I'm looking at houses and the Curmudgeonling's allergies dictate that any carpet has to go. I've done hardwood on crawl space floors, not difficult just tedious. Never put it down on concrete, though. I'm not a big fan of slab houses but sometimes [Mick Jagger] 'you just can't get what you want' [/Mick Jagger], so if I want to yank carpet and put down hardwood can the average goober like me do this without royally screwing it up? Or dying of old age before it's finished?
Sure. Floating floors are simple. They include a padding which doubles as a moisture barrier.
They feel weird when you are done (they move and flex), but they are simple to install. Directions in every box.
If it were my house I would go with a floated engineered hardwood floor over concrete, should be as easy to install that over concrete as it would be over any flat subfloor. Engineered floors will be more stable with changes in temp and humidity as well, so even if I wanted to glue it I would still go with an engineered product.
In reply to SVreX:
Not that it applies to me, mostly...
But in terms of curmudgeon's situation, I've seen both floating floors AND adhered floors- to concrete.
Thoughts on adhered wood floors? (I think I know the answer, but would love to hear your opinion).
Curmudgeon wrote: I'm looking at houses and the Curmudgeonling's allergies dictate that any carpet has to go. I've done hardwood on crawl space floors, not difficult just tedious. Never put it down on concrete, though. I'm not a big fan of slab houses but sometimes [Mick Jagger] 'you just can't get what you want' [/Mick Jagger], so if I want to yank carpet and put down hardwood can the average goober like me do this without royally screwing it up? Or dying of old age before it's finished?
If you are dealing with allergies, you will want to be very confident about moisture/mold issues between the concrete and flooring, no matter what type of flooring you put down.
Sensetive to the offgassing from the carpet, or the dust from it, or???
when I was little.. my allergies dictated that our house be tiled or have floors covered in linolium.
Thankfully I outgrew them
I've heard horror stories about gluing down hardwood to slabs - expansion and buckling issues.
But... when I worked for a contractor doing remodels I tore up plenty of them that were glued and didn't appear to have that issue... so there must be some way of doing it right.
I've installed some of the snap-together flooring over concrete and the finished product was nice. I don't know how it held up since I wasn't around to see it age
If you do the floating floor keep in mind there are several different underlayments. The ones that magnify the clicking sound of heels is annoying.
I've done both the floating floors and glue downs on concrete with no issues. There's more flex in a wood floor than tile and yet the do it all the time.
Around here the slab foundation is the preferred one cause there's way less issues with it than a P&B.
Glue down on concrete hardwood will curl due to moisture. Do the floating engineered floor, it's easy to do too.
clownkiller wrote: Glue down on concrete hardwood will curl due to moisture. Do the floating engineered floor, it's easy to do too.
Maybe there's more moisture where you are, but here in Texas I see it done all the time without curling. We did our son-in-law's house 7 years ago with no issues. I also see the builders doing it all the time. It's become an almost standard feature on the new homes.
100 miles away from SC.
More than you ever wanted to know about wood flooring over slab: http://hardwoodfloorsmag.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=212&zoneid=2
update your profile... 100 mi from SC could be at least 5 states 
alfadriver wrote: In reply to SVreX: Not that it applies to me, mostly... But in terms of curmudgeon's situation, I've seen both floating floors AND adhered floors- to concrete. Thoughts on adhered wood floors? (I think I know the answer, but would love to hear your opinion).
I've seen glued down as well.
I think there is something weird about spending vast amounts of energy, money, and code compliance making sure untreated wood DOES NOT come into contact with masonry (PT sills, wall plates, termite shields, etc. etc) then gluing the entire floor directly to it.
Additionally, it will vary by climate and region. I live in the humid/ hot Southeast. Moisture can condensate on concrete and deteriorate non-treated wood glued directly to it.
I don't do it as a matter of practice.
I personally prefer glued or nailed floors over floating floors, but I don't do them directly on concrete. I will use sleepers when I can to put a glued floor on masonry. Otherwise, I use an engineered floor.
Modern building practices almost never permit proper curing times for concrete, nor do they install the air conditioning prior to floor installation. Both of these things leave excess moisture, which will affect the wood floor. I've seen an enormous quantity (90% or more) of newly installed flooring which is cupping or gaped. In days gone by, these installations would have been rejected, torn out, and re-done. Nowadays, consumers and building professionals don't even seem to know the difference.
I am also nearly 100% certain that NO wood flooring manufacturer will warranty a wood floor glued directly to concrete. It's done, but it will void the warranty.
However, engineered products have come a long way, and serve a purpose. They are perfect for this type of application.
Thanks for asking, Eric. 
carguy123 wrote: Maybe there's more moisture where you are, but here in Texas I see it done all the time without curling. We did our son-in-law's house 7 years ago with no issues.
With all due respect, I don't believe this. Have you ever put a feeler gauge in the cracks? How about a steel rule across the surface?
I'm not calling you a liar, I just think the average consumer has redefined what a good job looks like.
Saying wood won't cup, expand, or shrink when in contact with damp moist concrete is like saying an engine won't expand when you heat it up. It's against the laws of physics.
Curmudgeon wrote: ... the Curmudgeonling's...
