help with preparing concrete floor for engineered wood or laminate

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by Grant Papworth, Mar 28, 2015.

  1. Grant Papworth

    Grant Papworth New Member

    Hi guys,

    I'm going to try laying either an engineered wood or laminate floor in my downstairs hallway and living room. the problem is that under the existing carpet is some very thin, unusable parquet flooring which has been stuck down with what I assume is bitumen.
    I've done a bit of research and from what I gather I should pull up the parquet, seal the bitumen with some sort of primer and then use a self levelling compound over the whole floor. This all sounds very expensive and way beyond my capabilities... is it absolutely necessary?

    assuming the floor is level once i remove the parquet, can i not just put a DPM on top of the bitumen and then install the underlay and flooring?
     
    stumont likes this.
  2. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    Lay it straight on top of the existing parquet, re glue any loose bits, make sure there are no protruding bits, don't use laminate.......
     
  3. Grant Papworth

    Grant Papworth New Member

    Thanks Wiggy, I'm a little worried that doing that might make too much of a height difference between the new flooring and the flooring in the other rooms. Do you think it'll be noticeable (parquet is 5mm thick)?
    Am I right in saying that a shouldn't use an underlay with built in DPM if I go down this route?
     
  4. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    I don't think the height difference will be noticeable by the time you have some thresholds in place, your shout really...

    Self leveller would be 2/3mm
    As for underlay, dpm won't hurt.

    Take the skirting off and undercut your door frames for a pro result
     
    FatHands and Gatt like this.
  5. goldenboy

    goldenboy Super Member

    I would leave the original parquet down, particularily as it sounds like they might actually be floor tiles that can contain some asbestos.
     

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