After visiting several stores in my area, and picking out a hardwood I really liked I was dismayed to find out that I could not install it since it was a 3/4" nail down (and condos in our area do not allow any fasteners to penetrate into the concrete.) I was told that I would need to install a floating floor and that solid was out of the question.

A white gentleman with a jerry curl working at one of the stores said that what I could do is lay down a 3/4 inch plywood subfloor, and then nail the solid 3/4" into that subfloor. As I understand it the process is as follows:

1. Cork underlay is glued to the concrete.
2. 3/4 plywood boards are clued to the cork.
3. The 3/4" solid hardwood is nailed to the plywood as normal.

Now I haven't found a whole lot of information about this type of install, nor did most people working at the hardwood stores seem to know about it which makes me nervous. Are there serious and pressing issues which concern this type of install?

Will there be issues with the plywood subflooring bowing or becoming unglued? Will it make all kinds of creaky noises not normally present with hardwood installs? Why does it seem like this sort of install is so rare?

For reference, my condo is on the 4th floor, above ground. Hopefully that means that there won't be much heat/moisture affecting the concrete. I do however live in Canada where seasons change from cold to hot if that matters. I should be able to lift all the doors to accommodate the height increase (barn doors) and be able to use some kind of round to taper the height difference between the kitchen and the rest of the floor.