I love this! 
considered ceramic tile?
Grtechguy wrote: You can also do THIS under the hardwood as a moisture barrier
That's what I'd use here in The Falls where it's humid in the summer and rainy/snowy in the winter. Laminate will swell and wood will warp here if put directly on a concrete slab. Mold and mildew will have a big party between the flooring and slab too.
I have an 80yr old house in Niagara Falls - ask me about mold!
The Curmudgeonling's allergies are mostly due to dust and dust mites, carpet is a known contributor to this. In the past, her skin reactions have dropped drastically with a week in my mom's house, which has hardwood floors almost all the way through. She's also allergic to pet dander, but Binky the Wonder Cat doesn't seem to trigger reactions. Other people's critters do, though.
My mom's old house had floating floors and while this is certainly an option, to me they just feel really weird. Datsun1500's mention of plywood is one of the methods I ran across on teh w3b, GRtechguy's link shows another way of doing that which is real interesting. clownkiller's page on testing concrete for moisture was a revelation, I didn't know there was a spec. .
Ceramic tile is an option (and a good one) I'm just wondering if I can DIY it. Keep the ideas coming!
DIY is easy for the ceramic or the laminate. It just depends on what your knees will stand. I finished the kitchen floors in our old house with laminate because it was cheap and easy. It took three evenings because my broke up old knees wouldn't stand more than a couple of hours of up and down. It came out looking like this:
Sorry about the crappy phone picture.
SVreX wrote:carguy123 wrote: Maybe there's more moisture where you are, but here in Texas I see it done all the time without curling. We did our son-in-law's house 7 years ago with no issues.With all due respect, I don't believe this. Have you ever put a feeler gauge in the cracks? How about a steel rule across the surface? I'm not calling you a liar, I just think the average consumer has redefined what a good job looks like. Saying wood won't cup, expand, or shrink when in contact with damp moist concrete is like saying an engine won't expand when you heat it up. It's against the laws of physics.
Well as they say, the proof is in the pudding.
I work with virtually every larger builder in the DFW area and this is a standard method of installation. If there were performance issues I can guarantee they'd change the method.
They don't even seal the concrete first. The research I did before building my house would have had me sealing the concrete BUT I see this done in every price point of home from the low $100s up and including the multi million dollar homes.
I can't tell you if they use a wood that has been treated on the backside somehow or if it's simply not an issue in our area.
I see homes the during the install, after the install and years later and I've never witnessed an issue except in the kitchens and that's usually near a dishwasher and you really shouldn't be putting wood in the kitchen anyway since there are too many sources of water.
EDIT: I just had a thought, all foundations here are poured with a plastic barrier below the concrete. Of course that doesn't stop the water already inside the concrete. Also wood floor are the last thing installed and in most cases that means the floors aren't installed for about 3 months. Whatever the reason it works here.
That's great. I would still bet it violates the warranties from the flooring manufacturers.
The fact that builders use it has NO BEARING on the actual warranties. I know hundreds of builders. Most have very little familiarity with either the building code or the manufacturer's warranties. Every single house built in my area (and likely the entire state of GA) is pretty far outside the building code, particularly the energy code.
Wood moves. Concrete does not.
Condensation forms on concrete. Wood absorbs moisture.
2 facts of life that are hard to get away from.
I am happy it is working for people in your area. Are you sure they are not using engineered flooring products? I'd be shocked if they were using solid wood as a typical installation. Is it normal that the AC units are running prior to installation of the finished flooring? This could make a difference. It is a requirement of the Architectural Woodwork Institute (and rarely done in residences most regions of the country).
No I've seen them installing it and it's real wood thru and thru.
I even researched some of the brands and looks from my builder clients. I can ask about warranties tomorrow, but I'd be terribly surprised if they installed something that they couldn't warrant. Builders are notoriously frugal and don't want to be liable for anything they don't have to be.
I'm pretty sure that the Builders Supply stores have reps that come around and monitor installs and give recommendations as many of the builders rely upon the reps to let them know when their products are being misused.
Could there be a special moisture barrier glue that's used? I know we didn't use a special moisture barrier on my son-in-laws house. We used the cheapest we could find at Lowes and it's stood up for 7 years with zero issues.
I just sent an email to 3 of my builders and we'll see what they have to say.
Sounds good, although I'd be really shocked if any builder on the planet would ever state they are installing not in accordance with the manufacturer's specs. They are all extremely confident in themselves, in spite of the fact that they rarely read the directions.
Ask a manufacturer, not a builder.
There are hundreds of product lines. The bottom line is you should check the specs of the particular product you are using.
Here's a link to installation instructions for 3 of the major manufacturers. Like I said, there are hundreds of variations:
The vast majority of them are engineered products.
This is a good discussion.
One thing I think I can tell for me, up in the north, gluing wood is a bad idea. And not due to the concrete curing issue, but just due to ground moisture.
While they exist, it's pretty rare to find homes without basements, so most situations where one would put wood over concrete has to deal with probable water pressure pushing up through the floor. So IF (and that's not likely to happen anyway) I were to put a floor in my basement, I would float the wood.
But I can see the installation in places like Texas, for sure.
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