Condominium owners don’t have to live with wall-to-wall carpet. Even in condominiums with concrete or gypsum-cement floors that prohibit installing traditional nail-down floors, it is still possible to install either a glue-down or a “floating” hardwood floor.
Nearly all glue-down and floating flooring is engineered hardwood, consisting of three or more layers of wood glued together, alternating the direction of the grain. This reduces the tendency of the floor to warp, making it ideal to lay over concrete and gypsum-cement floors, which tend to retain moisture.
No-wax engineered flooring is finished with polyurethane or aluminum oxide, but aluminum oxide is colorless and more durable than polyurethane, according to Brendan Tighe, head of the flooring department at Home Depot in Fairfax. Standard oak engineered flooring averages about $4 per square foot, more expensive than solid hardwood. Some wood is graded for regularity of color and grain, which also affects pricing, said Tighe. Most engineered
floors are designed to fit together using tongue-and-groove technology. Some manufacturers are Bruce, Harris Tarkett, IHF, WFI, Mirage, Robbins, Mannington and Muskoka.
Tony Ibrahimi of Chase Floors and Tile in Fairfax recommends installing floating floors in condominiums for their “ability to muffle sound.”
Ibrahimi offers a floating solid hardwood floor by Junckers as an alternative to engineered flooring.
THERE ARE SEVERAL WOODS and stains to choose from, including exotic woods like wenge, zebrawood, Caribbean maple, teak and cypress. “If it’s not on the endangered species list, they’ll make it into flooring,” said Geoff Duckworth, an installer for Vienna Hardwoods in Vienna. Some woods are referred to by commercial names rather than species names, such as Brazilian cherry wood, which is actually jatoba wood, said Duckworth.
Exotic woods are more expensive than domestic woods; they can cost $10 per square foot or more. Affordable alternatives are domestic flooring stained to resemble exotic woods, or flooring thinly veneered with exotic wood, which can cost as little as $3 per square foot. Most woods darken a bit over time, but some change dramatically when exposed to sunlight, such as padauk, which transforms from a bright orange-red to a brownish-purple. Purpleheart, a lavender wood, darkens several shades, said Duckworth.
YOU CAN HIRE A CONTRACTOR or purchase the materials from a flooring or builders’ supply store and install the floor yourself. Hiring a contractor adds an average of $2.50 per square foot, but benefits include a professional installation and usually a lifetime guarantee for your floor for as long as you own your condo.
If installing the floor yourself, you need the right tools, including a measuring tape, a dovetail saw to undercut doorjambs, and a chalk line to guarantee a “straight start” with the first row of boards, said Tighe. Run a tight chalk line from wall to wall across the floor about ¼” from and parallel to the wall where you want to lay the first row of boards; then lay the row using the chalk mark, not the wall, as a guide. Other tools, which you can rent, include a table saw to cut boards lengthwise and a compound miter saw to cut the boards to different lengths. Browse the Web for help and ideas. Don’t hesitate to ask suppliers for advice.
READ INSTRUCTIONS accompanying the flooring before preparing the room. Baseboards and thresholds may have to be removed. If you are installing a floating floor or your subfloor is gypsum-cement, you will need to purchase underlayment to go under the flooring. Gypsum-cement floors look “dusty,” are yellow or beige instead of gray, and are softer than concrete floors, said Ibrahimi. Foam underlayment is used under floating floors. For glue-down floors, Adam Reece of Home Depot’s lumber department recommended ¾” tongue-and-groove plywood; regular plywood leaves “bigger seams” between sections, said Reece. Installers should use the glue recommended by the flooring manufacturers and refer to the glue label to determine the proper-size notches for the glue trowel, said Tighe. The subfloor must be clean, dry and level; one of the most common mistakes people make is not checking to see if their subfloor is level, according to Duckworth. Test subfloor moisture with a moisture meter.
THE NEXT STEP is laying the floor. Install the plywood or foam underlayment if necessary. For visual appeal, vary the sizes of the boards in each row and don’t locate end seams between boards too close to each other. Use a rubber mallet to ensure the boards are joined tightly, leaving the recommended amount of room between the wall and adjoining row of boards for expansion. Lay each row of boards correctly and completely before starting the next row; it is difficult to remove a board or fit one in later. Choose and size the boards for each section before beginning to lay the section.
After finishing each section, immediately wipe it clean of glue. Let the floor cure for a day, or two if it’s humid, before walking on it or moving furniture back into the room.
PROTECT your new floor. Flooring manufacturers sell or recommend cleaners for their flooring. Keep the floor clean of grit or dust that can scratch the finish. Wipe up spills quickly to prevent warping. And for warranty protection, retain your proof of purchase.