AboutJohn Michaels Expertise All questions pertaining to all indoor floor coverings regarding best products to choose, proper installation techniques, and proper maintenance techniques.
Experience We are a nationwide floor covering inspection service. We inspect all types of indoor floor coverings in every city and town in all 50 States and in all the Provinces of Canada. We see where errors in choice of product, improper installation, and improper maintenance lead to complaints being registered and we are then called upon to inspect those products and issue certified reports indicating from where those complaint issues eminate. We have done this type of work for over 40 years.
Education/Credentials Carpet, vinyl, and hardwood manufacturing, installation, and maintenance, prior to just inspecting, and a division of our Company specifies proper floor covering choices for residential and commercial uses.
Question I am looking to put engineered hardwood in my walk-out basement. I pained the concrete slab to prevent concrete dusts and now ready to install floor. Though I feel the slab is dry, I am looking for advice on moisture preventive material to be installed underneath the engineered wood. Someone mentioned about "DryCore" but not sure if that is my only choice.
Thanks.
Answer Hi Ray;First remember that hardwood flooring comes from trees. It acts just like trees. It will expand, contract, dent, scratch, change colors, etc. It contains thousands of tiny cells that absorb and transport moisture to help the tree grow. During manufacturing, those cells are dried out to an acceptable level, but they are still there, waiting to absorb and transport moisture. You should not clean hardwood with water, so installing it in a moisture prone area such as a basement, kitchen, laundry room, dining area, etc., may not be prudent. Nothing is moisture proof. You can use a moisture resistant covering, however, concrete is absorbent and always moves. You may not see any moisture on the surface, but it could be just underneath the surface. By painting it, you inhibit the normal evaporation of moisture, and moisture will find its own level. Therefore, if there is any moisture, no matter how slight, in the concrete, and it can't normally evaporate upwards, the moisture may pool and work its way over to where it can evaporate, such as walls, etc. Also, engineered hardwood is a layered product. It has a base for stability and some moisture resistance, a core which is usually recycled wood products, topped with a thin piece of hardwood, topped with a protective coat, which may be polyurethane based. Engineered hardwood cannot be refinished, (sanded down like solid hardwood), so dents and scratches will remain on the flooring.
You may want to rethink your choice of floor covering. Remember that one of the healthiest floor coverings one can have is carpet. It has a pile that traps, filters, and holds harmful soils and allergents until they are properly vacuumed away, and, on occassion, properly professionally cleaned away. Hard surfaced flooring is non-absorbent, so those harmful soils and allergents remain on the surface of hard surfaced flooring and become airborne with normal foot traffic and normal home air currents, allowing the human lung to become the trap and filter. Depending upon your environment, you may have to maintain hard surfaced flooring on a daily basis. The true cost of any floor covering is product, installation, and maintenance over its useful life. Carpet costs less as a product, less to install, and less to maintain over its useful life. Visit the website of The Carpet & Rug Institute, <carpet-rug.org>, to learn true health information, obtain their lists of vacuums, spot cleaning agents, and professional cleaning systems they have tested and certified as being 'green',(friendly to our environment), and lots of other important information. If you choose carpet, please feel free to get back to me for generic specifications for which you can shop.
If you choose hard surfaced flooring, remember that ALL floor covering manufacturers are in the throes of producing 'green' products. They are vastly different than those made just one or two years ago. Various manufacturers have various methods to properly install their products, so the 'Drycore' product you indicate may not be suitable for the product you choose. You need to find the name of the exact manufacturer of the product you wish to install, visit that manufacturer's website, and download the free installation specifications that must be exactly followed to protect your investment and keep any warranties in effect. Those specifications will list lots of important information including acceptable subfloors, acceptable underlayments, acceptable moisture resistant barriers for a floating installation, etc. Those websits also have contact information, which is usually an 800#. Call it, speak to their technical services dept. and ask any questions you need that may not be covered in the installation specifications. Those websites will also supply free maintenance information, which you can download, giving proper cleaning agents and techniques, and lots of other important information. Be a knowledgeable consumer BEFORE you purchase so you can protect your investment. If you do choose hard surfaced flooring, please feel free to get back to me for some additional generic choice selections.
