Tar Paper Under Engineered Hardwood

Ken szmyt via email none.

Tar paper under engineered hardwood.

In older days the basement was an infrequently used crawl space. The original pine strip flooring was laid over tar paper. But how many people have a damp basement today. An even subfloor is a key element to greater stability when it comes to your choice in wood flooring.

Charles peterson owner of connecticut premier hardwoods replies. I recommend using it. Underlay evens out minor subfloor imperfections. However i have seen every imaginable product used under flooring on houses of every age and have tried all the normal options on floors i ve installed.

The building paper is relatively inexpensive and provides a. Although it is important that major dips and flaws in your subfloor be addressed prior to an install a quality underlay can. These materials run anywhere from 0 50 to 1 50 per square foot compared to about 0 25 per foot for tar paper. Black felt paper is incredibly easy and fast.

Leave 3 8 inch of space between the edges of the floor and the wall on all sides. Your first task is preparing the surface that the hardwood will lie on which means deciding whether you need to use felt paper under the hardwood. To prevent this noisy problem it s standard to install a layer of 15 pound felt paper between the subfloor and the hardwood planks. Their main advantage is that they provide a cushion as well as a limited amount of thermal and sound insulation.

It s a moisture retarder and it helps to diminish noise caused by wood to wood contact. Cork in particular is becoming increasingly popular because of its sound deadening properties. While manufacturers have made hardwood floors easy to install you do need to take a few steps to prepare the room to make installation easier. Should i use tar paper under the new floor.

Roofing paper is typically coated with asphalt or tar which will emit harsh chemical odors especially if enclosed in your home. Asphalt saturated felt paper is used for two reasons. Lay your floating floor directly over the felt paper starting at the same wall and fitting the floor planks together end to end and alongside one another. Our current floor installer prefers tar paper but admits that it s out of habit more than anything and to avoid having to answer questions about why he doesn t think it s necessary.

Therefore it s important to make sure the 15lb. Generally wood flooring these days is laid on a 3 4 plywood subfloor whereas in the 50 s and 60 s a subfloor was 3 by 3 4 planking. Jasper engineered hardwood baltic oak collection sku. Rosin paper would block light from the basement shining through the floorboards.

The tar paper prevents moisture migrating from a damp basement up into the underside of hardwood flooring. Cut the end boards as needed on a miter saw. Black felt paper you re using is manufactured specifically for hardwood flooring installations. Length cut the final course of flooring on a table saw to fit.