Has anyone laid laminate floors on a concrete slab?

[Aimeedyan]

We were all set to do this until my dad read an article in some homebuilding magazine that talked about how a level floor on a concrete slab is almost impossible to have so you have to go in and level it all out - he said the article makes it sound very hard and expensive to fix.

So now I'm discouraged! I KNOW people have said that the process is fairly easy, were they not working on a concrete floor? Is it really that hard?

We were going to do the snap in place, no glue or nails required kind if that makes a difference.

Would love to hear any and all advice.

 

[Doc and Family]

I did that several years ago. Did not level the concrete slab as it was in pretty good shape. It held up beautifully--until Hurricane Katrina flooded the house with 12 feet of water that stayed in there for days. Actually, after the water subsided and some of the 10 inches of muck was removed, it looked to be in pretty good shape--but it did buckle in a couple of places.

We actually sold this houe in January but went back to see it after the hurricane. I have put down floors like this for relatives, too. None of them had any problems--before Katrina, that is.

As long as the slab is reasonably level, you won't have any problems. But, if there are peaks and valleys, you'll need to level them out.

Good Luck!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We put in a floating floor over concrete at the lake. It went fine but we did have to level it out a bit by the front door. We had taken up tile and so we had to patch. We bought a concrete patch at Loews. Just mixed it according to direction on the bag. Just ask for the right type of underlayment (it will be a bit more expensive but forms a barrier against water) and make sure the floor "floats". At home I have real wood but at the lake went with Pergo. I really like both and both were pretty simple to install.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

We've laid laminate over concrete and it did just fine!

 

[pogopossum]

just make sure to use the moisture barrier pad under it. i've done two bedrooms so far and had no problems with the floor. they're sure selling a bunch of it around here and all we've got is slab foundations.

 

[Kermit]

We have laminate over vinyl, but it's almost the same. No one did anything to the concrete before they put the vinyl down. Some houses do have slabs that are dramatically not level, but that's not always the case, especially with new construction.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Oh, y'all are making me feel so much better. He was making it sound like tons of expensive leveling work to do and I was giving up on my dream project!

Thanks!

 

[ahutton]

We had to patch a couple big divots, but otherwise we put down the underlay and the floor over it. It's been down for 2 years and looks like new.

 

[laurajetter]

We recently put down laminate flooring, but it wasn't over concrete. However, there was an instructional video that showed what to do if you are installing over concrete that wasn't level. First they showed some technique using string to find out where any low spots might be. Only extreme differences need to be corrected. They gave a measurement for what the limit is, but I can't remember it.

Anyway, once you determine the low areas that need to be corrected, it was as simple as purchasing a self-leveling compound and pouring it only in those areas that are low. The compound, as it's name implies, levels itself on its own.

The process they showed on the video did NOT look hard at all; just an extra step or two you otherwise wouldn't have to do if you are not installing over concrete. Maybe you can get find a knowledgable employee at Home Depot to give you advice?

Anyway, good luck!

Laura


ETA: My parents put down laminate flooring over concrete this summer and didn't feel like doing the leveling thing. They eyeballed it, and since there weren't any hugely noticeable peaks/valleys, they went ahead and just installed it. It looks beautiful, and they haven't had any problems!

 

[pat fan]

We put laminate ove cement and had no problem.We did use the moisture barrier pad if that's any help.I love my floor!