Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

We're in the midst of getting estimates to redo our family room, which is on a concrete slab. One contractor told us they can put down a waterproof barrier and then lay plywood to attach the hardwood to. Another one told us that wasn't an option, we can do tile or carpet but not wood or pergo.

We have 2 more coming this week, but I'm just trying to figure out what is doable and what isn't.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

My living room is on a concrete slab.

Our contractor laid the moisture barrier and plywood first. Almost five years later, we have no issues.

Pics are in my album. They had to do a bit of a raised saddle to join the floor in the foyer.

I plan on doing the same with my den in a few years.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

I have a laminate which everybody says is the only "wood" option on a concrete slab.

You cannot do tile if your slab is uneven. So just be aware of that.

But I saw several shows on TV that laid engineered wood floors on a slab. They just put a moisture barrier and laid the engineered floor. They glued it down though. We were told that the regular wood could not be done because there is nothing to nail the floor too or if we did, we would have to raise the floor because of the construction of a subfloor under the wood on top of the concrete. So your floor would be higher than they other floors in the rest of your house.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

We did it - put a moisture barrier down and plywood - the only problem it created for us was a tiny step into the living room and dining room since we have tile in the kitchen.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

we did it ourselves. it's perfect, nothing wrong with it thus far. it's been a few months.

your contractors probably do not know how to do wood, or they aren't "experts" in it, so they are stearing you away.

it's a pretty simple project, you could probably DIY it.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

we put down an engineered wood floor. I didnt want to do solid hardwood cause there is too much moisture in a slab (even more if you have heated floors) and real wood expands and contracts too much.

We put ours down in January and have had no issues. I would have rather had hard wood but didnt want to go through the expense to just have issues with it.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

Thanks all! I'll ask about the wood expanding and contracting.

The height of the floor isn't really an issue, it's really the only room down there. There's a half bath, a door into the garage, and a door into the room with the electrical box, water heater, etc.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

we did it 5 years ago, and have no problems. We laid a moisture barrier, and a plywood subfloor.

We have 5" planks of brazilian cherry - I love them.

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

it is doable.
they lay wood down and then hardwood over it. the trouble with it is it adds height to your floor. so sometimes any exisiting doors need to be cut on the bottoms or re-set. it will also be higher then any rooms that joins up to the area where you are installing it if that makes sense

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

Re: Has anyone had a hardwood floor laid over a concrete slab?

yes, we do.
our heat comes through the floor through a concrete slab.
we had to get engineered wood glued down.
real wood would warp.