LESLIE: Judy from South Carolina on the line who’s working on a flooring project. How can we help you with that job?
JUDY: OK. Well, what I wanted to know was – I have a house on slab; it’s about 25 years old.
TOM: OK.
JUDY: And I wanted to put down either some laminate or some type of engineered hardwood?
TOM: OK.
JUDY: And I needed to know if I should put down a moisture barrier of some sort, even though there has not been any type of moisture problem with the carpet.
TOM: No, not necessarily. Both of those products will have recommendations from their manufacturers and they’re all a little bit different. Now, some of the laminates have sort of a vapor barrier attached to the bottom of them.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Almost like an underlayment.
TOM: Right. And both of them are floating floors, so they’re not physically attached to the concrete. And you are correct that engineered hardwood is OK over concrete. Regular hardwood, of course, is not; it will buckle. But engineered is dimensionally stable. So, both of those are excellent choices to go on top of a concrete floor and as long as you follow the installation instructions, you won’t have any problems.
A very good source for both laminate and engineered hardwood floors is LumberLiquidators.com. Take a look at their website. They’ve got some floors there, Judy, that have a 100-year warranty; they’re amazing.
JUDY: OK. That sounds wonderful.
TOM: Alright, Judy. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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