What jobsite criteria are important in choosing a wood floor?
If you have any of the following three criteria: radiant heat, below ground level installation, direct installation on concrete, Planet Hardwood recommends an engineered floor, which is designed to provide superior stability. Below ground level, moisture can cause solid hardwood floors to expand excessively. Modern radiant heat systems are less stressful to wood flooring than they used to be, but still create a dry environment outside the comfort zone of solid wood. The National Wood Flooring Association only recommends solid wood over radiant heat with a floating subfloor (created by attaching two layers of ½” plywood to each other, but not to the subfloor… thereby “floating”). The floating subfloor is an added expense and puts an extra 1″ of wood between you and the heat source. Other important jobsite conditions pertain to moisture migration, and seasonal changes in relative humidity. A more detailed jobsite assessment is described in General Installation Instructions.
