'd eliminate these problems?? Is the Durabond the way to go for added protection versus just Bostik's MVP?

Which brand of engineered has the best wear layer and does the same apply with thickness?

Cappy, I highly recommend you try this testing procedure http://www.itwresintech.com/pdf/library/acc.pdf

You have something going on making the wood to cup, moisture is not good for engineered either. You should determine what is going on before you try anything else. Even on a floating floor I would not want moisture underneath it.

We already did the Taylor Moisture Test (calcium chloride)...isn't this the same? We had a reading of 3.17. Is there a test we can do that we don't have to send off to a lab and wait for the results?

It doesn't take a wet slab, for the wood flooring to take on a cupped appearence.

All it takes is for the watch sitting on the pile of wood, and calling it acclimation, for a floor to cup. Lack of a moisture meter, and/or understanding what your looking at, when you use the one you just bought, can cause cupping of a thin solid.

Compression setting is common with, wrist watch acclimation.

It looks like we're going to go with either Bruce Natural Reflections or Hartco's Kingsford Strip. My question now is one is a high gloss and one a low gloss. Will the loss gloss show smudges, footprints, etc?

Also, the Kingsford Strip has a 25 yr finish warranty AND a 3-times sanding warranty but the Natural Reflections only has the 25 yr finish. Does having the sanding warranty give the Hartco's a point up?

Would like to go with BR111 but not sure it warrants $1,000 more and then have to deal with the light issue.

This is a question I'd pose to Ken Fisher, the site owner here. He is the dealer for both of these brands and knows the details a little better than I do. Don't choose the flooring based on a finish warranty. The warranties mean very little. As far as I can tell, there appears to be very little difference between those two floors except for color and maybe sheen level.

You're correct...colors and sheen. Like I've said before...there aren't a lot of choices when it comes to the thinner hardwoods. I have literally agonized over this. Love the BR111 but don't want to have to deal with the color changes. I called BR111 and the rep told me that I shouldn't put down any area rugs for 3-6 months until the color stabilizes. I guess I'm not willing to do that as my house has been torn-up for a year and I'm ready to get my life back.