Hello. We decided to install engineered hardwood in our home. I am no pro but am handy and have done lots of DIY including finishing my basement on my own, which including the laminate floor, so I thought, how difficult can it be to install engineered hardwood? Well, we haven't even decided on color yet and here I am in need of expert advice.
Half of our first floor has real hardwood, half has carpet. My first problem? The hardwood is probably one inch thick. The engineered is a lot less. Unless I make up for the lost thickness, the door jambs/trim will not look good without major work (If anyone knows of some way to make this easy, please feel free to suggest....).

So here's where my question comes. Is adding another plywood/particle board layer to the whole first floor something common? Any tips on how to attach to the first layer (Overlap, glued, screwed).

Thanks in advance. i am sure there will be more questions.

Rick.

The layer of underlayment with the engineered on top should total the height of the oak floor.
Find what works at your lumberyard and fasten it down with 2 inch nails 6 inches apart on the edges and 8 inches in the center of the sheets.
Before you fasten anything down, read the instructions for your engineered flooring. You should find that you need to get the sub-floor flat to specifications.

Thanks. I guess I need to start by selecting the floor and make sure there's plywood in the right thickness.

So that's a lot of nails.......

Ok. I need some HELP. I'm in the seller research phase and I'm ready to stay away from this project. Buy Direct and Lumber Liquidator have the worst reviews. Lowes/HD seem to have low quality. What does someone that does not want to pay 8 $/ Sq ft do? I live in SW Ohio and am looking for a seller I can trust.

Thanks!!!!

Why not use solid hardwood?

Two reasons why our initial choice was engineered:
-Cheaper.
-Somewhat easier/more forgiving installation process for a beginner.

But the more I look into this the more I think solid is the best way to go. Of course we have a budget and that might go against it.

Solid is not hard to install.....if you finished your basement then doing hardwood installation will be a piece of cake for you. It's easy to install and you have the skills to do detail work when required. A lot of time and effort to raise the subfloor to accommodate engineered stuff. What species is your existing hardwood flooring? Depending on the species/width you should be able to get good prefinished flooring for a lot less than $8/sf.

Looks like we found our floor. Solid Acacia from Lowes @ $4.59. It's beautiful, and has random widths. I'm pretty sure it comes from China, but I guess solid should be a lot less risky than engineered.

ANy thoughts? I'll be back with installation questions in a couple of weeks

Thanks for all the input!!!!!!

find the moisture content of the flooring with a moisture meter. Is it the mid-point of the seasonal swing for your area?

I have no idea what you're asking.....I plan to leave the floor in the room for at least a week before I install it; are there seasons where floor install should not be performed? I live in SW Ohio....

Ideally hardwood flooring should be at the annual average moisture content for the geographical location where it is being installed. The moisture content of wood is affected by relative humidity. Relative humidity will typically be lower in the winter and higher in the summer. If the wood is brought to the annual average moisture when installed then neither winter shrinkage nor summer expansion will not be too much. Depending on the moisture content of the wood when delivered and the relative humidity of your home the time it will take to acclimate and reach the annual average moisture content can vary. In winter when the relative humidity is low you may have to run a humidifier if the delivered moisture content needs to be increased to the annual average. In summer when the relative humidity is high and the delivered moisture content needs to be lowered then you may have to run a dehumidifier to lower the moisture content to the annual average. So, check the moisture content when the wood is delivered....if the moisture content is at the annual average then you're good to go otherwise let it sit and adjust the relative humidity if needed.....if the relative humidity is ok then just let the wood sit until its moisture content is right. Also, the flooring moisture content and subfloor need to be within a certain % of each other.....for flooring 3" or less this would be 4%....for flooring over 3" this would be 2%.
There are charts that will give you the annual moisture content range. What city are you in?

Wow. Thanks so much for taking the time to write that. Very helpful. So based on that I would assume September/October would be a good time to do this.

I live close to Cincinnati. Average humidity there is 70%. Avg. September is 71%, Avg. October is 69%. So any of these two months would be close to annual average. Am I reading this right?

Again, I really appreciate your help.

For your area the Moisture Content range is from 7% - 10%. Therefore you should acclimate your flooring to approximately 9%. You'll need a moisture meter to check it. Check the moisture content of the subfloor too. The maximum moisture content difference between the hardwood and subfloor should be no more than 4% for strip flooring and 2% for plank flooring.

Ok. So I was not reading it right . I already know that the difference between subfloor and hardwood should be in those ranges. We finally ordered 3 1/2 in wide hickory from Bruce. Is this considered a strip or a plank?

Again, thanks so much for your help. I might create another thread for some specific installation questions.

This site rocks!!!!!

Less than 3 inches wide is considered Strip. 3 inches and wider is Plank.
Oak is the benchmark that other species are compared to and Hickory is somewhat less stable than Oak so be careful to maintain household relative humidity year round.